Valiant ancestors in the playground!

[Killer Angel]

Stop celebrating the acts of valor made by our characters!
I say: let's make homage to some real people, our ancestors: be them fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, related uncles, and so on.
We won't go into political or historical discussions: exactly like the annual threads we make 'bout Memorial Day: we don't discuss history, we remember our fallen. We remember our brethren.
'cause if one of you got some ancestors that fought during the D-day, it will be totally cool, no matter the side.
Now, my ancestors:

WWI - My great-granfather fought in this battle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vittorio_Veneto). He received a medal for a victorious assault with hand grenades to a machine-gun's nest.

WWII: uncle of my father, fought here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein). Luckily, he was taken prisoners by english.

WWII: another uncle, a medical officier, met is end here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Acqui_Division).

[rs2excelsior]

I had several who fought in the Civil War. One was a company commander in Jackson's Corps, and another went up Cemetery Ridge with Armistead at Gettysburg in the ill-fated "Pickett's Charge." If I remember correctly, both of them were captured by the Yankees (the latter at Gettysburg).

It's not a direct ancestry, but I'm also VERY loosely related to William Wallace.

[CumCaritas]

Not necessarily valiant, but I am a descendant of Bartholomew Roberts.

Yeah, that one.

The real Dread Pirate Roberts.

[Haruki-kun]

My great grandfather on my mom's side fought in the Mexican revolutionary war.

My great grandparents on my dad's side fled Spain to escape the Spanish civil war. Or some similar political situation, I mix up the dates and events.

[Spiryt]

My grandpa's uncle died at Monte Casino. Like many other soldiers from all around the word. :smallfrown:

[AtlanteanTroll]

My dad's dad fought for Italy in the trenches of WWI on the Albanian Front (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans_Campaign_%28World_War_I%29), got the flu of 1918 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic), smoked cigars, worked in a glass factory, and finally developed asthma, but still didn't die of anything lung related.

My mom's maternal granddad was a missionary in China who had to flee with his wife and infant daughter during the Boxer Rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion), before that he taught an adolescent Mao Zedong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong) how to play tennis.

Also, I am directly descended from Giles Corey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Corey). Yes, the one from the Crucible. Not exactly war related, but he certainly died valiantly. For what is more valiant than dieing to protect your family's land without speaking anything more than "more weight" when being crushed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crushing_%28execution%29) to death?

[Aedilred]

My great-grandfather (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_John_Douglas_Guy) won a VC in the Boxer Rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion). At the time he was the only person of his rank ever to have done so, although that apparently became a bit of a millstone later in his career. Later he went on to command Q-ships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ships) in WWI.

My grandfather and all three of his brothers were also in the services, mostly in WWII (RAF, army, Navy and one more in the RAF). My grandfather was in Burma; the next-eldest in North Africa. I recently unearthed some correspondence from one of his mates complaining that their CO had won the DC for some action or other when it should really have gone to my uncle. The third was in submarines; I don't know if he was in any major action, but he used to say later in life that he'd lost his legs to gunfire (they were amputated in his retirement for medical reasons!) The youngest went MIA in the Korean War and is still missing, although it's unlikely he's still alive now, given dates.

Going further back, I had at least two ancestors present at the Battle of Hastings, apparently (although I suspect everyone in the UK is descended from someone there). Another ancestor fought for the royalists in the Civil War and helped hide Charles II when he was fleeing following the defeat.

[Coidzor]

Well, if you go back far enough, I'm about 99% sure that I'm related to the people who sacked Rome before it was an Empire. Then again, I think you just have to be descended from Europeans for some of your ancestors to have sacked Rome. Sometimes multiple sets of ancestors across multiple sackings.

I'm Scottish, so of course I've got a bunch of goat thieves and cattle rustlers who occasionally got into bloodshed over that as I remember how cattle raiding went. Probably nothing valiant there, since I'm not claiming descent from Cúchulainn or anything so grandiose.

More concretely, as I recall there were a few who fought and/or died at Culloden on both sides.

I have a few ancestors who fought in the American Revolution, including one who essentially joined up with the guerillas in the Southern Theater as soon as he got off the boat and who is my grandmother's connection to the DAR.

The Mexican-American and American Civil Wars are kind of blank spots because of getting disowned on at least one side shortly after the Civil War. Given what I know, someone from my lineage was involved in both wars, but I can't recall how, exactly, aside from being descended from people on both sides of the conflict over West Virginia, such as it was.

Had a couple of great-great-uncles and great-uncles, respectively, die in WWI and WWII. I believe all of my family that served in WWII was with the U.S. Army Air Corps and at least one of them was a pilot of a bomber who died the predictable death of a bomber pilot. I should probably get their names before the people who remember the details pass on.

[TheThan]

Not necessarily valiant, but I am a descendant of Bartholomew Roberts.

Yeah, that one.

The real Dread Pirate Roberts.

ARRRG!
Legend has it one of my ancestors was a crewman on the famous Mayflower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower).

Later he turned Caribbean pirate.

[AtlanteanTroll]

ARRRG!
Legend has it one of my ancestors was a crewman on the famous Mayflower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower).

Later he turned Caribbean pirate.

I am directly related to the captain of that ship. You traitor.

[ArlEammon]

Most people in my family were lucky enough not to have been involved in the battlefield, and this luck stretches all the way from present day to the 1880's.

[thorgrim29]

He doesn't like to talk about it, but one of my great-uncles has a bronze star from vietnam, he was a gunship gunner and they apparently mounted a pretty dicey rescue operation.

Other then that I probably have ancestors who participated in the seven year war and the war of 1812 since I come from a few old french Canadian families and I probably have some american loyalist blood....

But to my knowledge I don't have ancestors who participated in either World War or the Korean war though I saw the graves of several people from my home town when I visited Normandy

[Mono Vertigo]

My grandmother escaped the Holocaust. At almost one century old, she still watches today relevant documents and films of the period on TV in the hope of finally learning what was her mother's fate (though as a Polish Jew, we have a reliable idea of what that fate was.). She hid her daughter succesfully as well.
So, I'm the direct descendant of a survivor, and she might have thanked one of your own ancestors by giving an American name to her son after the war.

