nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Do you know anything about your family tree?

Rufeo

Or your ancestors? I don't know much about mine. One thing I learned the other day was that my Granddad fought in the War of Independence, but I don't know anything beyond four or five generations of our family. So boards, has anyone on here got an interesting ancestry?

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

Ush1

Paternal grandfathers family were settled travellers I believe and my maternal great grandparents were Prods from the North, originally Scotland so my ma has a very planter maiden name.

Graces7

Unfortunately, yes. Sorted it as I was sure there were Irish connections... to find there were indeed but of a kind n no one of any nationality would want in their family tree .. wish I hadn't found it

gozunda

Graces7 wrote: »

Unfortunately, yes. Sorted it as I was sure there were Irish connections and wish I hadn't...

Charming ...

Graces7

gozunda wrote: »

Charming ...

Ah sorry; miswrote that! Meant there were Irish connections of a kind no-one could be proud of.. I mean NO ONE! Interpret that how you like.I was horrified

L1011

D3V!L wrote: »

My great grandfather fought in the war of independence as well, his name is on the wall in Glasnevin Cemetery to commemorate it.

Mine was slightly too old, so he just was a trial judge (in the areas where the IRA had forced out the British system they had to replace the basic legal system with their own courts) and did inspections of battalions instead. And he lived til the 50s, so he's not on the wall.

The recent Bureau of Military History release has a lengthy report he did on the state of the IRA in Mayo at one point as one of two inspectors.

Well obviously I've 4 great grandfathers but the other 3 weren't involved as far as I know. Ones third wife has now outlived his first wive by 102 years (she's 103, first wife died at 19 in childbirth) though which is odd.

Trigger Happy

Mine goes back to the early 1800s. My grandparents were from Cork, Laois, Leitrim and Monaghan as we’re there ancestors. Farmers the lot of them.
Did a dna test last year and my blood is pure Paddy.

Witchie

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Mine goes back to the early 1800s. My grandparents were from Cork, Laois, Leitrim and Monaghan as we’re there ancestors. Farmers the lot of them.
Did a dna test last year and my blood is pure Paddy.

Mine 100% Irish too with my whole DNA being located in Ulster and a tiny bit of Louth. Glad I mixed the gene pool for my sons.

Redneck Reject71

On my mother's side,her ancestors were force marched on the trail of tears.On my father's side his ancestors fought along side Pancho Villa.

arybvtcw0eolkf

My great grandfather fought in WWI with the 9th battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, I knew this for many years but I was serving on a post in Lebanon a number of years back and got talking with the lad on duty with me.

It turns out that his grandfather also served in the 9th Bn RDF.

So it turned out our grandfathers served together both at home and abroad, thinking they were fighting the war to end all wars little knowing that their grand children would also be serving in the same home unit and serving oversea's in someone else's war, they didn't fight the war to end all wars after all.

Other than that, my great grandfather on my mother side was supposedly a medic in Europe during WWI but I know very little of him.

I remember something about my fathers family coming to Dublin from Limerick during the famine but I've scant details except that the surname is common enough in Limerick. I've seen a few shops in Limerick with the surname and wondered if we're somehow related because I don't really come across it in Dublin but have come across it alot in Limerick, Galway and Sligo.

ShatterProof

I checked all the registered historical facts
And I was shocked into shame to discover
How I'm the eighteenth pale descendant
Of some old queen or other

Church on Tuesday

Grandfather on my Mothers side fought in War of Independence.

Great (Great?) Grand Uncle was a RIC constable.

Have traced my Father's people back to just after The Famine were two brothers settled onto a plot of land they bought and then divided and the family is still on that site today.

Redneck Reject71

Fascinating to read so many of your ancestors who fought for Independence here.You should be proud of that and their struggles.Thank you for sharing mi amigos.

endacl

Genealogy is a bit daft. Go back not as far as you might think and everybody is related to everybody else.

Practically everybody who reads this post is an descendant of everybody in Northern Europe who produced offspring in the 10th century. Just pick anybody you like and claim them as your great great great........ grandfather/mother. You won’t be wrong. Because maths.

Greentopia

I've done some research but would like to do more when time allows. Mum's side seem to be solidly Waterford going back to great grandparents-small holders living in rural poverty, nothing remarkable.

Dad's side I traced back to great great grandfather who came over from England, was a watchmaker who married a Catholic in Belfast (Shankill, which seemed to have been mixed community then in late 1800s), had six kids and at least three of them were photographers and one a watchmaker as his father. The family then moved south to Tipp, Limerick and Waterford. One of his daughters I was named after and by coincidence was born on the same day of the year as me!

Family members said he was Church of England and converted to Catholicism to marry my great great grandmother (scandal!

) but would love to know what part of England he was from (English surname), but I couldn't find anything on UK geneology websites.

