I'm related to the poet John Godfrey Saxe on my mother's side... I think he was actually on my mother's mother's side, but don't quote me on that. I've been thinking about buying a book of his poetry from Amazon and seeing if I like any of it since I'm scared to/not allowed to read the books my mother has of his work since they're all from the 1800's and not in very good condition.
Indecently I've also got a Native American in my family tree (on my mother's mother's side) she was the family's 'dirty secret'... my Great Great Grandfather's family didn't want anyone to know... her name was Annettie (my middle name is Annette after her because my Nana misspelled it when she gave my mom her middle name and my mom gave me her middle name, but we're both technically named after Annettie...) She (Annettie) was actually from Canada (so really she was Native Canadian) if I recall correctly... I think my mom has some of her documents. I've heard Iroquois and Mohawk tossed around but I think one is actually part of the other so I think it's possible to be both... if anyone knows which one is a sub-sect of the other I would love to know... also it should be noted that although my Great Great Grandfather's family was ashamed of her pretty much every generation since has been proud to call her ours.
My aunt's cousin is Kellie Pickler according to her grandmother. I also know that my great great great grandmother was a Native American princess in the Mic Mac/Algonquin tribe around New England, not exactly famous but still a cool fact nonetheless!
Here is a neat story about how my dad's parents met.
My dad's parents we pen pals before they met. My grandma submitted her name and information to a children's magazine that she read and my grandpa also read. In August of 1952 her information was put in the magazine.
In the first letter that he wrote to my grandma he had her name wrong, because the people at the magazine printed it wrong (they wrote Leda instead of ALeda - you can see it near the bottom of the page - Leda Talbot). After they had been writing for a while my grandpa and his mom flew to Utah (from Vancouver, B.C. Canada) to meet my grandma and her family. After my grandpa returned to Canada they continued to write and my grandparents were married on 31 March 1958.
Not really famous or infamous but a fun story none the less
OMG that is just so WONDERFUL! Your grandma is famous...she was printed in a magazine...LOL. Anyway, I am so glad you shared it especially the page of the magazine! What fun!
I'm not related to anyone famous, that I know of. But both sides of my family are split 50/50 with Irish and Cherokee Indian. My mothers side of the family can be traced back to Ireland, where the family there still has a castle (Which is now a museum).
No one famous here, either...but my maternal grandmother stems from Oneida Indian in Wisconsin and I am told on my father's side, that our relatives used to own a piece of land that is now the London Airport. Side note...my mom graduated with Patrick Swayze! Does that count? LOL!
No one that was ever written down anywhere But I think my Great Grandma was a bad woman cause she up and changed her name one day no papers anything and back then things were different she lived with her fake name till the day she died.
My Dad, who has recently passed away, told me that his mother was related to David Livingstone, the missionary and explorer. I'd love to find out if this is true, and if so, exactly what the connection is.
I'm stuck being a New England WASP on my Dad's side as I'm directly descended from William Brewster off the Mayflower, and Rebecca Nurse, one of the survivors of the Salem Witch Trials.
I am from Australia and we have a very famous rock band here called Cold Chisel, the lead singer Jimmy Barnes is my cousin by marriage. It is what we in Australia call a Prick Relation....... (Aussies and their Slang). Also on my dad's side of the family Donald Campbell (Land Speed Record Guy) is like a Great Great Uncle or something like that, he was my Gran's Father's Brother........
My family has both sides of the coin. My maternal grandmother was a cousin to US President Warren G Hardin. Then, on my dad's side, my grandmother always told us we were kin to Tom Dooley ( yes the one who was hanged for murder and had a song and movie made about him). His sister was my great,great-grandmother and the family never believed he was guilty!
My mom was big into genealogyand I have taken over where she left off. I have traced both sides of the family and found that both of these claims(?) are true. I'm in the process of trying to authenticate another of my paternal grandmother's assertions that she was half Cherokee Indian. Indian records are not easy to get to but I'm trying!
