Genealogy & Family Stories
 

My aunt Rita is the family genealogist and historian. She has spent her entire life compiling our family tree, as well as collecting historic documents, letters, photographs, stories, etc. She compiles them into large tomes as well as CD-ROMs and ships them out to the whole family. I love her for it, because they are filled with amazing stories that I never would have known if it weren't for her.

This thread is for you to share any genealogical information you'd care to, as well as favorite family stories. I'll do some of the former later, when I get home (that's where the books are), but I thought I'd get the ball rolling with the latter. I briefly told the story of how my great-grandfather got rich flying bat [censored] from Mexico to Hawaii for use as fertilizer on the sugar cane plantations, before losing it all with the advent of artificial fertilizers (that was the inspiration for this thread), so I'll start with another one.

My father tells this story, and it's one of my favorites. When he was a young boy, something like 8 or 10 (this would be around 1940, give or take), my grandfather would take him and his brother to the Army-Navy game every year. My grandfather was a Captain in the Navy (in fact he commanded a ship in WWII), so of course he would go to the game in full regalia.

It happened that my grandfather had just purchased a brand new shiney black sedan, a Packard if I remember the story correctly, and had polished it up in preparation for driving to the game. They lived outside of DC, and the game was in Philly, I think, so it was a bit of a drive. So granddad packed up the boys in the back of the Packard and hit the road.

He pulled onto the highway behind a long line of shiney black sedans, flanked by police motorcycle escort. One of the motorcycle cops dropped back and maneuvered up to the driver's window. Granddad rolls down the window and puts his arm on the edge as he leans out to hear what the cop is trying to say to him.

The cop sees the full dress uniform, the sleeve and shoulder full of gold braid and the chest full of ribbons and medals. He doesn't say a word, and waves my grandfather up to the back of the line of cars, and he and the other motorcycle cop in the back dropped back to flank his car.

And that's how my dad got to ride to the Army-Navy game in the Presidential Motorcade.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

My family name, duh, is Fox. But it's a made-up name. The first member of my family to come from the old country (Poland) came over in 1918. Illiterate, he signed an "X" at Ellis Island. They needed a real name for the records, so the easiest thing to teach him was "Fox," as he already knew the "x."

Or so the story goes, as my grandmother told it to me. She came over with my father, who was 20 months at the time, in 1921. My dad worked two jobs and became a lawyer, going to St. John's and NYU at night. But before that he was in New Guinea during WWII, Army Corps of Engineers. He is the least competent engineer on the face of the earth. Or maybe second, behind me. Yet he was first seargeant, and entertained General MacArthur by showing his group's prowess in transferring a tank from the beach onto MacArthur's transportation ship. Oops, they just missed, dropping the tank into the sea. Somehow we won the war anyway.

My dad was going to go to officer's school when he reached up to get his clothes off a shelf and heard a ripping sound. Turns out it was his arms, some mysterious jungle skin disease. Back to the states and six weeks at Letterman General at the Presidio and by that time the war was over.

My dad's still going strong at 87, plays golf twice a week (came within six shots of his age last week), has a girlfriend ("She's young," he told me, but I found out she was married for 57 years the first time she was married), stayed out 'til 2AM on New Year's, drives (not well, but I made him give up his Cadillac for a small Ford), and tells me he's not afraid of dying, it's how he's going to die that scares him.

His official birthday is November 18. But his mom remembered (and his aunt confirmed) that he was born the day before a Jewish holiday. We went back and checked and it turns out it was October 18.

I have pictures of both of my parents' families where my dad and mom's mothers are babies in the lap of their mothers; one taken in Poland, the other in Russia. I figure they're from the 1890s. My mom always said her family must have had money, otherwise they couldn't have afforded the photograph, but I don't know if that's the case.

My mom's birthday is coming up, I'm going to go talk to her, as I always do. I didn't talk to her enough when she was alive. I doubt this makes up for it, but who knows.

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My great great....grandfather is Andrew Jackson, the guy on the $20 bill.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

Awesome story boychik [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

I'm at work right now, so I don't really have time for a long detailed description of my genealogy. But, there are a few interesting facts about my family.

