Your Ancestors

One of ny ancestors was a ship's carpenter from the Aaland Isles. He was shipwrecked off the coast of North Uist and married a local girl. Hence I have Scottish ancestors with a Finnish/Swedish surname.

I have an ancestor on my mother's side who murdered at least one person, and a number of his family members. When he was arrested and imprisoned he announced that he was Jack the Ripper. Although the murders were at the same time as the ripper murders, this was later proved not to be the case.

My g-g-grandfather was the Emperor of Russia - if you squint a bit, that brings you back to Harold Godwineson's elder daughter, who was sent off to Russia to marry Saint Vladimir l
Along, of course, with most of Europe.
That connection turned out to be seriously useful when I was researching my first historical novel, though, because I was able to trace back a particular chunk of land back to the Battle of Hastings, when it was given to Harold's common-law wife Edith in return for identifying Harold's body on the battlefield - "by diverse marks only she could know" It carried on through three generations as the women's dower land until 1188, when Henry ll's mistress gave it to my man Wimer the Chaplain. A very cool story

My gggg? Grandfather was on the Bounty. The first we knew about it was when a chap from Pitcairn contacted my father.

tanith try You tube and search for

Wellesbourne Sings Historical Protest Songs At Joseph Arch Centenary Event 2019

We knew a different tune, but this one's to the tune of Should Auld Acquaintance...

My grandfather, Sir Arthur Quekett drafted the Constitution of Northern Ireland and his books are still the definitive works on Law in Northern Ireland.

In the 17th century an ancestor owned a sugar plantation in Barbados owning over ninety slaves. He made a fortune when slavery was abolished from compensation from the British government. The slaves got nothing.
My maternal grandfather was a friend of Keir Hardie and helped to form the Labout Party.
An American traced our family right back to when the Danes landed in Scotland.

GBS was my Grandfather’s cousin. He employed him in his Land Agent’s office before Shaw came to England.

One of my ancestors was fined for being drunk in charge of a cart. I love her already.

Barnet, I have a saltmarsh connection back in the 17th century, when I have chance to probe further I must dig deeper into it.
A several times great uncle was transported to Tasmania for armed robbery, and did much better there than he would have had he been a good boy and stayed home. Through John of Gaunt back to Gundrada wife if William de Warrene and then back to the likes of Good king Wenceslas once you have a royal connection no matter how far back you get all sorts of famous and infamous people.

One of my DH’s relatives was also sent to Tasmania for being a look out to a robbery. He settled there and married and now my DH has hundreds of very distant relatives in Tasmania. They even have their own web page!

Alan Sillitoe, the author of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was my 3rd cousin 1x removed (quite distant). He looked so much like my dad and aunt.

One of my ancestors was deported to Australia for stealing a sheep. Now one of his Grandchildren (not sure how many generations on) is a top horse breeder over there.

Hi oodles.
Interesting story.
My Saltmarshe ancestor was born in the late 18th century on the 'wrong side of the blanket' as they say. His mother/father ( not sure what gender they were) seems to have left Howden in East Yorkshire where the Saltmarshe family came from and settled in Selby about 15 miles away, probably to avoid a scandal.

The family have now died out as the last Saltmarshe died childless in 1970, but his father wrote a book in the late 19th century which talked of my grandfather's family but also (the old snob) denied they were anything to do with him, despite my g-grandfather resembling the 'posh Saltmarshes' to an alarming degree! My g-uncles tried to make a claim on the will, but it would have cost them too much.

Never been able to get to the bottom of it though.

A gg uncle caught venomous snakes in the Essex marshes and extracted the venom for hospital use. He talked about the wildlife of the marshland on a weekly radio programme and used to to travel to London to broadcast it. One day the BBC announced, just before the programme was aired, that they were going to reduce his fee. He walked out, leaving them in the lurch for the programme. He never went back.

My fathers infamous cousin was hung by Pierrepoint for treason in WWII. And he was cousin by marriage to a 1950s film star who appeared in many westerns.

A distant relative was a famous actress in the silent movies and she lived in a posh apartment next door to Eamonn Andrews. Her husband was the entrepreneur who introduced photo booths to the UK.

I can trace family connections back to Elizabeth Fry. Unfortunately I don't have similar ideas about dealing with prisoners, especially murderers and those offending against children.

An ancestor of mine was a signatory on Charles the first death warrant!

What a fascinating thread! Thank you, one and all. (Fraid I've got nothing to contribute...)

I share an ancestor with a subject off Who Do You Think You Are. He came from Poland.

I share an ancestor with a famous British film star who is still working.

My ggg grandfather received part of a stolen sheep.
Unfortunately, he did not get transported to Australia, he only got six months in prison.

One of my ggggggg-grandfathers was a French Count who came to England in 1066 as a supporter/soldier for William the Conqueror.

He survived the Battle of Hastings and the family went on to become government officials, both in England and Ireland, but sadly had no noticeable wealth or standing by the 19th century. Although one ancestor became a famous author.

I found all this out just before my lovely Aunt, also his ancestor died. She said, jokingly, ‘I always knew I was a Lady.’

Family history points to an ancestor who was piked on Dublin bridge.