In my immediate family, does it count that my oldest brother was a US Congressman for four terms? We are proud of him.
wow you guys! What a great time I had reading all your amazing stories! ...I hope you're all scrapping them lol ...could make for an interesting challenge too
I just re-read this thread and the stories are quite interesting. I don't have any "famous" people in my family that I know of and nothing turned up in my cousin's husband's research on our family. But I did find out that my ancestors were from Scotland - Orkney Islands to be exact. They came to "Canada" with the original Hudson's Bay Company back in the 1600's and part of the first settlers of North America. I have Aboriginal (americans call them Native) blood in my family as far back as we could find. I believe that it showed that my father's family was Ojibway. On my father's side, our ancestor came in with the Hudson's Bay company in the early 1600's and his wife died in childbirth. They had a wet nurse come in who was an Aboriginal woman and he ended up marrying her. I always wondered were my red hair and freckles came from when all my family had dark brown or black hair. There were also some family that came in with the Selkirk Settlers in what is now the Manitoba area and have ties to Louis Riel - not biological but associated with the Rebels and the uprising challenging the Canadian government. We haven't done any research on my mother's side, but we do know that her family is Cree and my grandmother even spoke a bit of Cree.
Too my knowledge I am not related to anyone famous but I've never really thought about going any farther in my family tree than my great grandparents, although now I'm thinking it could be quite interesting.
My great-great-great grand-father was Francois Bourassa, a well known figure in Quebec History. Involved in the rebellion of 1837-1838 on the side of the Patriots with the title of Captain of a company of Freres-Chasseurs (Brother-Hunters), he took refuge in United States when he ascertained the failure of the revolt. He was however arrested and incarcerated at the Montreal prison on his return to the country. But not having participated in the clashes against the British Volunteers, he obtained his freedom without a trial some days later. In 1847, he became Captain of the 3rd Battalion of Militia of the county of Chambly, rank that he maintained until 1859.
The 3rd of July 1850, he was elected Municipal Councilman of the Parish of Saint Jean by the Council of the County of Chambly, a function that he filled until 24 July 1854. Partisan of the abolition of the Seignorial System which had become at the time, burdensome and unnecessary, he was elected the 22nd of August 1853 at the same time as the notary Pierre Paul Demaray of St Jean, as one of the delegates to take part in the Convention for the abolition of the Seignorial Rights in the district of Montreal.
A year later, in July 1854, he ran with the support of Louis Joseph Papineau, the Chief Patriot, as the liberal or candidate of the “Reds” as they called the liberals at that time, in the new county of Saint Jean which had just been created following a overhaul of the electoral district. We can mention that the county of Saint Jean had been formed by carving a part of the territory of the counties of Huntingdon and of Chambly. It grouped the parishes of Lacolle, St-Valentin, St-Luc, L’Acadie and St Jean (parish and village) The electoral campaign lasted the whole month of July and the voting occured on several days. It is finally the 1st of August 1854 when Francois Bourassa was declared elected Member of Parliament of the County of Saint Jean in the Parliament of United Canada being carried by a majority of 434 votes over his opponent the notary Tom Robert Jobson of Saint Jean.
Also of note, his father was the first mayor of Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie, Quebec. His hephew was the well knows Henri Bourassa.
This is an interesting convo! I think the person people would be most interested to know that I am related to, is Elvis Presley. My mom was his 6th cousin, so that would make him my 7th cousin.
Yep - I still love this thread
That is really neat Megan about your family really being your family in blood and not just love.
@Megan That is a find you will cherish forever. I too got goose bumps! Really happy for you!!
Megan,
Amazing story!
I'm related to the poet John Godfrey Saxe on my mother's side... I think he was actually on my mother's mother's side, but don't quote me on that.
I've been thinking about buying a book of his poetry from Amazon and seeing if I like any of it since I'm scared to/not allowed to read the books my mother has of his work since they're all from the 1800's and not in very good condition.