I'm related to the guy who started Harrah's Casinos. He is my great great great uncle or something like that. And no, I haven't received a dime from it, and I really don't expect to either.

The other side of my family is old money from Philadelphia. In fact, I am directly related to Ben Franklin, as a female member of my family was one of his mistresses and had an illegitimate child with him. Also, my great great... grandfather was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There are two circular fountains in front of the museum, and one is dedicated to him. My great grandmother started the Garden Club of America, too.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

FYI, http://www.ellisisland.org/ is a free site that you can do some research on your family name, you can even pull up a picture of the ship your ancestors came over on, if it is in the manifests.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

In theory I am related to both (horrible) Harrison predidents. The geneogly on that side of the family is horrible and messy, so there's no way to confirm this for sure.

On my mom's side I'm related to Daniel Boone's second wife, which is mostly amusing because most people don't realize he really existed.

I've yammered often about my grandfathers (who are big deals in their fields, but not to anybody else) so I won't anymore.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

i just wish everyone was more like andy fox

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Eh, I'm related through my maternal grandmother to the last emperor of China. She was some sort of princess in China (before communism obv.) and is a descendant of the last emperor's sibling (sister? brother?). So I'm probably like 16,452 in line for the throne when we overthrow the oppressors and take back my kingdom!

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A few other notes, in my attempt to be more like Andy.

When the relative on my mother's side was at Ellis Island, his name was Nells Nelson. He was told that there were too many Nelsons and changed his last name to Ostrom.

My grandfather was born two months early and apparently kept alive in a shoe box in a warming oven. (there's no way this is exactly true, and it's now accepted that somebody was [censored] before marriage, but I would buy that he was still premature).

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My dad's side is Pennsylvania Dutch that goes back to the first Americans. We're certified Mayflower Descendants. My grandpa is the genealogist and goes to their conventions and such. That side has people who fought in the revolutionary war, the civil war (at Gettysburg), and of course WW2.

My mom's side comes primarily from Irish potato famine immigrants. They came over to the east coast and couldn't find work and were treated like scum so kept moving west and wound up in Oregon where they were farmers. My great grandpa became the only western distributor of this new invention the X-ray machine and became really rich and bought a big estate. He also was a drunk and a womanizer and wound up getting divorced several times (a huge scandal in the devout Catholic community), had mistresses until he was very old, and wound up blowing all his fortune so his kids had nothing.

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My family is all Italian; one of my grandparents and most of my great-grandparents were born in Italy and immigrated to the NYC/NJ area.

One funny story: while I was in college, I was working for a state legislator when the issue of renewing the authorization for New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation came up. It's an independent commission that investigates corruption, organized crime, etc. In the materials they sent us, there was a list of some of the Commission's past investigation targets; they included a big-time Mafia guy named Gerardo "Jerry" Catena. I thought to myself, "That's weird... that's my mom's maiden name."

When I got home that night, I asked my mom whether she had ever heard of a "Gerardo Catena." She replied, "Oh, you mean Uncle Jerry?" Apparently this guy -- who was underboss of the Genovese crime family in the 1960s -- was my great-uncle. I did some research, and it turned out that he was at Apalachin, got fingered by Joe Valachi -- totally like something out of a mob movie. He disappeared to Florida (or maybe was quietly bumped off, who knows?) some time in the 1970s, so I had never met or heard of him. But needless to say, my mom didn't get much trouble from anyone when she was in high school.

More about my great-uncle Jerry here.

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I had a great-aunt who was the genealogist of the family. I and a few others are carrying her work forward, but we haven't had any luck going back any further than she did. As someone else mentioned, we have documents showing our ancestors fighting in every was since the Revolutionary War.

Neither of these stories are as interesting as others, but you might get a chuckle out of them.

My grandmother and her sister (the aforementioned great-aunt) married first cousins. Not only were they first cousins, their dads were identical twin brothers. Their families basically grew up together, so for all of my life I have had 7 real aunts and uncles (my dad was 1 of 8), and 5 of my dads cousins that I have always known as aunts and uncles. We are 1 big happy and crazy family. And yes I am from the South.