Had one aunt-also on fathers side who was the first woman in the country to own a photographic studio and she was a prosperous business woman and land owner. Until she went mad, started tearing up her money and was sectioned in a psychiatric hospital. Sad

Widdershins

No further past my grandparents. One grandmother was a nurse with QARANC and present at the liberation of Bergen Belsen. She was also awarded medals for bravery . I know almost nothing of the other grandmother who died and was replaced by a stepmother (after whom I was named) when my mother was very young. I know she was Jewish but only discovered this by accident as I was raised atheist. Grandfathers weren't interesting although one was very well loved by seemingly everyone, still remembered fondly by the few remaining men who knew him who say he gave them a start in life (working for him). Apparently I'm the image of him. I've only seen a black and white photo in which he had jug ears, thousands of freckles and very lively eyes.

Widdershins

On relatives no one would be proud of. My friend is a niece of the original founder of the BNP. Her lineage is interesting and quite impressive in a way but imagine the s***e she gets for that family connection.
Just to add I know one other family fact : my surname is a Norman one. Boring. I was really disappointed as a child when I was told only "the Mc's and O's" can hear the bean sidhe.

"The thumb, not the bull "

I just a proper tea snort

Graces7

On the Uk side...( I am English, but was asked if I had Irish ancestry when I was moving out here..) One grandmother had a backstreet grocery shop and the other was a "pit brow lass" who caught the eye if a colliery engineer and "married up" She gave birth to at least 8 children ( it was tradition to use the name of a dead baby for the next one so hard to be exact) She raised only 3. TB took the rest. some living into their late teens. She died of diabetes. Lost both legs.

Life in urban Lancashire was hard indeed.

Graces7

Widdershins wrote: »

On relatives no one would be proud of. My friend is a niece of the original founder of the BNP. Her lineage is interesting and quite impressive in a way but imagine the s***e she gets for that family connection.
Just to add I know one other family fact : my surname is a Norman one. Boring. I was really disappointed as a child when I was told only "the Mc's and O's" can hear the bean sidhe.

"The thumb, not the bull " I just a proper tea snort

Pales in comparison to my dark secret!

rainbow kirby

Mum's side appears to have bounced back and forward between England, Scotland and Dublin (I'm a distant descendent of James Watt, of steam engine fame) and dad's side is entirely Dublin and Wicklow.

cherryghost

My relations lay in England. Am related to William Brereton who was executed under suspicion of adultery with Anne Boleyn. On his wifes side there is royal blood going back to son of King Edward III

Hoop66

I'm Scottish, with talk of emigration from Tyrone way way back. Once when I was driving through Tyrone I was commenting on the number of towns that shared names with towns in Ayrshire, only to come round a corner and see a large haulage firm with my family name.

I have traced my dad's line back to 1755. After my grandafther (David) they are all called William or James - alternating - and they were all miners & mine rescue workers who lived in the same small village in Ayrshire.

Witchie

Hoop66 wrote: »

I'm Scottish, with talk of emigration from Tyrone way way back. Once when I was driving through Tyrone I was commenting on the number of towns that shared names with towns in Ayrshire, only to come round a corner and see a large haulage firm with my family name.

I have traced my dad's line back to 1755. After my grandafther (David) they are all called William or James - alternating - and they were all miners & mine rescue workers who lived in the same small village in Ayrshire.

Donnelly?

Deja Boo

I have Tyrone ancestory from way back too.

Small world.

corner of hells

Rory Melted Walrus wrote: »

My great grandfather fought in WWI with the 9th battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, I knew this for many years but I was serving on a post in Lebanon a number of years back and got talking with the lad on duty with me.

It turns out that his grandfather also served in the 9th Bn RDF.

So it turned out our grandfathers served together both at home and abroad, thinking they were fighting the war to end all wars little knowing that their grand children would also be serving in the same home unit and serving oversea's in someone else's war, they didn't fight the war to end all wars after all.

Other than that, my great grandfather on my mother side was supposedly a medic in Europe during WWI but I know very little of him.

I remember something about my fathers family coming to Dublin from Limerick during the famine but I've scant details except that the surname is common enough in Limerick. I've seen a few shops in Limerick with the surname and wondered if we're somehow related because I don't really come across it in Dublin but have come across it alot in Limerick, Galway and Sligo.

My great grandfather went ashore in Gallipoli with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, years later when I got married, I started to trace my wife's family history and found that her great grandfather went ashore in Gallipoli in the same battalion, both survived dying later in France.

corner of hells

Hoop66 wrote: »

I'm Scottish, with talk of emigration from Tyrone way way back. Once when I was driving through Tyrone I was commenting on the number of towns that shared names with towns in Ayrshire, only to come round a corner and see a large haulage firm with my family name.

