Family Myths

[Oscar]

I've been doing a bit of digging around OH's brigade and through purchasing certs have discovered that:

Great grandfather was not born on a ship returning from Brazil (admittedly, the family did go there!) - he was born in Staffordshire.

Great grandmother did not die in Staffordshire, she was staying/visiting at OH's parents' home on Anglesey (he was away in Police College in Yorkshire). The residence at death is given as such, even though by that time she was a widow, but lived in Staffordshire.

When I opened the above cert this morning, I was gobsmacked to see the address, as was OH. Nobody ever told him that she went from his parents' home into hospital and then ......

By the way, does anyone know how long you have to live at a certain address before it is cited as 'the permanent abode'? Curious, as she did live in Staffordshire.

Aren't certs wonderful things!!

Gwyn

[Uncle John]

By the way, does anyone know how long you have to live at a certain address before it is cited as 'the permanent abode'? Curious, as she did live in Staffordshire.

Dunno. I'm sure m-i-l's abode will be shown as the nursing home where she died only a few weeks after going there from hospital. We terminated the tenancy on her flat while she was in hospital.

[Oscar]

Maybe that's what happened UJ - don't know. It was a real shock, as the family (to us) has been estranged for 20-odd years - sad what? And to be suddenly faced with the 'permanent abode' as OH's parents' house was an eye-opener.

Family secrets - what!

Thanks UJ

Gwyn

[Little Nell]

I've never seen "permanent abode" on anything.

But yes, certs often contain surprises. I was surprised when I found my Dad's uncle Lemmie (known in the family as the prodigal) didn't die an alcoholic in a quiet Norfolk village, as I'd been told, but of tuberculosis in Stoke Newington!

[Durham Lady]

and my great uncle didn't die of war wounds which is what my mum always told me, but of syphilis, maybe caught it during WW1 though.

[maudarby]

Hi
My father said that the Limmers were "thrown out" of Scotland, Limmer being my maiden name. After 25 years of research I have only managed to trace them back to Suffolk in the mid 1700's with not a Sgian Dubh or a kilt in sight.
I have no idea where he got his information from.
Moggie

[Uncle John]

The great unproven family story in OH's family is that they supported Bonnie Prince Charlie and were forced to change their name. So far I have the family firmly rooted in Sunderland back to 1800, though OH's ancestor did move to Scotland in the 1870s.

[Val and George]

You do need a sense of humour when researching I've found. You follow one lead that the family have passed down through the ages, only to find it branched off early on, and is completely different. Ah well!!!!!!!!! I guess that is the fun of the search, and certainly makes you sit up and take notice. You can't rest on your laurels - that's for sure. Good luck Gwyn

[Penelope]

Redacted

[Mary from Italy]

The great unproven family story in OH's family is that they supported Bonnie Prince Charlie and were forced to change their name. So far I have the family firmly rooted in Sunderland back to 1800, though OH's ancestor did move to Scotland in the 1870s.

There were loads of Jacobites in England - no need for a Scottish connection.
I have Jacobites from Staffordshire in my tree.

[Olde Crone Holden]

My grandmother always said grandly, at any opportunity, "We are descended from the de Traffords of Trafford Park, you know".

Well, her HUSBAND'S family were descended from Traffords, who were farmers right back to the 1400s in Cheshire. Not a sniff of Old Trafford, or Trafford Park anywhere. Perhaps it was earlier than 1400?

Her own family crashes into mystery with her grandparents, who were all illegitimate, with only one known father amongst the four of them. (I mean three unknown fathers, not you-know-what)

OC

[Roger in Sussex]

Hi
My father said that the Limmers were "thrown out" of Scotland, Limmer being my maiden name. After 25 years of research I have only managed to trace them back to Suffolk in the mid 1700's with not a Sgian Dubh or a kilt in sight.
I have no idea where he got his information from.
Moggie

Hi Moggie,

"limmer" was (maybe still is?)a term of abuse in Scotland, according to this from Google books:

A Etymological Dictionary of the ... - Google Book Search

Perhaps your father heard a Scot say something like "We threw the limmers out, ye ken" and thought it referred to your family?

Just a thought - no offence intended

Roger

[Penelope]

Redacted

[Christine in Herts]

Having LANCASTER as a surname in her family (her MMN), my mother had royal/aristocratic pretensions. There doesn't seem to be much (i.e. any) foundation for this theory!

Christine

[Janet]

My younger sister always reckoned she knew a lot of family history as she was always earwigging, whereas I never did that!! However, when I asked her what she knew about a particular person she was very vague and said knowingly "Oh they invented fireworks and was part of the Paynes Firworks company!" I searched in vain and found that the person in question had taken a patent out for a gunmaking venture. I wonder if this is what she meant, gunpowder/guns/fireworks hm what's the difference???

And of course having the name O'Neill in the family, there is a descent from the last Kings of Ireland. but have you ever tried to prove that sort of connection to Ireland??

Janet

[dicole]

My mum's family always claimed a connection to Sir John Eccles, but there are two Sir Johns and I cannot find a connection to either of them. There's even a little porcelain house with a family crest, but as they were factory workers and carters from Manchester, I cannot see it being legit.

[kylejustin]

my grandmother's family have a few 'rumours' of royalty. there is one myth we are illegitimately descended from the dukes of buccleugh, themselves illegitimately descended from king charles II!! they say the duke or his son had an affair or raped the gardeners daughter!! sounds plausible, but the dukes themselves denied it when we wrote to them in the early 80's.

the other rumour is that my german ancestors were illegitimate to the king of prussia. the first of these in australia is proving very difficult to find, and his uncles weresupposed to be prussian general's. there is a link of the surname to a prussian king, but this family aren't connected to mine, and her name was agnes kroll.it was the subject of 'who do you think you are?', which is on abc here.

finally, there was one rumour we ratified, we are descended from the medievel kings of scotland and england, through scotish barons in the mid 1700's. the descendants who came here, did have wealth!!
but, i did hear that 3 quarters of europe are estimated to be descended somewhere, from, the plantagenets of england, the valois of france, or the hapsburgs of burgundy and austria!!

[Little Nell]

The problem with family myths is that you don't know who started them. Was the person who told you just passing on, in good faith, information s/he had got from someone else who was pulling their leg?

My Dad's version of his Norfolk side has all turned out to be fairly reliable. But his mother's side - I was told her elder brother Thomas Emmets Matthews "ran the docks at Tilbury". No, he was a fireman for 2 years there! This is the same TEM who said his father was a "provisions merchant" when he got married. The father had conveniently died many years earlier, but he was a milk carrier or dairyman! Provisions merchant was stretching it a bit. I think he had delusions of grandeur!

[Little Nell]

and on my Mum's side, not a myth, but her father did say he ran away from home, joined the army and had nothing to do with any of his relatives again. I've got his letters from his courting days and they were full of accounts of letters, postcards, visits to and from his various siblings.

[dicole]

Mum's family again - Stanley Kerr went off to war (WW1 or WW2, story not clear), and in the midst of the battlefied, found his under-age son, Stanley Kerr, who had run away and joined up. Only trouble is I cannot find two Stanleys the right age to fit the story, and nothing in the AWM records for any Stanley Kerr related to our Kerrs.