[ArlEammon]

My grandmother escaped the Holocaust. At almost one century old, she still watches today relevant documents and films of the period on TV in the hope of finally learning what was her mother's fate (though as a Polish Jew, we have a reliable idea of what that fate was.). She hid her daughter succesfully as well.
So, I'm the direct descendant of a survivor, and she might have thanked one of your own ancestors by giving an American name to her son after the war.

Good for your grandmother. She's still squeezing the Grim Reaper's nads.

[Silverbit]

None of mine are as epic as the people above me's: my uncle's uncle was at Monte Cassino, and won a medal there (I'm pretty damn embarrassed now that I can't recall what medal), and I share a family name with some knights originally from Normandy (I suspect we were serfs on their land; my family is about the furthest away from Norman aristocracy it is possible to get). One of them changed sides a lot, and kind of looks like me. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Massey) I've sort of adopted him as an ancestor.

[Topus]

I don't know about soldier ancestors, but I am a descendant, by mother, of Gabriele Maria Piozzi's family.
He wasn't a soldier, he was a charismatic singer-musician who was quite famous in European courts during the XVIII century. He also was harpsicord teacher for the young Marie Antoniette.
So, he wasn't a warrior but he had to fought his own battle. He moved to England and met the widow Hester Thrale Lynch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hester_Thrale) and they fell in love. Their relationship was ostracized by london high society, because she was a noble, from the Salusbury family, while he was a musician, a stranger, and a catholic (and maybe because Samuel Johnson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson) wanted to marry her ;P). Even Hester's daughters where against their relationship. They married, anyway, and they retired from London, going to Brynbella (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brynbella), their residence in Wales. Their story is in Hester's diary, Thraliana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thraliana), in Observations and reflections made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and Germany and Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson (http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdotes_of_Samuel_Johnson).
He is buried in the Curch of Corpus Christi garden in Tremeirchion, but he doesn't have a gravestone, because, you know, he wasn't a noble.

[TheThan]

I am directly related to the captain of that ship. You traitor.

*draws cutlass*
You sure you wanna cross blades with a pirate?

On a more serious note, it’s fascinating that the descendants of people who knew each other almost 400 years ago would bump into each other.

[CumCaritas]

My grandmother escaped the Holocaust. At almost one century old, she still watches today relevant documents and films of the period on TV in the hope of finally learning what was her mother's fate (though as a Polish Jew, we have a reliable idea of what that fate was.). She hid her daughter succesfully as well.
So, I'm the direct descendant of a survivor, and she might have thanked one of your own ancestors by giving an American name to her son after the war.

I don't know where they were, but my great grandfather was one oft he soldiers who liberated Auschwitz.

[Mono Vertigo]

Good for your grandmother. She's still squeezing the Grim Reaper's nads.
She is. :smallamused:

I don't know where they were, but my great grandfather was one oft he soldiers who liberated Auschwitz.
Her mother was in the ghetto of Warsaw, and we presume her life ended there, but other family members ended up in Auschwitz, according to quick research. Thanks to your great grandfather, and hope he didn't get too scarred by what he saw.


Other than that, I'm sure a couple ancestors fought in WWI (probably my grandfather's brother), but we never got to discuss it. I still have an overly rusted rifle from then.

[BWR]

Unless you trust some uncertain geneology and count some old Norwegian kings as ancestors, none of mine did much of anything.
The closest we have is Sterk Arne (strong Arne) who was noted for carrying a lame cow down from the summer pastures in the mountains. Granted, cows then were a bit smaller than most now.

[Tengu_temp]

My great-grandfather fought in Armia Krajowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armia_Krajowa), the Polish anti-Nazi resistance during WW2. After the war was over, the Soviets didn't like it, and he was sentenced to years of heavy labor in a mine.

[Spiryt]

My great-grandfather fought in Armia Krajowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armia_Krajowa), the Polish anti-Nazi resistance during WW2. After the war was over, the Soviets didn't like it, and he was sentenced to years of heavy labor in a mine.

In the same vain, my grandma was mentioning something about her relatives sheltering some not exactly well defined 'resistive' elements in barns etc.

Would have to ask more, but I doubt she knows much more. All obscured in time and history. :/

[Brother Oni]

One grandfather was in the East River Column during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Hong_Kong), primarily passing on messages, but also launching attacks and helping American airmen get back to allied lines (ironically enough, they were passed off to Communists in mainland China before heading back).

My other grandfather went off and joined the Nationalists.

That must have made family reunions awkward.

[Jon_Dahl]

My grandfather fought for about 4 years in the WWII. He was wounded four times. Three times due a schrapnel and once he was shot in the belly. He kept the bullet in a drawer. He was promoted to sergeant.

[Killer Angel]

I'd say that some of you got really cool lineage! :smallsmile:


Well, if you go back far enough, I'm about 99% sure that I'm related to the people who sacked Rome before it was an Empire. Then again, I think you just have to be descended from Europeans for some of your ancestors to have sacked Rome.

The farther i can go back, is maybe in renaissance, some soldier of fortune, but the track is very nebulous and uncertain (the research wasn't done by me, but by my father, and in the end I have no real idea, going so back in time)

[FinnLassie]

I think I'm in the majority when it comes to Finns saying "my grandfather fought against dem Soviets in WW2!". *shrug*

*thinks*

Hrmhm...

Well, my grandmother was a Karelian evacuee. And Karelia's a topic that really scrunches my heart. :smallfrown:

[Maxios]

One of my great-uncles enlisted in WWII to help free Italy. He became a prisoner of war, leading to his family assuming he was dead. This resulted in one of his brothers following his example, enlisting in WWII. His brother eventually helped liberate the camp where he was held captive (though he didn't realize it until my great-uncle returned to America.)

My grandfather was drafted into WWII, though he never was sent out of the country.

[AtlanteanTroll]

*draws cutlass*
You sure you wanna cross blades with a pirate?

On a more serious note, it’s fascinating that the descendants of people who knew each other almost 400 years ago would bump into each other.

I suppose. There's a society for people who are descended from William Bradford (http://www.ripsplace.net/GH_ShowArticle.asp?HID=4&CATID=1|2|3) (as both of my mother's parents are.)

