Family History Shockers

[WildSassenach]

I've been researching my genealogy for the last ten years or so. Having revealed a few skeletons in the long lost closet, what are the strangest or most shocking things you've found lurking in yours?

Perhaps, but seems unlikely as my grandad was the youngest so unlikely he would have has nephews/nieces older than him but possible if it were the oldest siblings children. But then why wouldn't their names be known by anyone?

My Nan's cousin was a sprinter in the 1948 Olympics and then went on to kill her husband. Her sister had various children adopted before she married. I've been in contact with one of them. None of the family wanted anything to do with him.

And?

You must know that the Journos who post for stories often start threads like this - "tell me your story" - Did you namechange before starting this? If not, why not?

My ancestor who lived to be over 100 (quite an achievement for a farm labourer in 1700/1800s) was married four times. After his first wife died in their 80s he went on to marry three more times in his late 80s and 90s.

No idea, it was just a possibility that occurred to me. I've seen a lot of families where there are mysterious 'children' which turn out to be grandchildren or even nieces and nephews which are brought into the family who are all brought up together without ever really knowing their relationships to one another. It seems to have been surprisingly common around the turn of the 20th century, and also post war.

My grandmother had an illegitimate baby in the early 1920s, before the birth of my mum and her siblings. However, in her case she kept the baby, who was my aunt, but her paternal parentage was always a mystery. The children were just brought up as siblings and the fact that my aunt was only a half sister was never mentioned.

DHs great grandparents emigrated to America. They took two children with them but left Dhs grandad and one brother behind with relatives. Went on to have more children but never sent for the two remaining children or even visited them ever again.

Awful, awful, but rumours abound of Aunts getting rid of unwanted babies. Incidentally my Dad was left under a bed to die after a difficult birth, he was number 8, so not much wanted, he (obviously) survived, and here we are.

I’ve found the newspaper article about my relative and the court case, was my cousin and was 1970s, potentially he might still be alive, no idea.

The following extract is from "The Times" of Wednesday 19 March 1975
"Detectives were interviewing a man last night after an attempt to kidnap
the Dowager Lady Devonport early yesterday from her home in Sussex.
"Lady Devonport, widow of the second Viscount and mother of the present
peer, was awakened by a man who climbed a ladder into her first floor
bedroom at Peasmarsh Place, Peasmarsh, near Rye, Sussex, at 1:30 am.
He ordered her to put on heavy clothing over her nightdress and then
marched her downstairs and 20 yards across lawns and gardens.
"At Church Lane, which runs by the house, Lady Devonport waved at a
police car which was on its way tp Peasmarsh Place after an alarm call.
"As police officers ran forward to help, her captor pushed her in the face
and escaped across the fields.
"Officers, some with dofs, gave chase. Later a man went to Rye police
station. Lady Devonport, who is believed to be in her sixties, had minor
cuts and bruises.
"The man, who is believed to have set off an alarm when he broke into the
20-room house, was wearing dark clothing and had a stocking mask."

The crime was committed by Peter John Mathews, aged 36, a local farmer
who was apparently in serious financial difficulties. He was found guilty
of kidnapping Lady Devonport at the Central Criminal Court on 5
December 1975 and was sentenced to 15 years.

That’s a dramatic one, YanTanTethera!

When looking into DH's family I discovered that one of his gt-grandfathers had been 'lost at sea'…..but in fact no, he mysteriously reappeared in Australia, remarried (twice) bigamously and pops up in various Australian records.
Meanwhile the wife left behind, who DH knew as an old lady, was quite a character who also remarried twice more - also technically bigamously, though as far as she knew her husband was missing, presumed dead - however, marriage No. 3 was to a man who'd been the lodger in her house while she was with husband No. 2. It was fun unravelling all of that, and I’m not sure even now that we’ve quite got to the bottom of it all.

My grandparents on my mothers side

Both where nasty,bitter,narcissistic arseholes who had their favourite children (my cousins) and the hated ones (my brothers and i)

She died just after I'd had my second baby and he died about 18 months after that (can't say I was that bothered)

It all came out that she'd had a baby out of wedlock and the baby was adopted at birth

She went on to meet and marry my grandfather and had 4 dds (my mother being the first with him)

Then I found out they both shagged other people (both male and female) and that could explain why my mother and 2 sisters are blonde with blue eyes but another sister has auburn hair and Hazel eyes

They dumped my mother in a 'mental' home because she was taking up a bed and grandmother wanted to take in a female 'lodger'

My aunt had been pregnant with twins when her boyfriend threw her down the stairs and she went into labour,8 weeks early while her other sister was shagging the boyfriend and she lost a twin almost as soon as she was born (the other survived)

Grandmother finally allowed her to stay with them to get away from the boyfriend but used aunt as a slave and abused her at an unbelievably vulnerable time in her life

They carried on shagging anyone until I was almost an adult while abusing their dds until the day they died

Sling in more than one abortion,swinging groups and sex acts that would shock people that live today and it gets murky for the times they lived in

They where evil fuckers

Me and my ExH have the same great great grandfather. I only found that out years after the divorce.

