Hints of intrigue...?

[Sheleen]

Clare started a thread of 'Exciting genealogical finds' which made me think of this...

My grandfather refused to talk to me of his family history - his own past was an open book, but he refused to talk about his parents or grandparents - and it has caused so many problems for me (have not yet gotten pre-great-great-grandfather, and no clues as to any history beyond).
It made me want so badly to kow what he was trying to hide... I was intrigued.
Not finding any parentage or marriage for my great-great-grandfather, Edmund Clevett, I am even more curious now than when I first started on this life-long 'hobby'.
This is all my mothers side of the family... now, my fathers' family is just as bad - though very open as to the past and their history, they just keep changing their names - why?

All this hinting of intrigue, and whiffs of scandal are all very good - IF anyone could find out the truth.... but it's all just hints and whiffs and nothing substantial.

Because of my grandfathers lack of wanting to share, I discovered a great deal about his parents myself - much helped by the 'Directory of Cities in England & Wales' I recieved from the Archive CD Books Project (I don't care if that's an advertisement - these CD's ar invaluable to my research)... the details of which I posted here.

It's not always the 'straight and hard' facts that push me on and forwards to research - it's the mysteries that surround the figures in my familys' history that make me want to learn more. And just a hint of intrigue makes me curious to know more - even if there really is nothing more to know. I just wish I could discover more, and find it a bit easier going sometines :)

[johnadey]

It's all part of the fun of our hobby. Stuck and going nowhere for maybe a year then suddenly 1 little piece of information helps you add a whole generation or more to the family tree.

John

[clarefmshaw]

I agree that the 'hints of intrigue' are often really compelling!

For example, two of my own family 'intrigues' are: that my grandmother was sent away from her family in Brighton to work as a cook in Guildford. We always wondered why, but it turned out that this was done to 'break up' my grandmother's relationship with her first cousin (apparently marriage between first cousins was disapproved of in Roman Catholic circles at the time).

Secondly, this same grandmother always told us as children that our family had "Spanish" origins. I could never work this out as, on her side of the family, there didn't seem to be anything other than a history of relentless Irish catholicism, mixed with seafaring. It's only been in recent years of family history research that the 'Spanish origins' have manifested themselves as, in fact, my grandmother's mother coming from a Romany family! My great-grandmother's name was Jane Pannell and she seems to have come from a long line of Sussex/Surrey hawkers and tinkers. My grandmother was, presumably, rather horrified that this information might come to light. But, I suppose, it's just indicative of the class system at the time - it was bad enough being Irish, but being a gypsy as well.....!!!!

Clare

[joette]

With the release of the 1851 Census online at Scotland's People I was able to "solve" a family intrigue of which I wasn't aware & throw up another.
The lack of Parents name on my GGGrandfather's death certificate-a neighbour reported the Death & the fact his wife died just weeks before the 1861 Census had me floundering.
Well I discovered her on the Census as head/unmarried with one jane graham10(her maiden name.)James Cooper(8) my Grandfather's middle name & Thomas Waddell(2).No sign of my GGrandfather & I still haven't found him unless he lied about his place of birth& or was married to somebody else at the time!
So now the 1881 Census makes sense & the family stories are true.My GGrandfather was living with his sister before his marriage-she just had a different Father.She lied about her legitamcy on her Marriage certificate or I cannot find any marriages for her Mother.She classed her brother as a"boarder" The same is true for James Cooper who in 1861 was James Waddell.He marries in 1873 & gives his Mother as Ann Waddell formerly Cooper & maiden name Graham.His younger brother William is with him on the 1881 & again he states he is a Boarder.James is killed by the jib of a crane falling on him & fracturing his skull in 1888 .
My Grandfather was named after him & was always led to believe that he was a nice man so there was no rift in the family.Yet why describe a family member as a boarder?
I wondered if the James Cooper on the 1881 was an Uncle to my Grandfather & that his brotherJames Waddell had disappeared without a trace until the 1851 census made it all clear.

[Ledganteast]

My grandmother is the same,the extent of what she has told me is that her father was from Dublin,barely anything else.

I was actually informed by a distant relative in the uk only recently that she [my grandmother] had a sister,she had never mentioned her.


Apparently according to a non relative the secret sister was quite strange,wore ancient looking clothing and scarves and died young,which might explain the silence!

"It's not always the 'straight and hard' facts that push me on and forwards to research - it's the mysteries that surround the figures in my familys' history that make me want to learn more."

I agree 101% with that!

Family secrets/skeletons are the very best bits.




Clare started a thread of 'Exciting genealogical finds' which made me think of this...

My grandfather refused to talk to me of his family history - his own past was an open book, but he refused to talk about his parents or grandparents - and it has caused so many problems for me (have not yet gotten pre-great-great-grandfather, and no clues as to any history beyond).
It made me want so badly to kow what he was trying to hide... I was intrigued.
Not finding any parentage or marriage for my great-great-grandfather, Edmund Clevett, I am even more curious now than when I first started on this life-long 'hobby'.
This is all my mothers side of the family... now, my fathers' family is just as bad - though very open as to the past and their history, they just keep changing their names - why?

All this hinting of intrigue, and whiffs of scandal are all very good - IF anyone could find out the truth.... but it's all just hints and whiffs and nothing substantial.

Because of my grandfathers lack of wanting to share, I discovered a great deal about his parents myself - much helped by the 'Directory of Cities in England & Wales' I recieved from the Archive CD Books Project (I don't care if that's an advertisement - these CD's ar invaluable to my research)... the details of which I posted here.

It's not always the 'straight and hard' facts that push me on and forwards to research - it's the mysteries that surround the figures in my familys' history that make me want to learn more. And just a hint of intrigue makes me curious to know more - even if there really is nothing more to know. I just wish I could discover more, and find it a bit easier going sometines :)