Indecently I've also got a Native American in my family tree (on my mother's mother's side) she was the family's 'dirty secret'... my Great Great Grandfather's family didn't want anyone to know... her name was Annettie (my middle name is Annette after her because my Nana misspelled it when she gave my mom her middle name and my mom gave me her middle name, but we're both technically named after Annettie...) She (Annettie) was actually from Canada (so really she was Native Canadian) if I recall correctly... I think my mom has some of her documents. I've heard Iroquois and Mohawk tossed around but I think one is actually part of the other so I think it's possible to be both... if anyone knows which one is a sub-sect of the other I would love to know... also it should be noted that although my Great Great Grandfather's family was ashamed of her pretty much every generation since has been proud to call her ours.
My aunt's cousin is Kellie Pickler according to her grandmother. I also know that my great great great grandmother was a Native American princess in the Mic Mac/Algonquin tribe around New England, not exactly famous but still a cool fact nonetheless!
hi conway tweety was my cousin his real name was harold jenkins my grandmother use to keep him when he was little.
There is no one interesting in my family, but it is sure enjoyable reading your stories. Most of all the two brothers.
Here is a neat story about how my dad's parents met.
My dad's parents we pen pals before they met. My grandma submitted her name and information to a children's magazine that she read and my grandpa also read. In August of 1952 her information was put in the magazine.
In the first letter that he wrote to my grandma he had her name wrong, because the people at the magazine printed it wrong (they wrote Leda instead of ALeda - you can see it near the bottom of the page - Leda Talbot). After they had been writing for a while my grandpa and his mom flew to Utah (from Vancouver, B.C. Canada) to meet my grandma and her family. After my grandpa returned to Canada they continued to write and my grandparents were married on 31 March 1958.
Not really famous or infamous but a fun story none the less
OMG that is just so WONDERFUL! Your grandma is famous...she was printed in a magazine...LOL. Anyway, I am so glad you shared it especially the page of the magazine! What fun!
great Story, Thank you for Sharing, Kelenna. I enjoyed so much.
No one as far as I know. My fiance's family is related to a past US president. I can't remember his name. It's nice to read others stories
I'm not related to anyone famous, that I know of. But both sides of my family are split 50/50 with Irish and Cherokee Indian. My mothers side of the family can be traced back to Ireland, where the family there still has a castle (Which is now a museum).
Kaleeena, it´s a fantastic story.
April, having the castle of your ancestors as a museum, is awesome!
No one famous here, either...but my maternal grandmother stems from Oneida Indian in Wisconsin and I am told on my father's side, that our relatives used to own a piece of land that is now the London Airport. Side note...my mom graduated with Patrick Swayze! Does that count? LOL!
Wow, this is fun!
No one that was ever written down anywhere But I think my Great Grandma was a bad woman cause she up and changed her name one day no papers anything and back then things were different she lived with her fake name till the day she died.
My Dad, who has recently passed away, told me that his mother was related to David Livingstone, the missionary and explorer. I'd love to find out if this is true, and if so, exactly what the connection is.
No famous people that I know of. Good, strong grandparents on my mother's side though. My grandmother is my hero.
I'm stuck being a New England WASP on my Dad's side as I'm directly descended from William Brewster off the Mayflower, and Rebecca Nurse, one of the survivors of the Salem Witch Trials.
I am from Australia and we have a very famous rock band here called Cold Chisel, the lead singer Jimmy Barnes is my cousin by marriage. It is what we in Australia call a Prick Relation....... (Aussies and their Slang). Also on my dad's side of the family Donald Campbell (Land Speed Record Guy) is like a Great Great Uncle or something like that, he was my Gran's Father's Brother........
And I have a famous name..........
Sarah Fergusson.............
Wow, really great stories, Thank you for sharing.
My family has both sides of the coin. My maternal grandmother was a cousin to US President Warren G Hardin. Then, on my dad's side, my grandmother always told us we were kin to Tom Dooley ( yes the one who was hanged for murder and had a song and movie made about him). His sister was my great,great-grandmother and the family never believed he was guilty!
