Out of Left Field Family Surprises? I got one. (surname, father, trace)

[censusdata]

My wife got flagged as having a 1st cousin and she had never heard of them. I signed up for Ancestry for 1 month so I could look at their family tree.... there are no shared ancestors at all. Both of her grandmas lived in the same town as my wife's grandpa... hmm. Might have just caused someone an awkward family reunion. She looks just like my wife's known first cousins on that side too.

[Biker53]

censusdata, I think you already have your answer.

[historyfan]

Originally Posted by censusdata

My wife got flagged as having a 1st cousin and she had never heard of them. I signed up for Ancestry for 1 month so I could look at their family tree.... there are no shared ancestors at all. Both of her grandmas lived in the same town as my wife's grandpa... hmm. Might have just caused someone an awkward family reunion. She looks just like my wife's known first cousins on that side too.

Oh boy.

[censusdata]

I really would like to know what happened but the unknown cousin hasn't replied to my messages yet lol. I wonder if Ancestry.com does refunds if the results cause emotional harm?

I'm having a few 4th cousins that I don't match trees with. Hopefully it helps me with some dead ends. Thankfully wrong gggg grandparents don't cause families to split.

[censusdata]

I just found out something odd. We knew great grandfather was born out of wedlock and my grandma (who is quite a gossip) said he told her he had no idea who his father was. But his birth certificate names the father and it's who the rumors were always about. Someone had to know to put that on the death certificate. The situation is bad: his father married the oldest sister and had children with her, after she died he had 3 children out of wedlock by 2 of her other sisters. On their death certificates they also listed the same father. I had never heard that he had siblings in the same situation. The three of them had a keep a terrible secret for their whole lives to not bring more shame to their family.

[historyfan]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I just found out something odd. We knew great grandfather was born out of wedlock and my grandma (who is quite a gossip) said he told her he had no idea who his father was. But his birth certificate names the father and it's who the rumors were always about. Someone had to know to put that on the death certificate. The situation is bad: his father married the oldest sister and had children with her, after she died he had 3 children out of wedlock by 2 of her other sisters. On their death certificates they also listed the same father. I had never heard that he had siblings in the same situation. The three of them had a keep a terrible secret for their whole lives to not bring more shame to their family.

Was there a will probated for his father? It could be interesting.

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

I really found a bunch of surprises when I started shaking the family tree. I knew some members of the family (2 branches) had been here since the 1630's, and that one of my ancestors was in Rodger's Rangers, and then had raised his own brigade of militia, and another ancestor that was in the New York militia and fought at Washington Heights. Then at the tender age of 65, he volunteered to fight in the War of 1812. That guy must have really hated the British.
But probably the most shocking was when I found out one of my Great-grandmother's family, (father's side) had an ancestor that joined the local militia in February, 1775, and was one of the 400 militia that fought at the bridge in the battle of Lexington-Concord on 19 April, 1775!!!


He was then part of the Patriot Line that put Boston under siege, which is the time period of Bunker Hill.


That same line we were able to trace back to 1621, and a land grant in Plymouth Colony!
I haven't found out if that ancestor was on the Mayflower yet, but if not, he was there within 6 months of it landing.


I had a cousin (many times removed) Fletcher Webster, who was a colonel in the Civil War and died at the 2nd battle of Bull Run. His brother had died in combat during the Mexican American War.


2 of my cousins from my father's side were in the Indiana Calvary, captured, and died at Andersonville.
My Great-Great Grandfather's, one was in the Wisconsin Volunteers, and one was a Major in the Union Army Engineers, and lost both feet to frostbite.


The GG-Grandfather from Wisconsin later served during the Indian Wars in Montana, and after discharge, brought his family here.
I also found out that his line came from England, and lived in Oliver Cromwell's hometown. So looking at the rest of the family, it seems my family was probably involved in the British Civil war as well.


This genealogy stuff is addicting!!

My GG Grandfather was also in the Wisconsin Volunteers, he served 2 years and was deployed to Tennessee, I forget the battles he was in and the exact years. Afterwords they moved to Eastern Kansas.