I have traced my dad's line back to 1755. After my grandafther (David) they are all called William or James - alternating - and they were all miners & mine rescue workers who lived in the same small village in Ayrshire.

I'll guess , Donaghy.

Conall Cernach

Graces7 wrote: »

Pales in comparison to my dark secret!

You are the secret child of Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson and the legitimate heir to the throne of England.

Rubberlegs

On one side my Grandad and one of his brothers were Old IRA. Thanks to MyHeritage I have this side of the family back as far as some of my great great grandparents. I only recently found out my Granny was from a wealthy family, and I'm somehow related to some well to do pub/nightclub owners in town through her.
The other side of the family are English and I have the family tree back to the 1770s, courtesy of a cousin. Disappointingly, there seems to be no big secrets or scandals. One great gran Uncle was blown out of his boots in some war, Another, who I have a photo of, got sunstroke, went mad and jumped off of a bridge. The English side at one point goes back to Derry in the 1770s. Coincidentally there are postmen on both sides of my family.

pinkypinky

Great to see some genealogy chat here in After Hours.

Come visit us in the Genealogy forum if you'd like some help to work on your own family history.

srmf5

I've gone back to the 1700s with my tree. They were mostly farmers but also carpenters and shoemakers. The oldest photo that I have is from the 1910s of 2x great grandparents and their children. All my ancestors are known to have been from three neighbouring counties in Connacht. I'll try to pick out something from each line.

Paternally, I'm connected to the old Irish kingdom of Uí Maine in Connacht. I only know back to my 3x great grandparents through paper trail on that line though. My 2x great grandfather came into money when his sister emigrated to America and worked for a very wealthy man. His daughter was brought to America by his sister. She emigrated in 1912 and was supposed to originally travel on the Titanic. She was treated by this wealthy man like a daughter. He had no family and she inherited a vast amount of his fortune besides what he left to charity. It was reported in America and Ireland as a 'Cinderella Story'. She also married a wealthy businessman. Family members named their children after her husband and who she inherited the money from (to get into the good books I'm sure!). They would often visit Ireland and her husband brought dignataries around Ireland and introduced them to the, at the time president, Eamon de Valera. Her father used the money that he got to buy a hotel. My great grandfather ran it for a while but his eldest brother returned from America and took it over. My grandfather remembered their visits as a boy and being brought to a GAA match in a Rolls Royce. The aunt's husband was very fond of children. He played games with them like 'ducking' and my grandfather accused him of cheating. He bought suits for my great grandfather. I get the impression that his wife (my relative) had less humility. She'd make her chauffeur drop her off at the head of my great grandfather's road to his house because she was embarrassed by the size of it and didn't want the chauffeur to see it. Their brother died in a train accident.

The largest number of children that any of my known ancestors had were 16. My grandfather claimed that it was 20. One of the children was a Fenian who went back and forth between America and Ireland. I also have a relative on this line who was a priest involved with the old IRA.

A great grandmother's sister was supposed to have been cured at Knock.

A great grandfather emigrated to America. All his brothers emigrated to California except one. He returned to Ireland when the only brother who stayed in Ireland died of TB so he returned to Ireland to help his father with the farm. A great grandmother also emigrated to America. A lot of her siblings also emigrated. She returned to Ireland after her father died. Apparently, she fell out with the siblings in America because they didn't want her to go back. She was my oldest known female ancestor to marry at 37. Her husband's family had very bad luck. He was the youngest and 6 when his mum died of TB. 5 of his siblings also died of TB while 4 died young. I don't know for sure what happened to one of them who disappeared after 1911, possibly TB as well. My great grandfather died in a bike accident.

A great grandmother's brother went off to England and became successful in advertising and ran hotels. He funded the building of a church in his hometown. He was made an honorary life member of the RDS due to the advertising provided at no expense. He was supposed to have been a friend of Lloyd George.

A 3x great grandmother and 3 of her youngest children were evicted from their house under an order made in an equity suit instituted by the Ulster Bank. The farm was purchased at public auction and subsequently put into possession by the Sheriff under order of the court. They immediately afterwards took possession by breaking into the house which was in charge by a caretaker. The caretaker saw my 3x great grandmother (aged 67) partly in the window after the police and bailiff had left. Her son shoved her in. The mother opened the door and let them all in. The judge informed the jury that they had no right to take forcible possession. The jury after half an hour's consideration found a verdict of not guilty. It was reported in Ireland and in the US. The landlord did not carry out the eviction but at the instance of the buyer. A long letter from the landlord to the buyer and a copy to the family was read. In which it was mentioned that if he, as a landlord, did half as much in buying out other people's debts and evicting families, he would be billed all over Ireland. Due to the necessity of having the family back in the old homestead and the son's connections and services in the cause of Irish Nationality in the past, the Nationalists of the surrounding districts, in public meeting condemned in the strongest terms the action in those instrumental in having them evicted. They appealed to Nationalists in all the surrounding districts and abroad for help in aiding the family to fight the cause and to sustain the family to regain the old farm. In the meantime they pledged to erect a new house until they get back their own. The 3 children weren't there 1901 so they seem to have ended up having to leave the area. I don't know what happened to them.