There are a fair number of people in the US who are descended from the original passengers of the Mayflower. I've run into at least three over the summer, but that probably had to do where I was, not the relative common-ness of such lineage. Still, I would not be surprised if there were other descendants of Mayflower folk here.

[Razanir]

Not necessarily valiant, but one of my ancestors punched out Abe Lincoln.

[Coidzor]

Not necessarily valiant, but one of my ancestors punched out Abe Lincoln.

At least if I'm recollecting his wrestling records correctly, that's still pretty impressive? :smallconfused:

[Draconi Redfir]

My Grandfather on my dad's side came to Canada from England as an engineer coming to work on the Avro Arrow, the most advanced military plane of it's time that would still outmatch even some of today's modern planes. Sadly mid-trip it was cancelled, and he only found out after he had made landfall. he never even got to see the thing, but on the bright side he met my grandmother and had three kids, and adopted two more.

One thing's for sure. if The Doctor ever showed up and offered me a free trip, i'd ask him to get my Grandpa and take us back in time to see the plane before it was dismantled:smalltongue:

[ShadowFireLance]

I am a very, very, very long descendent of a King....That was a Knight....
Is that valiant enough?

[rs2excelsior]

I suppose. There's a society for people who are descended from William Bradford (http://www.ripsplace.net/GH_ShowArticle.asp?HID=4&CATID=1|2|3) (as both of my mother's parents are.)

There are a fair number of people in the US who are descended from the original passengers of the Mayflower. I've run into at least three over the summer, but that probably had to do where I was, not the relative common-ness of such lineage. Still, I would not be surprised if there were other descendants of Mayflower folk here.

I haven't met anyone (that I know of) who is descended from someone on the Mayflower here. Are you in New England? 'cause that would make more sense.

On a related note, my ancestry goes back to Jamestown. Some of the original settlers, if I remember correctly.


Not necessarily valiant, but one of my ancestors punched out Abe Lincoln.

I dunno, I would have bought him a drink for that one :smallbiggrin:

[Rockphed]

ARRRG!
Legend has it one of my ancestors was a crewman on the famous Mayflower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower).

Later he turned Caribbean pirate.

Being a pirate and being English were almost synonymous at that time.


*draws cutlass*
You sure you wanna cross blades with a pirate?

On a more serious note, it’s fascinating that the descendants of people who knew each other almost 400 years ago would bump into each other.

I have an ancestor who got into a fight while driving a wagon through Iowa in the 1840s. Some of the people I knew growing up were descended from the dude who he fought.


I suppose. There's a society for people who are descended from William Bradford (http://www.ripsplace.net/GH_ShowArticle.asp?HID=4&CATID=1|2|3) (as both of my mother's parents are.)

There are a fair number of people in the US who are descended from the original passengers of the Mayflower. I've run into at least three over the summer, but that probably had to do where I was, not the relative common-ness of such lineage. Still, I would not be surprised if there were other descendants of Mayflower folk here.

It has been 400 years. That said, I am descended from 3 or 4 people who came over on the Mayflower, some multiple times.

Family lore has it that one of my ancestors owned a circus that performed in Brazil and France.

Alternatively, I have several ancestors who fled the American Revolution to Canada. Actually, I think that aside from my grandfathers, who served in the army during WWII, I don't have any martial ancestry for about 200 years. And neither grandfather ever even left the states.

[Hbgplayer]

I'm related to about half the people who came over on the Mayflower, according to the genelogical research my Great-grandma on my mom's side.
On the other side of the family, my paternal grandpa's older brother (+20 years) fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily, then was in the first wave invading mainland Italy. He didn't like talking about it, but about 2 years before he passed (2009, at 91 years), he talked about his experiance while we were up there over vacation.
And per research done by my aunt, my dad's mom is very distantly related to the British Royal family, and if it weren't for the Catholics and Mormons in that side of the family, would be somewhere about 1000th in line for the throne.

[Killer Angel]

Not necessarily valiant, but one of my ancestors punched out Abe Lincoln.

Was he already a vampires hunter? :smalltongue:
Anyway, that's certainly unusual.


Being a pirate and being English were almost synonymous at that time.

Francis Drake would disagree.


One of my great-uncles enlisted in WWII to help free Italy. He became a prisoner of war, leading to his family assuming he was dead. This resulted in one of his brothers following his example, enlisting in WWII. His brother eventually helped liberate the camp where he was held captive


In a movie, that would be unbelievable. :smallwink:

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/617/762/7c7.jpg[/QUOTE]

[Dihan]

On one half I'm descended from a long line of Welsh farmers. The other side is filled of a lot of English people who were all sent to Australia for being naughty - I'm from one of the less criminal people.

[Hbgplayer]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/617/762/7c7.jpg

RIP Tom Clancy :smallfrown:

[Rockphed]

Francis Drake would disagree.

Drake was the biggest pirate of them all! He was knighted for absconding with a ship full of loot from the Spanish, and then proceeded to obliterate the Spanish fleet.

Take Roanoke, for instance. The resupply ship was delayed not because of storm or enemy action, but because its crew saw a juicy bit of piracy to engage in.

[Sabeki]

My Great-Grandpa fought in WWI and my Grandpa fought in Vietnam. Both came out alive.
Going further back, my ancestors were raging vikings (Scandinavian side) or fierce barbarians (Celtic side.) so there's that.

[ForzaFiori]

In terms of military history, my family hasn't done alot that I know of - My grandfather was an MP in the Pacific in WW2, and a great uncle was on a ship in Vietnam but never really got onshore. Probably have a few family members that I don't know that fought for Italy in WW1 and 2, probably some much much more distant ones that did the same for England and Germany.

I do have a few other fun stories. My paternal grandmother comes from old money in NJ. Turns out they got it by selling their cranberry farms. To Ocean Spray. Their juice is made on land my family owned ~150 years ago.

My mom's family has a very non-military history. Her father comes from a long line of southern dirt farmers/moonshiners. During the Revolution and the Civil war,rather than fighting, the family packed up their still, locked their door, and fled to Florida. :smalltongue: both times when they got back their house hadn't even been raided. They also had a family feud shortly before the Revolution - now in Appalachia you have the Bolt family, and in the low country the Boldt. Same family, just half split and went further inland over some problem or another.

