Post an interesting fact about your ancestry

[halfmileharry]

My mother is getting her affairs in order so us kids don't have the headaches of dealing with things.
A couple of weeks ago she opened an old box of my great grand father and in it is an old old document showing Pocahontas is in the family blood line.
I have a cousin that is retired FBI that is big on our genealogy that's researching it more.

 

[Alamo]

My Wife's great great uncle wrote "At Dawn we Slept" the book that "Tora Tora Tora" was based off of

Interesting. So this guy, then: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Prange I read At Dawn We Slept as a kid.

According to Wiki, "At Dawn We Slept" was based on "Tora, Tora, Tora!," which he wrote as a serial for Reader's Digest, then expanded into a full book (ADWS), which then became the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora!" Never knew that until now.


ETA: Whoops, just realized the quoted post is pretty old, but I have never seen this thread before. Interesting thread.

 

[White Squirrel]

No royalty or historical figures that I know of in our family tree, but both of my grandparents on my mother's side were brought to the US from Germancy as babies. Guess that is why I like beer, it is in my blood!

 

[Alamo]

It's neat when you can go back up the genealogy line and find somebody famous, but can be a bit surprising too. One of my friends did this as a school project because he knew his biological grand parents had come from Italy in the very early 1900s but not much more, and neither did his mother, who grew up in an adopted family. When he started unearthing records, he was quite...surprised...to find out his grandfather went to prison for molesting some of his daughters, and his grandmother ended up in an insane asylum. Their numerous kids were farmed out to various other families for adoption, who never told the kids (at least the ones not old enough to realize) what had happened.

I had a great grandfather who was a conductor on a railroad in Illinois - this would be back in the late 1800s early 1900s. In those days it was something like being an airline pilot status-wise, conductors were in charge of the train, not everybody could be one. He disappeared one day, and the only thing passed down through the family was that he ran off with another woman. Major scandal for the day. Through Ancestry.com I was able to trace him, and it turns out that much was true -- but he didn't go very far, just over the border in Missouri. Got married again, honeymooned in San Antonio, had more kids. Must have run in the generation because I found he had a brother, also worked for a railroad (don't know what position), who did the same thing! Abandoned one family, moved down the line (literally, a railroad line), started another family. Turns out when I was stationed in California I had descendents from one or the other, forget which) who were not so far away.

I'm still looking for the rich/royal/antecedent who left a nice fat trust fund for some future relative to claim...

 

[rhino]

I am a Kentuckipino.

There are few in existence.

 

[Michigan Slim]

Had family on both sides of the Civil War, WW1 and WW2.
Del Shannon is, was, my mom's cousin. Charlie Westover

 

[Hoosier45]

On which side? My last name is one of those...

My great great grandfather was Paris McCoy. He and his brother Sam killed Selkirk McCoy, who had sided with the Hatfields. They were acquitted on grounds on self-defense.

Don't even get me started on that Kevin Costner turd of a mini-series.

 

[4651feeder]

One of our grandfathers was held in such high esteem, that he had had a mobile home park named after him.

 

[thunderchicken]

Grandma showed me a book when I was a kid, somewhere in the family tree is Andrew Jackson. Also in dads side is Harry Gant (retired NASCAR driver)

 

[SMiller]

My great great granddad was Oliver Wiswell who happened to be a big deal, even a popular book about him.

My great granddad was a big deal in the Elwood Indiana area but for reasons that are not so popular these days.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

My great great grandfather was Paris McCoy. He and his brother Sam killed Selkirk McCoy, who had sided with the Hatfields. They were acquitted on grounds on self-defense.

Don't even get me started on that Kevin Costner turd of a mini-series.

Hatfield, no idea if there is any actual relation though. If there is it would be by adoption, most likely anyway. Long story.

 

[Hoosier45]

INGO bringing the Hatfields and McCoys together. Who says guns don't bring peace?

 

[actaeon277]

Well, not much on Genealogy myself, but I know that on 13 Nov 1942, a member of my family, with my name, was KIA in an attack by the Japanese on the USS Atlanta (CL-51) off Guadalcanal.
He was the CTC (Chief Turret Captain) when his turret was struck, killing all except 2.

The USS Atlanta (a light cruiser) was the leader of a task force, consisting of the Atlanta, and 4 destroyers.
Escorting three transports, the task force repelled air attacks (CL-51 was sometimes designated CLAA for anti-aircraft), and then had to interpose themselves between the transports and a Japanese surface force.

The Japanese surface force consisted of 2 battleships, 1 cruiser, and 6 destroyers.

In the confusion of a night surface action, the Atlanta was struck by a torpedo, and multiple shells, some of them friendly fire.

The Atlanta survived the night. But was scuttled the next day.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Atlanta_(CL-51)

http://www.rtcol.com/~oakland/atlanta51.html

 

[1DOWN4UP]

I have a distant cousin whom was a VP,and ran for POTUS,and won the popular vote.He lost the Electoral vote.In my mind,he will always be a POtuS.My great(x6) grandfather and his brother fought in the Revolutionary war,and as payment,were given each 10,000 acres of land in the state of Tenn by George Washington.Many Revolutionary vets were payed that way.There is a lines of the Keith clan of Scotland,which is from a guy nicknamed Camus Slayer.He in a battle killed a Danish General(Battle of Barry 1010) which he was given the first title of Marshal of Scotland,His relatives held the positions from then on as the kings bodyguards while he was in the parliament.This all is from my mother's side.My father's side is lost info pre 1870

 

[Nazgul]

Had born in 1758, Moses with our last name, fought at Bunker Hill (2 x) ,Yorktown, Battle of New York, his unit crossed the Delaware with George W. He was in the 26 the Continental Regiment, formerly Gershwins Regiment.

Don

 

[Dino Bravo]

I am distantly related to Robert the Bruce, King James VI, and Charlemagne, but my family didn't inherit any of the spoils....