An ancestor married when she was about 20 and brought a baby to be baptised 12 years later. The vicar had written the name of the 'husband' in the register but then crossed it out and wrote more at the bottom of the page. Apparently the 'husband' was a bigamist, so it wasn't a legal marriage. A few months after the baptism she married a widower and the baby is always shown with his surname so I think she was his housekeeper and partner. What I want to know is how soon after her non-marriage she found out, and how, and whether she took it fairly calmly or was floored by it.

One of her daughters, not in my direct line, died a suspicious death, with the coroner's jurors not having enough evidence to bring a charge against her partner.

One of my great-grandfathers was a bigamist.

He did a runner when my grandma was still a toddler. All my grandma ever knew was that he'd "maybe" gone to America. He never got in touch again.
After she died, my dad got into genealogy and discovered, that yes, he had gone to America. He'd married another lady and they'd had a daughter together.

We all found that last fact quite sad. My grandma was very much a girls girl, and despite being an only child, always had very close female friendships. She'd have loved to have had a half sister.

This half sister never had any children of her own, so there was never anyone else to reach out to. According to records, she died about 15 years before my grandma did.

They may have died at birth/stillbirth etc, so often these babies wouldn’t even be registered.

A really severe and shocking case of child neglect/abuse perpetrated by my 2x great uncle. It was described as the worst the judge had seen. Even back then (1930s) there was an angry crowd outside the court. We never knew why the family was pretty much NC with him as it was never spoken of by his sister (my great grandmother) presumably due to shame. He just sort of disappeared from family photos and my mum knew he was a "wrong un" but that was it. We found lots of newspaper coverage and also evidence of the little boy subsequently being taken into care. He (the child) went to the other side of the country to work in domestic service a few years later. I hope he had a good life, so far I haven't found much more about what happened to him after that.

My DH’s great grandfather murdered his wife and left their toddler in the bed with the body. It was quite a shocking case and the man was a nasty drunk. My DH is the most placid, mild mannered person so I was pretty surprised to find this so close in his lineage.

My great grandma married a 39yr old when she was 15. They were together until he died and by all accounts had a good relationship 🙃. Neither my dad or his dad knew the age gap was so large.

I've traced quite a few lines on Ancestry through other trees with linked ancestors.
Using this method, apparently I'm a direct descendant of King John, Charlemagne, Edward Seymour, Hereward the Wake, Lady Godiva, William the Conqueror and Harald Bluetooth. I mean, they can't all be right can they?! 😂

💔@PissedOffNeighbour22

Grandmother born out of wedlock - late 1890s so a shocker!

I’ve got royal ancestors which I had guessed (as posh family) but nice to confirm. Had some ancestors executed. I am a republican BTW.

Most shocking was a slave trader and plantation owner in the Caribbean.

Found out my father had been in prison - he did go to prison when I was a teen, but this was before I was born.

I also strongly suspect my grandfather organised a hit on my grandmother. She didn’t die but was badly injured. Someone was charged but got away with it.

We are cousins @WildSassenach!

Ooh, exciting! @NapoleonOfNottingHill Are you English?

I did my husbands family tree last year. His G.G Grandmother had a toddler who died after being dropped on their head by and older sibling.

On the other side of his family, his G.Grandad's Dad died in a steel factory accident, G.Grandad was born about a month after. Poor lady being widowed then having a baby to look after a month later.

One G.G.G Granny had about 20 children, most died in infancy and she must have run out of names as they started being repeated. There were 3 baby James' over about 20 years that all died as babies.

Got 2 instances of men marrying the sister of their first wives after they had died. And having kids with both sisters. Also got a woman who mysteriously managed to have 2 children a number of years after her husband/their father died. Far too long ago to have been the result of frozen embryos!

I'm only three generations away from the workhouse, but I am quite old 😁.

My great grandmother was in jail for a month for stealing, from her husband. One petticoat and one knife and fork.

She was having an affair with the lodger, husband caught her and beat her up. She ran away, hence the theft.

After that, there are records of four different marriages by her but no divorces And just one death. And the death was recorded as suicide. He jumped off a viaduct with his hands tied behind his back 🤔.

I'm oddly somewhat proud of her. She was clearly a woman who was determined to get what she and she clearly didn't want shit.

My family tree is a hot mess on all sides. I honestly couldn't choose the most shocking thing, it would take days to write it all out - prostitution, bigamy, illegitimacy and adoption, some very questionable age gaps, men living double lives, families/children abandoned, alcoholism, debt, even a murder (although that wasnt a direct ancestor). You name it, I've found it!