Exciting genealogical finds!

[MythicalMarian]

No royalty in mine (and isn't it amazing how many trees there are on the Internet that are descended from Royalty - yeah, right!)

I have no real claims to fame other than the Canadian artist Luke Orton Lindoe who is my third cousin once removed. As I never knew he existed, bless him, until I was researching my Lindoes, I can't say I opened the champagne - but I'm sure he was a lovely guy (he died quite recently).

As for exciting - I have two Jacobite rebels who were hanged drawn and quartered, and I love them both. Not famous, not lords, not even Scottish, not even Catholic - but they are mine and I honour their memories.

[DBCoup]

Robert Louis Stevenson and I have Balfour ancestry in common. He is probably my most well-known "cousin".

[chelleb]

My husband is very very very distantly related to Abraham Lincoln and Tom Hanks.

[josie gardner]

On a trip to malta to trace my fathers side of the tree, I went around the parish churches in valletta and vittoriosa. The parish priest told me that my g g g grandmother was a member of an aristocratic family . Her name was virginie testaferrata cassar desajn.
Do I look aristocratic? NO. I am bent double and can't lift my arm up to give a wave, royal or otherwise.
On my mothers side, mining stock. OH and a grandmother with a very fast bike. spent ages on her.
Its all a mixed bag and I love it. Incidentally I am still only at 1811. Sheesh as my father would say.
josie

[junedye64]

I can't say I've found any famous people among my ancestors but when I was looking in the parish registers in Cleobury Mortimer Salop for one of my Jones, the entry above was:

1813 Bonaparte. In the year of our Lord 15 Jan 1813, was baptized by me, Missionary of the congregation of Mawley, Louis Bonaparte, born yesterday, son of Lucien Bonaparte, born at Ajaccio in Corsica, French Senator, prisoner of war in England, residing at present at Thorngrove, Worcestershire, and of Mary Alexandrine Charlotte Louise Lawrence , of Bleschamps, born at Calais in France, his lawful wife.
Godfather: Charles Jules Lawrence Lucien Bonaparte, brother to the infant.
Godmother: Charlotte Bonaparte, sister of the same infant, born at St.Maximin, in Provence in France.

My Elizabeth Jones was the next to be baptised in that font on 21 Feb 1813.
Thats my claim to fame.

June

[aeracura]

I don't care who they were or what they did as long as I can find it... I have a few cool finds so far....

* My 29th great grandfather was Edgar Burchys aka Edgar of the Hood (haha gotta love that nickname) and he was slain at the battle of Stanford Bridge, near York.

* My 27th great grandfather was Matheus De-Birches who was esquire to Knight of Withington (Matheus de-Havesage) Military Service ABT 1198 on Crusade to recover Holy Sepulcher.

* My 19th great grandmother died of the plague in the 1400's along with 4 of her children, I'm decended from the only survivor.

* my 11th great grandfather William Birche was supposedly a chaplain to King Edward the VI. His Daughter in law, my 10th Great granny was an Ann Parr supposedly a cousin to Katherine Parr and her son and grandson both became witch hunters!!!

* and my 52nd great grandfather was supposedly King Hengist one of the old English Kings and founder of Kent....

But whilst it's great conversation, I'm just as fascinated with the coal miners and the pony boys...

~ jo

[kathmcg]

Hi all

Interesting thread, this!

I only started a few weeks ago but was lucky enough to have an unusual name to trace. I managed to link my family tree into the published Plantaganet Blood Royal, and calculated that William the Conqueror is my 31-greats grandfather.

Also found an ancestor William Methwold who was an officer in the East India Company in its early days. He managed to secure peace with the Portuguese in the east, and tried to get Bombay ceded to the British (it finally happened after his death). There's a character William Methwold in Salman Rushdie's book, Midnight's Children. This character is supposedly a descendant of the real William Methwold! I find it cool that my ancestor inspired a Booker-prize winning author.

[Ramy]

Well, hello cousin (kathymcg)~!! I too am a direct descendant of William the Conqueror.
A couple of years ago I stumbled across a goldmine with the Tillotson (Tilston, De Tilston) side of the family;
I am a direct desendant of Charlemagne, Edward the Bald, King Duncan I King of Scotland (the one killed by MacBeth), his son Malcom and his son Alexander I of Scotland, Henry I of England, Rollo Rognvaldson, William Longsword, Richard I Duke of Normandy, Richard II of Normandy, Robert II Duke of Normandy, William I King of England, Henry I King of England, Edward "Longshanks" Plantagenet and one of his wives; Margueritte (Princess of France) Capet De Valois. There's more but I can't think of them right now.
Now THAT was exciting!! Let me know if there are any cousins out there!!!! I'd love to hear from you!!

[Spangle]

No kings or queens, just ordinary folks, some with exceptional skills. My Nan's cousin was the internationally famed concert pianist, Irene Kohler and my 6 X Great Grandmother, Rosie Hendricks, was the sister of Uriah Hendricks, who was the leader of the American copper industry, providing the US Navy with metals for use in shipbuilding during the Civil War. He apparently also invented the copper boiler, as an alternative to the previously-used aluminium, which was prone to cracking.

Also on that side we had Sir Duncan Morris Oppenheim, former chair of British American Tobaccos. Journalists feature in the family too, with at least two current distant family members writing for the Times.

Best of all though is a cousin of mine who has inherited the Kohler musical talent and is an internationally acclaimed duettist. I'm SO jealous!

[suedent]

My 6 x Gt Grandfather was Daniel Gumb from Linkinhorne in Cornwall. He was a stone cutter by trade but also a self taught mathematician, astronomer and philosopher.... he was a little eccentric to say the least and made his home in a cave on Bodmin Moor where he raised his family. The entrance to the cave still stands, above the door he carved the Pythagoras Theorem, and nearby is a rock carved with his initials and the date of 1735.
Brenda

You are lucky, as a child I won a Local History competition run by Liskeard Library. One of the questions was about Daniel. Every time I go to Cheesewring I visit his cave (you can still just about make out the carvings) and have always been fascinated by him.

Sue