A 3x great grandmother was supposed to have been a Protestant. The only evidence I have of her is her death record, gravestone which records her maiden name and family notes. The headstone was erected in 1863 for their daughter. Two of the daughters married Protestants actually. One relative claimed that her husband was a printer and exchanged books with a nearby landlord. However, she may be confusing him with another publisher that notes were kept on who was editor of the United Irishmen and called attention to the infamous means by which William Orr had been done to death. His two sons were involved in the Land League. The youngest kept the family home while the oldest (my 2x great grandfather) got the herd's house. The family home was actually supposed to be haunted with furniture moving and a priest being brought in and the holy host kept there. There was also a mention of a banshee haunting the family.

My grandfather had first cousins involved in the IRB. Both brothers were against signing the treaty. One was an officer in the IRB. He was imprisoned at the end of the civil war but escaped and emigrated to Argentina where he settled and had a family. Another was a First Lieutenant. He joined the IRB and the Volunteers in 1917. He drilled, raided for arms, took part in the burning of a barracks and of a Courthouse. He was appointed Vice O/C of the Active Service Unit (Flying Column). During the Truce, he spent some days in Dublin being trained in the use of a machine gun. He returned to his home county, and attended training camps. He was then sent to work in the making of bombs. He stayed in a barracks that had been taken over. Before he vacated the barracks, he mined the building. He took an active part in the attack and capture of different barracks and the attack on out-posts. He was severely wounded at one stage. He was arrested about the time of the cease-fire, and detained in Athlone, Kilmainham, and the Curragh for almost a year. He and many other prisoners went on hunger strike. Reports indicated that he was in a serious health condition which caused great concern for his mother. He was released but raids continued on his family home. His younger brother had been attending a Protestant secondary school but left due to the unpleasant remarks and insults about his brother. He emigrated to New York feeling bitter and remarked that "An Irish dog will never bark at me again" and he never returned to Ireland. He left his gun to my grandfather. Their sister emigrated to London and her brother used her position in the British G.P.O. to smuggle trunks of weapons to Ireland. Her future husband supported the Treaty. She and her fiancé moved to Argentina where they set up a school.

A 3x great grandfather was a carpenter and worked in one of the local big houses. He also had grandchildren involved in the IRB. His grandaughter was a member of Cumman na mBan. She frequently wrote letters to my grandfather after emigrating since she lived with him for a while.
One grandson was serving as the Company's 2nd Lieutenant. During the Civil War he became a member of the Anti-Treaty Service Unit of the 1st Battalion South. He later emigrated to the United States.
Another grandson was in the 1st Batallion. Participated in enforcing the Belfast boycott. His house was searched in reprisal for the attack on a barracks in 1920. He, however, was not to be found because he had moved to Dublin where he worked in a lumber yard. Sensing the danger of the times, his family felt that he should emigrate, so they sold the family cow in order to purchase his fare. In 1921 he had emigrated to New York, where his stepmother had relations.
My 3x great grandfather's sister's family also had descendants involved in the IRB but not close enough to go into detail here.

Another relative fought in WW1 and was attacked with mustard gas.

Graces7

Thank you for this thread. I have been thinking a great deal about my maternal grandmother of late. Only met her once that I remember as she died when I was very small. And I have realised when I started work on the book that she was then on her death bed. ( I was maybe four ?)

She lived her girlhood well over a hundred years ago. ( MY mother was born in 1915) In Lancashire when coal mining and cotton mills were the only real sources of employment. Like others of sturdy soul, she chose to work outdoors, avoiding the lung diseases rife in the mills. Women were not allowed down the mines; but she and others fought the system to forge a career as " Pit brow lasses" . Like the Cornish "Bal maidens" they did a man's work at the pit head. They had to fight tooth and nail in those times and became a special set apart group, even with a practical uniform that included HEAVEN FORBID … trousers . In Victorian days!

She was a strong individual. Came from a back street 2 up 2 down terrace with no running water etc then caught the eye of an engineer at the pit and married into a big detached house. Then baby after baby and most of her children dying one after the other.

I think of her genes and her tough and very individual character when things get tough for me,

Oh she was a Riley when she married; that was the Irish connection I was originally chasing up, but we got as far as 1700 plus then could get no further and no hint of when that family came from here to England.
Then the other connection came up

I think of her genes when things get tough for me.