Your Ancestors

Wow tanith, Joseph Arch! I guess you'll have heard the song which begins

When Arch beneath the Wellesbourne tree his glorious work began...

Years ago, some amateur film making friends made an allegorical story about Arch and his legacy. That's where I heard the song. Stirring stuff!

Yes but I lost the post I was writing.

My Dh's 2nd cousin was a movie star in LA in the 40's and went on the marry the ex wife of the owner of 'Sea Biscuit' (the famous race horse). My 2nd cousin was a war hero pilot during the 'D' day landings and is buried in a small village in France. the villagers honour him every year.

Back to the 1500s on my mother's English side, although nothing on the Swedish. My youngest daughter goes back to the Lennoxes of Elizabeth 1 time, whilst my granddaughter on her father's side is a descendant of the Plantagenets.

My only famous ancestor was a Pilgrim Father on the Mayflower in 1620. His eldest son hurried back to England and I shared his surname as I was descended through twelve generations in the male line. Then I got married, failed to hang on to my own name, and spoiled it for my sons, (though I don’t think they care much).

One of my mother’s cousins was the Leader of a world famous orchestra and another was a well known novelist. I have a second cousin on my father’s side who sits in the House of Lords ( we never speak) . Oh, my father’s cousins were well known variety artistes. Female twins who married male twins who were also performers. But I’m OST proud of my great grand parents and grand parents who came here as poor immigrants and built a life for themselves and the rest of their descendants.

I have music hall song and dance men in my tree too and one very famous singer who had a film made of his life .Most proud of my granny who was a suffragette and thats where I get my political interest from .Other than that we have policemen and millworkers and farmers and shirtmakers and a milliner all in Scotland and Ireland .The scottish side I've traced to mid 1700's the Irish isn't so easy with the loss of records during the rebellion but I live in hope of getting further back .Only problem is it becomes addictive .

My maternal uncle was an eccentric, famous crow-catcher in our village. Yes, you heard it right, crow-catcher. Where I come from, crows are consummable. So he earned enough to keep himself in gunpowder and always smelled of the stuff. He was a recluse. He lived in our outhouse. Believe me, you always knew he was returning home, when you heard the thousands of crows cawing in fear. My mum had 2 other sisters, but it was my mother who gave him food and shelter. My kind, lovely, generous mum and dad.

On my side of the family they were fairground travellers from Ireland. My great grandmother was a flower seller in the uk, I remember helping her on Saturday mornings. My grandad was a rag and bone man and I used to go out with him in his brown lorry.
On my husbands side they were local smugglers.

One of my ggg uncles was a clockmaker in Cumbria and there are still one or two longcases with his name in them.
This is on mum's side of the family. I saw one on Ebay a few years ago for sale in the USA at a few thousand dollars.

Dad's ancestry would be too much of a giveaway of the family name but is of interest in Roman times. There was also the jester to Henry V111 who was connected.

One of dad's relatives was a bookbinder who was also famous for his gold-leaf designs----Liverpool.
Then there was the 17th century builder/designer of fireplaces in stately buildings. I do have his name somewhere.

No famous ancestors, but one of mine was sentenced to death for bestiality! With a sheep! Poor thing, the sheep that is!

Back to the 1500s with various branches of my family. Most of them were pretty ordinary but one moved from Scotland to Woolwich when he joined the army - a surprise bit of information to me. He returned to his home town before he died but the rest of his family stayed in the London area.

However, perhaps one of the most interesting was my paternal great-grandfather who, when he wasn't working as a painter and decorator or a gas fitter, was a conjuror!

My g g g grandmother’s sister was deported for stealing bread.

My g g Uncle was a well know composer and conductor, has a monument to his memory in Liverpool.

My g Uncle was physician to the Queen, her father and her grandmother.

Traced my maternal family back to 1500s.

We named our elder daughter after her g g grandmother, was surprised her second and thirds names were the same as her g g g grandmother and g g g g grandmother.

Nobody of note in our family. My cousin traced my paternal grandmother 's family back to about 1600. They were all farmers.

My Great Grandfather was Josh Arch he was the leader of the National Agricultural Labourers Union in 1882 the first successful union to be established and later became the first labourer to become a member of Parliament at the age of 59.

My Bil traced my maternal family back to the 1500s verifying his research by spending many hours checking and copying out parish records in rural Wales and England. He had it all collated including some copy certificates and wills in a printed folder I read through it now and then.

Our family is spectacularly uninteresting.