My great-great-grandfather was a successful farmer and lumberman. Late in his life (he was in his 60's), he got into a dispute with a neighbor over a property line. At some point during the dispute, he felt threatened (the neighbor was much younger) and shot and killed his neighbor. He and his 4 boys basically went broke defending him, but he was never convicted of anything and never went to jail. It took my grandfather and great-uncle most of their life to rebuild the family farm and lumber business. This happened in the 30's, and is still a topic of much discussion in my family.

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My dad’s 98. He has always celebrated his birth day as January 1. He always said he was born just after midnight. I got a copy of his birth certificate last year. It says he was born on Dec 31, 1908, not Jan 1 1909, and that his name is Gabriele not Gabriel. When I told him, he was mad, because it made him older and more ethnic than he thought he was.

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My great great great grandfather killed General Canby in 1873. He was hung and beheaded. His head/skull was put on display in the Smithsonian museum.

Joe

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[ QUOTE ]
My great great great grandfather killed General Canby in 1873. He was hung and beheaded. His head/skull was put on display in the Smithsonian museum.

Joe

[/ QUOTE ]

Your grandfather or the General?

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

Boro,
[ QUOTE ]

Quote:
My great great great grandfather killed General Canby in 1873. He was hung and beheaded. His head/skull was put on display in the Smithsonian museum.

Joe



Your grandfather or the General?


[/ QUOTE ]

It would be barbaric to put a General's head on display. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

No stories handed down generation to generation? Quite a famous guy.

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Interesting that there was a birth certificate. I think the first American president to be born in a hospital was JFK. Even the Roosevelts, who had money, didn't use hospitals; I suppose they could probably get better care at their home.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

[ QUOTE ]
Interesting that there was a birth certificate. I think the first American president to be born in a hospital was JFK. Even the Roosevelts, who had money, didn't use hospitals; I suppose they could probably get better care at their home.

[/ QUOTE ]

The medicalization of pregnancy is quite a recent thing, actually. The idea of going to the hospital to have a child if something wasn't wrong only goes back a few decades; I think it really started to ramp up in the 50s and 60s. It was largely due to campaigns by hospitals themselves.

The wife has done quite a bit of research on this topic.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

Awesome idea for a thread, and an awesome thread.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

Another story about the afore-mentioned grandfather.

My grandfather was named Hilfort Craft Owen. The story goes that when he was born, there were two aunts squabbling over what the child's middle name was to be, Aunt Hill and Aunte Forte (indeed, two old family names). Story goes that my great-grandather settled this in anti-Solomon-like fashion by cleaving the two names together to make Hillfort his first name, and using another old family name, Craft, for the middle name.

My grandfather hated that name his entire life. He went by various names instead, such as Bubba as a child, John, and Ted, after Ted Lewis the famous saxophone player, after going to the Naval Academy. He earned this name because he played a mean jazz saxophone (not to mention clarinet, any stringed instrument, or any instrument at all for that matter; he had perfect pitch and was a natural musician; he could play any instrument after only a little practice). He also went to the Naval Academy when he was 2 years underage, by using his stillborn brother's birth certificate (as I understand it he celebrated that stillborn brother's birthday as his own for the rest of his life, and it is indeed the date on his head stone at Arlington National Cemetary; I told you, I have a million stories).

In any event, my grandfather has this very unusual name. Every few months I google on his name, since new old material always seems to be making its way onto the web. For the longest time, the only hits that would come up were for the ship that he commanded during WWII, and a brief mention in a document about the Naval Research Laboratory. That ship, by the way, was the USS Unimak:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...dog/n61152.jpg

But that isn't the point of this story.

Anyway, in 2001 a new hit suddenly appeared on google, for something called "Timeless Records." I clicked on it, and found a web page for a CD entitled Jazz Is Where You Find It 1924-1930: The Extremely Rare and Unknown Bands.

Mystified, I searched on the page and discovered that my grandfather had played on 2 of the tracks with the "U.S. Naval Academy Ten"! The two songs are called "Navy Girl" and "My Dream Ship."

Needless to say, I was incredibly excited. To our knowledge, there were no known recordings of my grandfather playing. This was an unbelievable find. I phoned my Aunt Rita (his daughter, the genealogist, you'll recall) and told her the news. She couldn't believe it either, but it was late at night and she had to go to bed. She said she'd look for it in the morning.

