Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was surprised to find out that William Bradford, second governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Mayflower passenger, is my 10th great-grandfather. Why it was even more surprising is because it is through my paternal grandmother's line and she was said by her daughters (my aunts) to have known her family history back many generations "all the way to the Bismarck family in Germany". Although she is of German descent and had several German names in her family tree, no link to any Bismarck's have ever turned up. It is another branch of her family that goes back to William Bradford. I doubt that she ever knew she had such a famous ancestor.
I also knew about the Confederate Civil War great-grandfather I had through my mother's line but was surprised to find out I had a Union Civil War great-grandfather on my father's side.
My maternal grandmother used to tell me that her family came on the Mayflower but I never found any familiar names on the manifest and she was a bit of a snob so I discounted it. Come to find out they came over shortly AFTER that on another ship. So, I can't claim any Mayflower ancestry. Darn it. lol
My surname is rather rare, except in two counties in central North Carolina; a filmmaker now living in NYC, but raised in Durham, NC made a documentary ("Family Name") on the history of the name, tracing the black and white (and other) sides of the family as far back as he could in North Carolina (the origins of the name go back to England). This ran on PBS in the late 90s - it has since been released on DVD - and when it first ran, I watched it with several friends. About halfway through, I started to see some cousins of my dad being interviewed. As it progressed, I did find out that a 2nd cousin of my dad's began a painting career during the Harlem Renaissance, though he didn't gain any semblance of fame until a few decades later; this gentleman (Romare Bearden) is now considered one of the foremost African-American artists, specializing in modernism and cubist-influenced collages - of the 20th century. My dad never talked about family history - his branch of the family had fallen (to some degree) from favor, so I was left to unearth a lot of this on my own later.
My surname is rather rare, except in two counties in central North Carolina; a filmmaker now living in NYC, but raised in Durham, NC made a documentary ("Family Name") on the history of the name, tracing the black and white (and other) sides of the family as far back as he could in North Carolina (the origins of the name go back to England).
If you find those kinds of films interesting I can't give enough praise to Moving Midway (2007)
I checked IMDB, wondering if there was a connection to the two, but there isn't. It's simply a common subject, done very well in another film.
As far as my "surprise" ... well, I live a fairly common person kinda life. Work, happy home/family life, nuthin' special in my estimation .. Then I began to look at family history and found that a direct ancestor was a Revolutionary War hero, with a historical marker (I call them hysterical markers ) near the home place where descendants still live. Also, that a several-times great grandmother worked the Underground Railroad Affadilla Deaver - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society
That kind of thing pricked my attention and caused some chagrin. Sure, I'm proud to be a descendant of those people, but it's kind of hard to live up to their accomplishments, having the kind ho-hum, nuthin' special existence in my life Kind of makes me feel like I need to go out and be known for something ..
Genealogy is about discovery so maybe surprises are inevitable.
My dad's family came over from Britain not long ago so it was all within recent memory. We have been in contact with family over there through the years.
My mom on the other hand: we knew next to nothing about her side of the family.
I was surprised to discover that my mom's dad's family is an old New England Puritan family who came to North America as far back as the 1620s. As a result, our family is directly connected to the revolution, the Salem witch trial (not in a good way ), and in one case, the founding of a university. Pretty awesome.
My mom's dad had often said he had some "Indian" blood. I had discounted that until finding that he had a bit of native Canadian on his mother's side.
Plus, my mom's mother's maiden name is unusual. This has helped research and revealed a large annual family reunion that we've yet to have the chance to attend. Maybe this year?
Also found that all my family were in the north during the Civil war. That my maternal line is varied with French, Scottish, English and Swiss German. And many other surprises both large and small.
Got to keep picking away at those brick walls. I burst through one a couple of years ago. Got some new info then came up to the next brick wall. More discoveries await.
There was about two months when I thought first cousins had married.... and then I found out that my great grandmother was not a Spielman, but a Kennell. Great great grandfather had died when she was a baby and Great great grandmother remarried Mr. Spielman...
I have only been able to trace beyond great grandfathers on one side of my mother's family and one side of my father's family. The other two sides go back to Germany, England and Ireland. I do have a great grandfather who was a missionary to the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi and had a Bible of the first five chapters written in the Choctaw language. The Bible is still owned by family members.
Another surprise was to find that my father's favorite actor, John Wayne, is my mother's 10 cousin.
I find it interest that many experts claim if you go bak many are decendents of royal familes in europe. I use to beleieve those sites until my wife found they listed ancestors that she knew were false at the time because of her family having extensive tree handed down thru family bibles.tht si why unless its theu reaserch i really don\'t believe much.
There was about two months when I thought first cousins had married.... and then I found out that my great grandmother was not a Spielman, but a Kennell. Great great grandfather had died when she was a baby and Great great grandmother remarried Mr. Spielman...
There were a lot of first cousin marriages back in the day. In many places the population was so low they had no choice if they wanted to marry and have children. My great grandfather married his mother's first cousin so that would be his first cousin once removed. I've found quite a few in my family but I've never found any evidence of children that were born "flawed" because of it.
I wasn't terribly surprised as my mother talked about family history back generations as if were yesterday. I also didn't have to do much research as there were already family associations in place.
There were a few things that were particularly of interest. Family homes (now museums) being the oldest surviving in both Ct and Mass, a monument to the founder of NH, Quakers having to declare themselves legally dead to avoid hanging, published minister from the 1500's and the youngest graduate of Oxford, and roots back to Scandanavia (don't know why that surprised me), the ususal Indian raids and relation to presidents. It tends to make history all the more fun.
The only one I'm stuck on is my Ggrandmother who was born in Mobile during the war as records were sparce. Can't find her maiden name. I'm in possession of the family bible and there are a lot of old photos in there of relatives who moved west (Chicago, Oregon) some with names and others not unfortunately.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) near the home place where descendants still live. Also, that a several-times great grandmother worked the Underground Railroad 
Kind of makes me feel like I need to go out and be known for something ..
), and in one case, the founding of a university. Pretty awesome.