Supposedly (this i'm not sure about entirely. Like even less than normal family history) my dad's family, the Fiori's (the ones from Italy, actually), also had a feud - supposedly all families with the last name Fiori or Fiore are descended from that original family that split in half.

[Mono Vertigo]

It's pretty amazing that, once, not so long ago, our ancestors might have been on opposite sides, actively wanting each other dead, or, more likely, vastly ignorant of each other's existence.
And, today, their descendants share the same language and hobby in spite of very different origins, and the worst that might happen are manic fits whenever Kenders or alignments are debated. :smallbiggrin:
It's just a great thing about humanity today, the grand-grandchildren of pirates and soldiers and peasants and nobles all chatting together, and maybe even playing together.

[Spiryt]

It's just a great thing about humanity today, the grand-grandchildren of pirates and soldiers and peasants and nobles all chatting together, and maybe even playing together.

Children of pirates and soldiers and nobles and peasants were always playing together and drinking together, and brawling drunk together and so on.

And chitchatting about silly things.

And people today still want each other dead, there's innumerable amount of conflicts.

And children from rich and privileged family still won't even look at the children from some humble family.

'Good ol times' is pure myth, but so is 'great new world today'. :smallwink:

[Killer Angel]

Drake was the biggest pirate of them all! He was knighted for absconding with a ship full of loot from the Spanish, and then proceeded to obliterate the Spanish fleet.


Well, I suppose that the difference between pirates and corsairs, depended by the side of the watcher... :smallwink:

[Spiryt]

Also, I'm pretty amazed by knowledge about some ancestors here.

Sadly, I don't think I have a chance of tracing mine anywhere from before ~ 1850. :smallfrown: :smallbiggrin:

[Mono Vertigo]

Children of pirates and soldiers and nobles and peasants were always playing together and drinking together, and brawling drunk together and so on.

And chitchatting about silly things.
Difference is, we're from all around the world. Distance, time and language were huge barriers before.

And people today still want each other dead, there's innumerable amount of conflicts.

And children from rich and privileged family still won't even look at the children from some humble family.
Well yeah, of course, but I figured this wasn't the best place to talk about it. I thought the topic could be summed up by "hey, my ancestors did X and Y", and I marveled that in spite of our ancestors being so different in origins and goals, we still ended up at the same "place" today.


'Good ol times' is pure myth, but so is 'great new world today'. :smallwink:
The world is nowhere near great today, but the particular instance I described is. It's a tiny bit better than the past. It's one good thing among the rest, that couldn't exist before the Internet.


Well, thank you, that'll teach me about forgetting for even 5 minutes why I'm misanthropic. Bad stuff overwhelms the good, I already knew that, but gods forbid I find reason to rejoice in the small good I find. :smallamused:

[Brother Oni]

Also, I'm pretty amazed by knowledge about some ancestors here.

Sadly, I don't think I have a chance of tracing mine anywhere from before ~ 1850. :smallfrown: :smallbiggrin:

Depends on the culture. I've got a family tree/legal document that traces back my family along the male line to its origin as one of the sons of the Emperor (18th or 20th I think).

[Eulalios]

My dad and both uncles were in WW II; my dad fought the islands in the Pacific, coordinated with yakuza to govern occupied Japan, continued on to Korea as combat infantry, made a commission, transferred to M.I. and spent the 50s tracking down KGB in Manhattan. Somewhere he picked up a bronze star medal, with a couple more little stars on the hanger.

On the other hand, I come from a very long lineage of women who bore children. <<-- FTW.

[druid91]

Well, I don't know if it's exactly valiant

But I'm related to the McCarthy of "McCarthyism" fame.

So, my family partly inspired the creation of fallout and Paranoia?

I dunno. Not much I can do to spin that one into a positive.

[tomandtish]

For a historical ancestor, Arthur Middleton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Middleton)is my 7th great grandfather on the paternal side (and Middleton is my middle name so make appropriate jokes here).


Modern social culturewise, according to my grandmother (who is big into geneology) the Mannings (Peyton and Eli) are apparently my 6th cousins. She gets very excited about this. My response is "yes, that and $150 will get me a ticket to one of their games". Never met them and they have no clue who we are.

[Topus]

Also, I'm pretty amazed by knowledge about some ancestors here.

Sadly, I don't think I have a chance of tracing mine anywhere from before ~ 1850. :smallfrown: :smallbiggrin:

You can easily trace back until there's a Civil Registry. Italy, as a modern nation, exists only from 1861, before that we can probably find information on the registry of local churches.
Usually you can trace your line back to middle '700 or '600, if you are lucky, then will pop some fire disaster, or sack that destroyed the former registries.
It's often nothing more than a name and a humble profession like: Carlo Rossetti, born 1780, miller, but it's sweet to know.
I have quite good informations about my musician ancestor because there are a lot of written documents about him.

[AtlanteanTroll]

I haven't met anyone (that I know of) who is descended from someone on the Mayflower here. Are you in New England? 'cause that would make more sense.

On a related note, my ancestry goes back to Jamestown. Some of the original settlers, if I remember correctly.
No, actually. I'm in the Midwest. A large portion of my mom's family is in New England though. (As Rockphed points out below, it has been 400 years since the boat landed, cut me some slack. :smallwink:)


It has been 400 years. That said, I am descended from 3 or 4 people who came over on the Mayflower, some multiple times.
Multiple times? Interesting. I guess I hadn't realized it maid multiple voyages. I guess it's the first one that gets all the glory.=


I'm related to about half the people who came over on the Mayflower, according to the genelogical research my Great-grandma on my mom's side.
Cool! ... And kind of squick, depending on when you became related to those people. Although both of my maternal grandparents can trace back to William Bradford. (12 generations on is okay, right?)

[KaNT]

My grandfather on mother's side received 3 silver stars serving as a radio operator in the European theatre of WWII with the US Army.

[ItWasFutile]

I am related to Alvin York (http://burnpit.legion.org/node/1631) my marriage on by father's side.

[Kneenibble]

My Scottish ancestors stole livestock from the English professionally.