[manhattangirl]

Originally Posted by TracySam

My Mom's grandmother (my great-grandmother, who died just before I was born) had told my Mom that she had been disowned and disinherited by her own father (my 2nd great grandfather) for marrying a Catholic alcoholic. She had these stories of how my 2nd great grandfather was this upstanding citizen, and how her bad marriage choice had caused a blot on the family's good reputation.


Well, when I researched my 2nd great grandfather, it turns out he had a pretty chaotic life full of periods of apparent stability and periods of really bad impulsivity (my theory is that he was bipolar).


Here's what I found about my "upstanding" 2nd great grandfather:
--His first daughter was born before he married my 2nd great grandmother, and was likely from another woman (because my 2nd great grandmother would have only been 14, and she and my 2nd great grandfather didn't marry until she was 17). Three years is pretty long to wait for a shotgun wedding.
--After he and his wife had their first few kids, he picked up the whole family and moved to the next state right after a 17 year old neighbor girl had a baby, named the baby after him, and named him as the father in the records.
--The oldest daughter, who had been born illegitimately, had a baby out of wedlock in 1892 and my 2nd great grandparents raised the baby as their own daughter, and as the younger sister of the oldest daughter. (The truth of the baby's parentage was in the baptism records--I guess they couldn't lie to the minister even thought they lied to everyone else).
--While raising his family, working a steady job in a skilled trade, and apparently being a member of the church and local community groups, my 2nd great-grandfather had a "night job" as a burglar. He was burglarizing warehouses where meat was stored, and selling the meat he stole during the day. Eventually, a warehouse owner decided to set a trap, and strung up a bunch of strings tied to pots and pans. My 2nd great-grandfather got tangled up and made quite a racket. Employees of the warehouse came running, and shot him as he was running away. He was caught and arrested after he appeared at a local hospital seeking medical attention. I found all that in newspapers, but can't find out about his trial and sentence.
--A few years later, he dropped his long-time trade in the iron industry after his wife died, and decided he wanted to be in "show business." He started off working as a theater manager, and eventually bought several theaters in Philadelphia, which held vaudeville stage shows and later showed silent movies. This is where my great-grandmother, his daughter, met her ne'er-do-well husband.
--A few years later, he sold everything and decided to "move to the country." He got a job as caretaker of a park outside of Bridgeton NJ, which came with a house. He "accidentally" shot himself in the stomach one day, and walked a few miles to the hospital, refusing offers of a ride from several people. He died in the hospital that night.


So it turns out that my great grandmother decided it was better to just tell people she had been disowned by an uptight snobby father, rather then tell the truth, which was that he was probably a mentally-ill, unpredictable character with a sketchy history.

Wow! You can't make this stuff up. Your great granny was very wise to keep that to herself but I am glad that you found out the truth. Our ancestors are who they are (were).

[BeauCharles]

Update to my original post starting this thread - I signed up for an account with Fold3.com which has a treasure trove of military records from all sides. Turns out my Confederate great-grandfather was captured as a Rebel deserter! He was taken to Louisville, gave the oath of allegiance to the United States and was released north of the Ohio River. I then found US military pensions records for him that showed he worked for the quarter master of the US Volunteers in Franklin, TN. So apparently he switched sides! So basically, my grandpa wasn't wrong when he said his dad was in the Union Army, he just didn't know the whole story (and I can see how his dad really wouldn't want to let him know how he came to be in the Union Army). What an interesting, convoluted tale that 20 year old farmer from Alabama had!

Anyone ever get the feeling while looking through records of ancestors that you're kind of "snooping" in their private business? lol

[censusdata]

I've been in contact with two distant cousins since I amped up my genealogy search and it's really helped me get a better grasp on some family stories, plus find tons of pictures I'd never seen. I think I already mentioned the rumor that my grandpa had a violent relative that made him help dispose of a murder victim. Well one of my 2nd cousins said that her grandfather - my grandfather's brother in law - was an evil sheriff who would murder people himself and then had his young sons help hid the bodies. He was a serial killer with a badge. I'm wondering if my grandpa wasn't the one who had to take part but the names got mixed up.

Through my new contacts I've also learned that my grandfather wasn't just a coal miner but an upper middle class mine owner who was widely known for his charity and Christian virtue.