My mom was big into genealogyand I have taken over where she left off. I have traced both sides of the family and found that both of these claims(?) are true. I'm in the process of trying to authenticate another of my paternal grandmother's assertions that she was half Cherokee Indian. Indian records are not easy to get to but I'm trying!
In my immediate family, does it count that my oldest brother was a US Congressman for four terms? We are proud of him.
wow you guys! What a great time I had reading all your amazing stories! ...I hope you're all scrapping them lol ...could make for an interesting challenge too
I just re-read this thread and the stories are quite interesting. I don't have any "famous" people in my family that I know of and nothing turned up in my cousin's husband's research on our family. But I did find out that my ancestors were from Scotland - Orkney Islands to be exact. They came to "Canada" with the original Hudson's Bay Company back in the 1600's and part of the first settlers of North America. I have Aboriginal (americans call them Native) blood in my family as far back as we could find. I believe that it showed that my father's family was Ojibway. On my father's side, our ancestor came in with the Hudson's Bay company in the early 1600's and his wife died in childbirth. They had a wet nurse come in who was an Aboriginal woman and he ended up marrying her. I always wondered were my red hair and freckles came from when all my family had dark brown or black hair. There were also some family that came in with the Selkirk Settlers in what is now the Manitoba area and have ties to Louis Riel - not biological but associated with the Rebels and the uprising challenging the Canadian government. We haven't done any research on my mother's side, but we do know that her family is Cree and my grandmother even spoke a bit of Cree.
Wow Cat,
That is a very interesting family history.
Bev
Too my knowledge I am not related to anyone famous but I've never really thought about going any farther in my family tree than my great grandparents, although now I'm thinking it could be quite interesting.
Oh yes Tina, that counts!
That is so cool
My great-great-great grand-father was Francois Bourassa, a well known figure in Quebec History. Involved in the rebellion of 1837-1838 on the side of the Patriots with the title of Captain of a company of Freres-Chasseurs (Brother-Hunters), he took refuge in United States when he ascertained the failure of the revolt. He was however arrested and incarcerated at the Montreal prison on his return to the country. But not having participated in the clashes against the British Volunteers, he obtained his freedom without a trial some days later. In 1847, he became Captain of the 3rd Battalion of Militia of the county of Chambly, rank that he maintained until 1859.
The 3rd of July 1850, he was elected Municipal Councilman of the Parish of Saint Jean by the Council of the County of Chambly, a function that he filled until 24 July 1854. Partisan of the abolition of the Seignorial System which had become at the time, burdensome and unnecessary, he was elected the 22nd of August 1853 at the same time as the notary Pierre Paul Demaray of St Jean, as one of the delegates to take part in the Convention for the abolition of the Seignorial Rights in the district of Montreal.
A year later, in July 1854, he ran with the support of Louis Joseph Papineau, the Chief Patriot, as the liberal or candidate of the “Reds” as they called the liberals at that time, in the new county of Saint Jean which had just been created following a overhaul of the electoral district. We can mention that the county of Saint Jean had been formed by carving a part of the territory of the counties of Huntingdon and of Chambly. It grouped the parishes of Lacolle, St-Valentin, St-Luc, L’Acadie and St Jean (parish and village) The electoral campaign lasted the whole month of July and the voting occured on several days. It is finally the 1st of August 1854 when Francois Bourassa was declared elected Member of Parliament of the County of Saint Jean in the Parliament of United Canada being carried by a majority of 434 votes over his opponent the notary Tom Robert Jobson of Saint Jean.
Also of note, his father was the first mayor of Ste-Marguerite-de-Blairfindie, Quebec. His hephew was the well knows Henri Bourassa.
This is an interesting convo! I think the person people would be most interested to know that I am related to, is Elvis Presley. My mom was his 6th cousin, so that would make him my 7th cousin.
On my Dads side I am related to Sarah Turnbow who has a famous cabin down south some where I have never been nor do I know any of my dads fam but him
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