[ForzaFiori]

You can easily trace back until there's a Civil Registry. Italy, as a modern nation, exists only from 1861, before that we can probably find information on the registry of local churches.
Usually you can trace your line back to middle '700 or '600, if you are lucky, then will pop some fire disaster, or sack that destroyed the former registries.
It's often nothing more than a name and a humble profession like: Carlo Rossetti, born 1780, miller, but it's sweet to know.
I have quite good informations about my musician ancestor because there are a lot of written documents about him.

I now want to go find where my family is from in Italy and see how far back I can go down the lines. Most people in America (unless you have some really famous ancestor or are a immigrant/1st generation American) stop tracing their lineage after they got here. They can tell you all about what their family's done since that though lol.

[Hbgplayer]

Cool! ... And kind of squick, depending on when you became related to those people. Although both of my maternal grandparents can trace back to William Bradford. (12 generations on is okay, right?)

Well, I'm related to at least two families, maybe three (Carrs, Hilliards...?) so I don't think that it was too bad for awhile. :smalltongue:

[Rockphed]

Multiple times? Interesting. I guess I hadn't realized it maid multiple voyages. I guess it's the first one that gets all the glory.=

I meant that I could trace descent to the same person multiple ways, like the aforementioned maternal grandparents being 12th cousins. Although in my case the worst bit is that my mother's grandparents were 3rd cousins. And would have known this if they had spent even a few minutes comparing ancestors.

[tomandtish]

I meant that I could trace descent to the same person multiple ways, like the aforementioned maternal grandparents being 12th cousins. Although in my case the worst bit is that my mother's grandparents were 3rd cousins. And would have known this if they had spent even a few minutes comparing ancestors.

That's not anything to worry about. It means (assuming full 3rd cousins and not 1/2 third cousins) that they shared 1 set of the same great great grandparents. Assuming there was no intentional effort to further strengthen the connection in future generations, genetics are safe.

How one feels about it is always going to be subjective, but learning about it after the fact doesn't seem like it bother me that much.

There's a possibility that my wife and I are 7th half cousins on the maternal side. Unfortunately because of the circumstances, we'll probably never be able to determine one way or the other.

[Aedilred]

Unfortunately I can't cite sources, because I forget these things, but I'm pretty sure I recently saw a study which determined that, provided it isn't done generation after generation, breeding between cousins is actually an evolutionary advantage.

I know first-cousin marriage has a stigma attached (because often it is repeated generation after generation), but squick about third cousins? Nah. By that point you're sufficiently distantly related it barely even counts.

In any case, thanks to maths, and the pool of actual ancestors available being much smaller than the theoretical potential number of ancestors, everyone is the product of cousin-mating on some level or other.

[Topus]

In any case, thanks to maths, and the pool of actual ancestors available being much smaller than the theoretical potential number of ancestors, everyone is the product of cousin-mating on some level or other.

Yes, if we think about the theoretical potential number of ancestors in 1.000 years, assuming 4 generations in a century, we have something like 1.099.511.627.776 ancestors. Of course it's an impossible number, and that's because we have a lot of common ancestors.
In this study (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001555) we can see that europeans are all cousins, stating that a pair of modern Europeans living in neighboring populations share around 2–12 genetic common ancestors from the last 1,500 years.

[Eulalios]

In any case, thanks to maths, and the pool of actual ancestors available being much smaller than the theoretical potential number of ancestors, everyone is the product of cousin-mating on some level or other.

Here (http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/07/charlemagnes-dna-and-our-universal-royalty/) is an article that suggests all currently living people of Euro descent share a common set of ancestors sometime in the Renaissance. Here's an article on U.S. Presidents' descent (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2183858/All-presidents-bar-directly-descended-medieval-English-king.html) from King John Lackland.

EDIT: fixed arithmetic and summary of article

[Topus]

Here (http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/07/charlemagnes-dna-and-our-universal-royalty/) is an article that suggests all currently living people of Euro descent share a common set of ancestors sometime in the Renaissance.

Chang model is very useful but strictly mathematical and it has to be integrated with the genetic model by Raplh and Coop (the one i linked before and that is also linked in Charlemagne's article). The evidence is that the common ancestors depends on the geography. For example italians and spanish share less common ancestors than other popoulations, until 2.500 years ago. This is probably due to the fact that Germanic and Slavic migrations affected other less populated regions more than italian and spanish peninsula.

[paddyfool]

WW2: My grandfather had wanted to join the navy before the war, but found he was prone to seasickness... so he ended up in the fleet air arm, as aircraft carriers don't move in the water too much. He therefore spent the war flying an outdated torpedo bomber biplane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Swordfish). Against all odds, he survived.

[Cuthalion]

I meant that I could trace descent to the same person multiple ways, like the aforementioned maternal grandparents being 12th cousins. Although in my case the worst bit is that my mother's grandparents were 3rd cousins. And would have known this if they had spent even a few minutes comparing ancestors.

Just imagine Aragorn and Arwen's kid's genealogy.

[Equinox]

My grandfather was a Captain in the Red Army in WWII. Taken prisoner, he organized a massive jailbreak, and led a group of escaped prisoners through swampland to rejoin the Russians. And, that's how he met my grandmother...

[AtlanteanTroll]

Well, I'm related to at least two families, maybe three (Carrs, Hilliards...?) so I don't think that it was too bad for awhile. :smalltongue:
Woo, shared ancestry!


I meant that I could trace descent to the same person multiple ways, like the aforementioned maternal grandparents being 12th cousins. Although in my case the worst bit is that my mother's grandparents were 3rd cousins. And would have known this if they had spent even a few minutes comparing ancestors.
Oh, I see. That is a quite a bit more squick, but as has been pointed out, isn't really too bad.

[Haru_no_Hikaru]

Ooh ooh! My mom got really into tracing our ancestry awhile back, let's see how much I can remember!

