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Original poster

Do you have any famous or we'll known Ancestors or members of your family?

73 replies

Buttybach · 12/09/2019 21:29

I am a massive geek when it comes to family history. Who do you think you are is legit my favourite TV show!

I have a few cool branches of my family tree.

Dylan Thomas is my 3rd Cousin x2
I am a huge admirer of his work so this was a pretty amazing discovery.

I am also distantly related to Jemima Nicholas who was the lady from Haverfordwest who stopped the last British Invasion with a pitchfork and bit of feistyness.

On my paternal side my 26th x great grandfather was Sir Alexander Stewart the 4th High Steward of Scotland. 3 generations later the Stewards became the Stewart royal family!

Also later on down the tree Lord Darnley who was married to Mary queen of Scots is one of my many time grandmothers brother.

My 22x Great Grandfather is King Edward the 3rd
And my 23rd x Great Grandmother is Isabella the she wolf of France (which is pretty epic)

You may have seen the Danny Dyer family tree programme.... we both share the same ancestry in Phillipa Plantagenet.
Probably along with a couple of thousand other people. But it's still epic.

Who have you guys discovered that make up your DNA?

OP posts:
Zoidbergonthehalfshell · 13/09/2019 20:36

My ancestors came to the UK to avoid William the Conqueror - so basically I'm descended from a long line of French cowards.

My great grandfather was in possession of a document that gave him ownership of a large chunk of Kent. It's been missing for a couple of generations, so if anybody knows of its whereabouts, I'd quite like it back...

BigFluffyCatWhiskers · 13/09/2019 20:38

Thomas Chippendale is one of my ancestors. He didn't leave me any furniture in his will though. Bastard.

chomalungma · 13/09/2019 20:41

My ancestors came to the UK to avoid William the Conqueror - so basically I'm descended from a long line of French cowards

What a coincedence.....so is one of my ancestors (probably) Grin

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
TeacupDrama · 13/09/2019 20:41

Approximately 1in 88 people with English ancestry are descendents of Edward III ,

my husband's family are related to Lovat Fraser's, Simon Fraser 11th Lord Lovat switched sides to support Bonnie Prince Charles at Culloden, afterwards he was found guilty of treason and beheaded, the last man in UK to be beheaded, his lands around Beauty near Inverness were confiscated and only returned in the nineteenth century, another branch of the family are the "House of Fraser" Frasers

Lonelykettleshed · 13/09/2019 21:01

Ag labs all the way here.

BigFluffyCatWhiskers · 13/09/2019 21:06

I have the most boring ancestry ever. According to my Ancestry DNA test I am 98.9% English and 1.1% Celtic.

I've researched my family tree back to - mostly - the 17th Century and everyone is English. It is so dull. I long for a continental ancestor. I haven't even found the Celtic link yet.

Although it makes engaging with Brexiteers who claim to be 100% English fun as a Remainer. I am yet to find anyone who can prove they are more English than I am! I posed that challenge over a year ago and I'm still waiting.

Wallywobbles · 13/09/2019 21:12

Large swathes of London were given as a dowry. Lots of royals and titled people. Unfortunately of zero financial benefit to me.

tommyshaircut · 13/09/2019 21:14

All the Plantagenet kings, which I thought was very impressive until I read that 1 in 4 people in the uk are direct descendants ! Puts my claim to the throne to perspective!!

SandunesAndRainclouds · 13/09/2019 21:15

I wish I could find out! My paternal grandfather was born in a workhouse with no father recorded on his birth certificate, as was his mother with her father unnamed.

My maternal side are all police officers and farm hands.

DNAwrangler · 13/09/2019 21:18

What is a 26th x great grandfather? As in 26 'greats'?! How do you manage to trace that far back - I am amazed records are good enough! Can you trace all of your 100+ 26x great grandparents?

froggers1 · 13/09/2019 21:20

Macduff is my 32x back grandad..

CigarsofthePharoahs · 13/09/2019 21:22

My most notable ancestor is William Winstanley. He lived the same time as Oliver Cromwell. Apparently Cromwell tried to outlaw Christmas and William Winstanley helped stop him.
He also built the first Eddystone Lighthouse. He was so sure of it's construction he remained on it during a storm and was washed away with most of the lighthouse.

whatashitshow1 · 13/09/2019 21:30

Anyone who's had the ancestry DNA test ( thinking if doing it) what information exactly does it give you? Is it just %s of possible countries of origin ?

clippityclop · 13/09/2019 21:32

Lord Nelson's father is a direct ancestor apparently. He was a vicar. All the rest were 'trade' ie silk weavers, paper hangers etc. There's talk of a link to Huntley and Palmer biscuit folk which may explain a lot.

x2boys · 13/09/2019 21:36

Ah,@tierraJ that's very sad I think the days of men being " punch drunk" are over thankfully the men I nursed in the 90,s and early 00,s are long dead frightening though ?

ImSpeakingFigurativelyOfCourse · 13/09/2019 21:38

A massively distant relative of mine invented the crossword Grin

chomalungma · 13/09/2019 21:39

Ancestry DNA and what it really means

www.theguardian.com/money/2017/nov/04/home-dna-kit-for-130-is-it-worth-it

Keewee27 · 13/09/2019 21:40

I don't think I'm related to anyone particularly famous but my great great grandparents were Polish and left to go to America in the (I think) late 1800s-1900s but somehow they got on the wrong boat and that's the only reason I'm a New Zealander!

BathshebaKnickerStickers · 13/09/2019 21:44

My great grandad was a foundry owner in Scotland and went to work for 4 years at Harland and Wolf from 1908 - 1912....so he helped build the titanic.

As he was management he was invited in the Titanic’s ACTUAL first voyage which was Belfast to Southampton. He didn’t go but I always always point out that it’s wasn’t the titani’s first voyage....

I work every day at my great grandad’s desk. It was all I ever wanted when my aunt died

TheCanyon · 13/09/2019 21:59

My dads recently been doing our family tree, bit tricky when your dm can't/won't say who your dad is. But he's found my step grandads cousins son son was jk rowlings spouse or some pish like that.

My mothers bought me a dna kit for my birthday.

Ratonastick · 13/09/2019 22:09

According to my Mum, we’re direct descendants of one of the regicides of Charles I. Problem is that she doesn’t know which one and our attempts at family history have petered out around 1800.

My Dad’s side goes back into the Eastern European Jewish community so there is no known history . I know we probably come from peasant farmers and serfs, but it would be nice to know. Sadly that’s the story of much of European Jewry.

RiftGibbon · 13/09/2019 22:13

I am distantly related to the composer of 'Colonel Bogey', and a singer from the 80s who is still popular today (and may be on MN) is a cousin.

OccidentalPurist · 13/09/2019 23:02

My great uncle is Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who won the Nobel Prize in the 1930s for discovering Vitimin C. He had his own Google Doodle a few years ago!

ScreamingValenta · 13/09/2019 23:06

I'm descended from Charlemagne. Wink

cheesenpickles · 13/09/2019 23:17

Not one I'm particularly proud of and he was ostracised and very disliked by most of my family but my great uncle was one of Oswald Moseley's heavies. Blush

I'm also related to someone who was on Scott's expedition and Robert Newton who is often named as the person who "invented" the pirate accent. National Speak Like a Pirate Day is in his honour.