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I hate family legends!!

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  • I hate family legends!!

    As you may have read on my previous thread, my family legend is that we're partly descended from an Alderman Lucas. The only one that I can find is Matthias Prime Lucas Lord Mayor of London.

    I've pieced together through newspaper announcements, IGI, and censuses MPLs descendants for 100 years. I've traced them down 4-5 generations on all six of his kids (all girls). I've gone through countless name changes, mistranscriptions and mis-spellings. I've traced some descendants from Kent to Edinburgh. I've come close to where my family hail from only to come to a dead end.

    As far as I can tell, I'm not related to Alderman Lucas in any way and my uncle was called Lucas for no reason other than my great grandad's delusions of grandeur. :(
    Hail Spode!

  • #2
    Hi Guy,
    My husbands family legend was that his grandfather was adopted by the Atkins family but was the illegitimate son of the son of the Duke of Somewhere or other, who killed himself on discovery of the dastardly deed that he had done!!
    However, we discovered that his mother was Emily Atkins and that he was brought up by is maternal grandfather's, some sort of gentleman farmer, ex housekeeper.
    Emily's father kept a pub and she was not working in the big house as was supposed.
    Rod's grandfather used to talk of a 'grand' lady (Emily?) who would visit him every now and again and this seems where the myth came from.
    All his cousins are not happy with these findings
    If it's to be, it's up to me.
    Searching for:
    English: Brewerton, Wilkes, Edwards, Broughton, Piercy, Brundred, Homer, Parry, Wynn, Nock, Noden, Standley and Taylor.

    Scottish: McDougall,Gemmell, Hunter, Stewart, Campbell, Downs, Galt, Frew, Hill, Hand, Main, Thomson, McLarty and Murdock.

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    • #3
      Guy,

      According to family legend one of OH's relations went down on the Lusitania and his clothes were returned to the family. Spent money on books and researching a George Sullivan and oh yes a George Sullivan did indeed go down with the Lusitania only that George Sullivan came from Liverpool whereas OH George Sullivan came from Southampton and on research totally wrong George so what happened to our George is still a mystery!!

      For some unknown reason people of yesteryear hooked on to a name in the news of the time and said "He must be one of ours as it's the same name!" and so legends and myths were born! We are all riddled with these stories of which I have plenty in my own family, some of which have been difficult to prove/disprove but some of which have been easy to disprove like the fact my Great Uncle invented rayon.However,rayon was invented in the 1920's but my Great Uncle died in 1904!! What he actually invented was the sulphite method of making paper!! How did rayon get into that???

      Treat them all with healthy sceptism until proof or otherwise is there for you to make an informed decision!!

      Janet

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      • #4
        My Gran always said she was descended from Hereward the Wake (Because her middle name was Wake). My research showed that Gran's mum Mary Ann was brought up by her Uncle and Aunt after her Dad had committed suicide. Aunt's maiden Name? Wakes!
        Grampa Jim passed away September 2011

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        • #5
          To add one here, yet another 'family story' is that OH's side is descended from the Eton family of Cheshire. However, the supposed 'connection' is from the 16th century. How convenient that it is rooted so far back and will require much 'digging around' to find out the truth!!

          Gwyn
          Freya - a lovely, funny human-friendly disaster waiting to happen....

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          • #6
            My bf - grandfather reckoned he was orphaned as a toddler or 9 year old and then fostered by a wealthy factory owner.

            Erm his Mum didn't die until he was 14 (though he didn't register the death) - don't know what happened to his dad and am awaiting the 1911 census with great interest to see where he was and with whom!!!!



            Researching Irish families: FARMER, McBRIDE McQUADE, McQUAID, KIRK, SANDS/SANAHAN (Cork), BARR,

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            • #7
              I see then I'm not alone. I think I might start up a rumour now just to annoy one of my descentants 100 years from now in retribution.

              One funny one to add, my grandma Jones (same side as the annoying Lucas thing) always believed her family were Jewish and never worked (cleaning, ironing, etc) on Saturdays. I've now traced her family (with help from peeps on here) back 100 years to a welsh connection which seems much more logical anyway.
              Hail Spode!