I definitely remember that I'm descended from English royalty, Mom having traced back to some knights and then "Oh hey, this one's a prince!" and so on. Even to Prince John of the Disney Robin Hood movie's fame.
I cant actually remember any notables besides that and on another side being related to elves. The only reason I remember that is my young 11 year old self immediately reached up to see if her ears were pointy :smallsigh:
followed by younger sisters doing the same.
I would remember more, but it was a couple years ago :smallfrown:

[snoopy13a]

I cant actually remember any notables besides that and on another side being related to elves. The only reason I remember that is my young 11 year old self immediately reached up to see if her ears were pointy :smallsigh:
followed by younger sisters doing the same.


Elves? I'm descended from hobbits myself :smalltongue: .

Actually, I don't know of any famous ancestors (outside of Farmer Maggot--famous for his mushrooms and his large dogs).

[Tridax]

I know my grand-grandfather was a revolutionary during the foundation of USSR, taking off the crosses from orthodox churches and stuff. His son was a watch dog of some sort, hunting those who attempted to escape from gulags in Syberia.

...Later generations all look like some soviet mafia in the family albums.

[Topus]

But now you live in Russia or your family has moved?

[Tridax]

But now you live in Russia or your family has moved?

We live in Russia, though sometimes we travel to other countries. It's damn cold here, but everyone's used to it :]

[t209]

For me, we, my dad's side, did came to Burma from China in 1890s after it conquest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Burmese_War) by English. Last time my great grandfather remembered was that they were deploying cannons in his village.
Lots of occupation as refugee, from Japanese Occupation (hid away in Rural areas) to Civil War (though we were settled in mostly stable Rangoon but I heard that they had to run away from bago). They even almost took my grandmother, who looked Caucasian features from her possibly North Asian father's (don't know about his origin). Now, we had printing business and my relatives in Bago has tea and internet business.
We may not fight, but we ran away from it.

[Shyftir]

Both grandfathers fought in WW2: Mom's side in the Pacific hoping Islands. Dad's side was flatfooted so he didn't drop with the 101st at D-Day, instead he was artillery/motor pool.

I had an ancestor who fought in the War of 1812, both sides of the American Civil War, several who walked the Trail of Tears.

My mother beat Ovarian cancer and my father is nearing the end of a 2 year fight with Pancreatic cancer (which is usually deadly in under 6 months.)

[Proud Tortoise]

My ancestors are boring and never accomplished much... None of them fought in any wars or did anything particularly memorable.

[rs2excelsior]

My mother beat Ovarian cancer and my father is nearing the end of a 2 year fight with Pancreatic cancer (which is usually deadly in under 6 months.)

Kudos to both of them. That takes as much courage and strength as anything else that's been posted here.

[Topus]

We may not fight, but we ran away from it.
And it's something to be not ashamed of. It's the most common condition in human history, and after all we all descend mostly from running survivors rather than unchained warriors.

[Mono Vertigo]

My mother beat Ovarian cancer and my father is nearing the end of a 2 year fight with Pancreatic cancer (which is usually deadly in under 6 months.)
Go them. Frak cancer.


We may not fight, but we ran away from it.
There's a difference between cowardice and smartness. This is the latter. Running away is underrated.

[Wardog]

My grandfathers were a doctor and a photographer in the British Army in WWII, and several other relatives were involved in various civilian or non-combat roles; although that probably isn't really of great interest to anyone not closely related ("I had relatives involved in somone way in WWII" probably applies to almost everyone in Europe, and many many people from the rest of the world).

On my mother's side, we've managed to trace our family tree back a few hundred years, but everyone was pretty humble (farmers, milkmen, village clerks, etc). However, given the barts of the country they were from (East Anglia, Western Scotland, and the Borders), they almost certainly have vikings, reavers, and the like among their ancestors.

My father's family have been much harder to trace, as they were refugees from religious/racial persecution in what was then the Russian Empire, so it will probably beimpossible to find the records. (Plus the family had earlier changed their name in order to fit in better).

[Blueiji]

My grandfather was a navigator on a B-24 bomber during WWII.

Here's a picture of his crew, he's the one on the top right.
http://i44.tinypic.com/qs2jdd.png

[JoshL]

My grandfather served during the Normandy invasion. He said he was a "communications officer", but had swords from both Germany and Japan. He didn't talk about what he did, but being on both fronts sort of indicates there was something he wasn't saying (or didn't want to talk about, which I get).

Lots of Wallaces on my mother's side, which connects to some pretty interesting history.

Me, I'm not so badass as all of that.

[Mono Vertigo]

My grandfather was a navigator on a B-24 bomber during WWII.

Here's a picture of his crew, he's the one on the top right.
http://i44.tinypic.com/qs2jdd.png
You've got pictures of your grandfather from that era? Lucky! I'm a sucker for old documents. Wish I had more. :smallsmile:

[Rockphed]

You've got pictures of your grandfather from that era? Lucky! I'm a sucker for old documents. Wish I had more. :smallsmile:

One of my prized possessions is a copy of the journal my grandfather kept while being an itinerant preacher in Hawaii at the start of world war two.

[McStabbington]

I don't know how valiant most of my ancestors were . . . from what I've heard, they mostly seem to be poor farmers. That being said, I do have three ancestors I can say have some small claim to fame at valiance.

My maternal grandfather served with the 81st Infantry Division during World War II as a combat engineer. He was involved in the fighting at Anguar and Pelileu before having a ringside seat to the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

My father worked for the Dept. of Energy as a specialist dealing with radioactive materials. The high point was when he was part of the team that recovered Kosmos 954 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_954), a Russian spy satellite that went down over Canada in the 70's. In point of fact, looking at the picture of the guys in the snow suits, I can't say for certain, but the guy in the far left looks an awful lot like my dad.

My maternal great grandfather trained horses for the Czar of Russia. According to the story, when the Revolution happened, he was left high and dry in St. Petersburg, so he took to his heels and walked out of Russia into Poland, and from there back to England.

[DmElminster]

I just joined the forums and I am looking forward to chatting with you all. I primarily play 2E D@D and I have a few questions for you all. I also like to hear ideas for my new DM position. So check out my treads and hopefully you all can help me get my campaign off the ground. Thanks (by the way I don't know if I am just blind or not but couldn't figure out how to start a new tread so I just replied to the last one and changed the title. Help me please?) :)

[Talar]

My paternal grandfather grew up in nowadays Croatia, and towards the end of WW2 was conscripted into the German army (his unit quickly deserted and buried the tank they were with in '45 I believe). My maternal grandfather served on the U.S.S. Endecott in WW2. I always found it funny that my grandpas fought on opposite sides of the war.

Oh, and I had a great uncle killed outside of Moscow by way of being hit with an artillery shell. And not so valiant but in a similar vein I lost some family members to Tito putting them in concentration camps after WW2. And I have no idea further back than that really.

[Zrak]

I'm descended from a guy tied for being the first man ever arrested in America. He came on the Mayflower, fought a duel with another indentured servant, and they both spend a night in the stocks after nobody was seriously injured. Then he stole a lot of pigs.

[WolfLordBran]

On my dad's side I have: a town and castle in Italy with the same name as my surname. that the town was named after them and we've tracked it as far back as the Roman Empire. My grandfather was a cook and quartermaster on the ship that brought General MacArthur to Japan in WW2.

On my mom's side: Depending on what year's map you look at, I'm either German or Austrian. We don't know too much about the history of that side.

[Ravens_cry]

My mother. She was able to leave my biological father with me and two of my sisters (my oldest sister was about to leave home any way) in secret, flying half way across the province with us, despite not having being part of the workforce for over a decade before.
My mum's pretty bad-ass.:smallsmile:

[Telonius]

Between my adoptive family and what little I've been able to piece together about my biological family, my ancestors have run away from no fewer than three major wars, been exiled at least twice (once for horse thievery), and been involved in several adulterous scandals (the most recent of which resulted in my birth).

On the other hand, my Great-Great-Grandfather was in the same unit as Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders (though he wasn't assigned to the bunch he took with him to San Juan Hill), my Great-Uncle drove an ammunition truck at Normandy, and my Uncle flew search-and-rescue missions in Vietnam.

[Vedhin]

I'm a direct descendant of Patrick Henry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Henry).

[D20ragon]

Fairly direct descendant of Robert E. Lee.
Yup.

[Killer Angel]

Fairly direct descendant of Robert E. Lee.
Yup.

wow.
By any chance, are you also a reenactor?

[D20ragon]

No, though I've often considered it.

[Mrc.]

Descendant of Martin Frobisher and William Scoresby, both on my father's side. Don't know much about my mothers side but my dad's father has researched our family tree back to around the 1100's.

[GPuzzle]

A relative of mine (very loosely) was the President of Chile back in the late 1800s.

Here in Brazil, it seems we haven't actually done anything important yet.

[lio45]

Fairly direct descendant of Robert E. Lee.
Yup.

Wow, that's quite cool.

In my case my paternal grandpa's dad fought most of WWI (Verdun among other battles) and we have a number of medals from him currently in the care of my grandpa (who's nearing 90 and still in good health). Remains to be seen who will get to conserve them, but I'm probably the best candidate among all grandkids (i.e. the most interested one). I know that he spent the rest of his post-WWI life quite ill from having been gased by the Germans, I don't have the exact details, my dad might know.

During WWII my paternal grandpa was a teen (in occupied France) and my maternal grandpa a married farmer in his early 30 with kids (in Canada). So, no bravery there, but at least they lived to have kids and grandkids. :)

I also recall from family records an ancestor serving in the French Navy in the 1700s who took part in the Brazil campaign (~1710s)... That's about it.

[lio45]

He doesn't like to talk about it, but one of my great-uncles has a bronze star from vietnam, he was a gunship gunner and they apparently mounted a pretty dicey rescue operation.

Other then that I probably have ancestors who participated in the seven year war and the war of 1812 since I come from a few old french Canadian families and I probably have some american loyalist blood....

But to my knowledge I don't have ancestors who participated in either World War or the Korean war though I saw the graves of several people from my home town when I visited Normandy

Wow, what are the odds that someone from my hometown would be on this forum! ;)

FWIW, for a couple years I've been in the Army reserves as a Second Lieutenant in the Sherb Hussars (manège militaire sur la rue William, au bout de la rue Court, dans le bas du Vieux Nord) and back then we had a retired honorary full colonel, his name was Gould (I just looked him up : http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories/1771:t.-garry-gould/ I wonder if he's still alive... he was pretty old back then, in the early 2000s) and every time we met this gentleman (at special events) he liked to tell us rookie officers his WWII stories as a 1LT in the unit for basically the whole campaign from D-Day to V-Day.

Among other things that I recall, the only Captain among the Sherbrooke dead listed on the plaque on the angel statue in the terre-plein au milieu de la côte King, en face de la Mare aux Diables, was the padre of their unit... they lost him one day then a few days later found his body with the throat slit. There are also a couple Lieutenants listed on it that were his close buddies, though I don't recall the exact names. It was very special to be able to chat personally with such a witness of history.

[GPuzzle]

I also recall from family records an ancestor serving in the French Navy in the 1700s who took part in the Brazil campaign (~1710s)... That's about it.

From what I remember, France did two things in Brazil: try to take over the northeastern area by launching attacks against it, and fight a war over the control of the lobsters in Brazilian waters in the same region.

In both, France lost to Brazil, which is a mess, frankly.

[lio45]

From what I remember, France did two things in Brazil: try to take over the northeastern area by launching attacks against it, and fight a war over the control of the lobsters in Brazilian waters in the same region.

In both, France lost to Brazil, which is a mess, frankly.

Yep, but from a personal family perspective these failed attempts didn't amount to exactly nothing; this one Navy ancestor actually ended up with a Brazilian wife, the one and only Brazilian in my family tree :)

I'd need to ask my father about it when I get the chance, I'm curious to know in what context a Navy sailor can end up getting in bed with the "enemy" (really in quotation marks).

[GPuzzle]

I'd need to ask my father about it when I get the chance, I'm curious to know in what context a Navy sailor can end up getting in bed with the "enemy" (really in quotation marks).

It can vary between the "Romeo and Juliet" (falling in love with the ones people related to you hate) and "Barbarian Pillage" (pillage, rape and murder!) type of relationship.

Then again, I have no idea.

[No brains]

What resources exist that could allow me to figure out my ancestors, valiant or villainous?