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              • #8
                Originally posted by guybrush View Post
                I see then I'm not alone. I think I might start up a rumour now just to annoy one of my descentants 100 years from now in retribution.

                One funny one to add, my grandma Jones (same side as the annoying Lucas thing) always believed her family were Jewish and never worked (cleaning, ironing, etc) on Saturdays. I've now traced her family (with help from peeps on here) back 100 years to a welsh connection which seems much more logical anyway.
                The idea of Jewish-Jones isn't too far fetched... My niece has some in her tree. I think it's a lets-be-more-local version of JONAS.

                Christine
                Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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                • #9
                  ... In fact one of the JONES daughters married a FREEDMAN and they lived in Dowlais.

                  Christine

                  In this context, researching: FRIEDMAN/FREEMAN (England, Oz, Pikallin in Lithuania), MARKS (England, Oz, NZ, Himbach in Germany), COHEN, JACOBS JONES, GOLDSMID, & GOLDBERG (Lithuania)
                  Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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                  • #10
                    Although a simple story, not on the scale of others - My Gran always used to say that our family was distantly related to the Earl's of Dudley. I never understood why my Gran would say such a thing, she didn't have money, or live in a smart large house, and I put it down to perhaps we were the black sheep of the family!

                    When I started the family tree almost 20 years ago most of my links for her family took me to Wiltshire and South Wales, so image my surprise when I found my Gran's father on the census with his parents and all his brothers and sisters in 1871. The parents were as expected born in Wiltshire and Somerset, but the children (8 of them) were all born in scatered locations from South Wales, to the Warwickshire Area. My Gran's fathers birth place stood out a mile - Dudley, Staffordshire. I ordered his Birth Certificate (he was the first child born) expecting something unusual, but it was straight forward - born in wedlock, in Dudley and not a Duke or Earl in sight! As my Gran was born when her father was nearing 40, and dying when she was 6, perhaps being told her Dad was born In Dudley made a good material for a fancyful story which she latched onto and passed on.
                    David

                    I
                    Don't always claim to be right, but I'm never wrong.


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                    • #11
                      I started my own legend about that Dave! When I was young there didn't seem to be many udleys in the phone book, so I assumed that I must be descended from Robert Dudley. No signs yet!
                      Let's re-arrange the deck-chairs

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                      • #12
                        It's not my story, but someone I was chatting to, told me that her family legend was that her mother was a by-blow of a Lord. They all used to laugh, and the woman who was telling me this, told me that her husband calls her "My Lady" for fun.

                        They were off on a mystery coach tour, which took them to the seat of this Lord. Shrieking with laughter, she went in and was a bit taken aback when one of the staff rushed forward and said "Good afternoon, Lady X".

                        A lot of confusion followed while she explained she wasn't Lady X, but plain old Mrs Bloggs. Staff could hardly believe it and went to fetch Lady X. They were absolute doubles and Lady X, who had never married, whipped her off into the private part of the house and showed her some family stuff.

                        Basically, the story was true. Lord Thingy was a bit of a (married) lad and had got several girls into trouble. His long-suffering family paid up in return for silence.

                        The teller of the tale said how sad she was that her mother was now dead and wouldn't ever know that the story WAS true. She receives a Xmas card from Lady X every year - "to my cousin".

                        OC

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                        • #13
                          My family keep asking if we are related to a certain 4 minute miler (yes, him) as the story goes that his family were cousins of my Bannisters.

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                          • #14
                            I used to slide down them when I was little.

                            Lol
                            Grampa Jim passed away September 2011

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                            • #15
                              Not the ones with the knobs on I hope:D

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                              • #16
                                Originally posted by Mark Dudley View Post
                                so I assumed that I must be descended from Robert Dudley. No signs yet!
                                i read somewhere ralph and joseph fiennes, the actors were. joseph played robert dudley in elizabeth. mayb thats the context i heard it?

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