[Eldan]

It's complicated, really, especially if you want to go back more than a few centuries. We have a very distant cousin (like, six generations away or so) who showed up once, saying that he was trying to trace back the tree as a hobby and he had spent years on it.

Ask older relatives to tell you as many names as possible. Try to find out if anyone already started a family tree. Then start hitting libraries and any administrations you can. Try finding birth and marriage certificates, those are usually available for newer generations. For anything older, well, try churches. That's where my father found a lot. At least in Europe, the churches tended to write down births, marriages and new immigrants. He got our tree back to around the 16th century, I think, when he ran into a blind end where the church just wrote down "New guy named X moved into town", with no explanation of where he came from.

[Jeff the Green]

My great uncle was in the Army Corps of Engineers during Vietnam. Apparently he saw a whole lot of ****ed up stuff over there, and he alternates between never wanting to talk about it and considering writing a memoir. We're trying to push him toward the latter. He's a really cool guy, and knowing his personality and his writing ability it could be really good.

[TuggyNE]

My great uncle was in the Army Corps of Engineers during Vietnam. Apparently he saw a whole lot of ****ed up stuff over there, and he alternates between never wanting to talk about it and considering writing a memoir.

Yeah, my paternal grandfather was an Engineer during WWII, but since he spent a few months as a POW in '45 he came down pretty thoroughly on the side of "never wanting to talk about it".

[Lord_Burch]

Yeah, my paternal grandfather was an Engineer during WWII, but since he spent a few months as a POW in '45 he came down pretty thoroughly on the side of "never wanting to talk about it".

Same here, basically. My uncle fought in WW2 (long story), and he was flying a bomber mission when he was shot down over Germany. He was a POW for a few months, and he never really talked about it. At least, not that I've heard. It left him in pretty poor health, and he died a couple years ago.

[rs2excelsior]

No, though I've often considered it.

Nice. As someone with 5 1/2 years of reenacting experience, definitely give it a go! It's a fun hobby.

I don't know where you're from, but if you're ever at a battle out here in the east, look up the 18th Virginia Infantry, Company B :smallsmile:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

According to my brother, our cousin discovered that on our mother's side we're descended from the legendary Irish king Brian Boru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Boru)!

[♠Spade♠]

Despite most of my family having resided in North Carolina for the past century and a half or so, I have some ancestors who were CSA officers in Georgia state troops, including one who led a cavalry regiment. Then my father's family line can be traced back (by marriage, not blood) to Charlemagne. Finally, while not heroic, Eugene Stetson (the hat guy) is in my family tree.

[ForzaFiori]

I recently found out that while none of my family fought in the Civil War, the town where my stepdad's family is from, along with the surrounding towns, were burned during Sherman's March. The only building left standing in the town was the church. Apparently, the 5 oldest families in the town (my stepdad's is one of them) still have a huge family reunion there, but it's on the other side of the state so we don't go to it.

[Legato Endless]

My Grandfather was born on December 7th and fought in WW2. Pearl Harbor was never his favorite birthday story, though it was the most common one his grandchildren asked about.

[Glodart]

My grand uncle was among the last militia for WWII but arrived there and it was done, talk about luck!
Except that, I got nothing spectacular in my family, except the fact that they are all good people

[Roxxy]

Great-Grandpa - World War 2, US Navy

Grandpa - Korea and Vietnam, US Air Force

Great-Uncles (three) - Korea, US Marine Corps

Grandpa - Korea, US Army

Stepdad - Classified (special forces), US Army

There were also people in World War 1 and some more people in World War 2, but I don't know who.

[Asta Kask]

I am descended from Ingela Gathenhielm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingela_Gathenhielm). Her husband was a Swedish privateer during the Great Nordic War, and apparently she was active in the family business. Then he died of tuberculosis and she married another man, but she was buried next to Lars Gathenhielm.

And being Swedish, it is highly probable that some of my ancestors fought the perfiduous Danes at some point or another. Remember Älvsborg's Ransom! :smallwink:

[CoffeeIncluded]

There isn't much on my family, as most of my ancestors either immigrated through Ellis Island in the early 1900s or were murdered in the Holocaust (I'm a Polish-Russian-possibly-Ukranian-I-don't-know-what-the-borders-were-then Jew on both sides of the family). But a great grand-uncle of mine went from sleeping on a park bench after immigrating from Poland in his teens to owning a hotel in New York City that still exists today! Sadly, he sold it in the 1950s. I also had a distant great aunt on my mother's side who bluffed her way out of being captured by Nazis. According to my mom, they had just taken over her city and were busy rounding up Jews, and she was stopped on the street. The only reason they let her go were that she could speak perfectly fluent German and was apparently a damn good bluffer.

She was on the next boat to the United States.

[Jayngfet]

My Grandfather was a vet who fought on Juno Beach during the D-Day landings. He got out intact, but the government screwed him out of a whole bunch of payment over it. The unpleasant issues that come with that kind of thing go without saying, but he kept in reasonably good strength and spirits almost until the end. You'd be amazed at the force a wiry old man can throw into a couple of punches.

[Killer Angel]

My Grandfather was a vet who fought on Juno Beach during the D-Day landings. He got out intact, but the government screwed him out of a whole bunch of payment over it. The unpleasant issues that come with that kind of thing go without saying, but he kept in reasonably good strength and spirits almost until the end. You'd be amazed at the force a wiry old man can throw into a couple of punches.

in the 70th anniversary of D-day, it's the right moment to honor his memory, and the memories of all the soldiers who fought that day. On both sides.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Through my paternal grandmother's family, I'm related to William Clark.

The explorer. Of the duo Lewis and Clark.

[Irk]

I am a direct descendant of both the Medici family (yes, THE Medici) and the Higginson family.

EDIT: these are really interesting to read through! I find it fascinating to learn about other's family history.

[KerfuffleMach2]

I still need to look into it, but I may also be related to the guy that the city of Burlingame, California is named after.

Also, my mom was on a big genealogy kick last year, and was able to trace, on my father's side, an almost direct male line all the way back to the 1500's.

Also, on my mother's side, I'm connected to the Dietz lantern company. They made lanterns for old trains, among other things.

My mom is also a distant cousin of Wynonna Judd.