The next day I got a perplexed phone call. Rita couldn't find the web page. Odd. I went back to google and typed in my grandfather's name and . . . nothing. It was gone. WTF?!?

Now, I knew the page was there, and in fact recalled that I had already bookmarked it. So I went to the bookmark, and there it was. And as soon as I saw it, it LEAPED off the screen at me why Rita couldn't find it and nor could I the second time:

Hilford C. Owen

His name was spelled wrong in the credits. Which means . . . the only reason I found it at all is that I accidentally typoed my grandfather's name in exactly the right way to find it! [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

I called up Rita and explained what had happened, and she indeed found it. It was only then, in looking more carefully at the page that I realized that not only did my grandfather play on the two songs he actually WROTE one of them, "My Dream Ship." Furthermore, the front cover of the CD, in the upper left corner, has an image of one of the original labels from one of the original records on the disc; you guessed it: "My Dream Ship", (H.C. Owen) U.S. Naval Academy Ten. [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...g/DSC02327.jpg
We ended up ordering a [censored] load of copies of the CD (which involved more story because we thought it was out of print; I talked to the guy who owns the original 78s and did the audio restoration, a cool guy who lives in England who ended up personally mailing me copies and refused payment; later we found out the disk was not out of print, and he still refused payment).

When we got the CDs on the inside we discovered there was a photo of the band in the liner notes, including my grandfather of course. This was a completely unknown photo to us.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...g/DSC02331.jpg

My grandfather is on the front row, second from our right.

Some of the members of the USNAT went on to become rather famous, including trumpetman Oliver F. Naquin, who commanded the infamous Squalus (a submarine that sank with all hands, but was the first sub from which the crew was rescued by the new rescue bell technology; she was recovered and recommissioned as the Sailfish). He was also embroiled in the even more infamous USS Indianapolis incident; he was the officer in charge of the routing instructions to the Indy's captain, Capt. McVay, who was courtsmarshalled (scapegoated) for the incident and later committed suicide:

"There was also information withheld from McVay's defense counsel. It involved the testimony of a Captain Oliver Naquin who had been in charge of the routing instructions for the Indianapolis from Guam to Leyte. When asked about the risk of enemy submarine activity in the ship's path, Naquin replied "it was a low order" and "the risk was very slight." Being responsible for sending the Indianapolis across the Philippine Sea without a destroyer escort, Naquin's response served him well. Later it was learned that Naquin was aware of the submarines in McVay's path, had not told McVay and denied McVay's request for a destroyer escort."

If someone has a place where I can host mp3s without too much hassle, I will post the song my gandfather wrote and played on. It's in the public domain, so there are no copyright issues. Or PM me and I'll just email you a copy to host. I would appreciate it.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

[ QUOTE ]
My great great great grandfather killed General Canby in 1873. He was hung and beheaded. His head/skull was put on display in the Smithsonian museum.

Joe

[/ QUOTE ]


Captian Jack of the Modoc tribe of Northern California killed General Canby in 1873. He was put on trail and hung on October 3, 1873 for this crime. Jack's body was embaled and taken to Washington DC and may have for a time been part of a sideshow. Eventually the remains were taken to the museum of the Surgeon General's office in Washington, reduced to a skeleton, and for many years displayed as a specimen of Indian anatomy. The above information is from The Modocs and Their War by Kieth L. Murray p 300- 305. Whether his skeleton is now in the possession of the Simthsonian is unknown to me.

There is no mention of Captain Jack being beheaded or the three other convicted Modocs that were hung with him (Boston Charley, John Schonchin, and Black Jim).

The Modoc tribe was exiled to Oklahoma until 1909 then allowed to return to the Klamath Indian Reservation in Oregon, which some did.

It is interesting to visit the battlefield(s) around Tule Lake, California (also where many Japanese were interned during WWII) where much of the Modoc war took place, which I have done numerous times. It has changed little since the 1870's except that the lake level has gone down. Rock fortifications in the lava beds from the war still exist.

-Zeno

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I'm related to a pirate that took over Barbados and a witch that was burned at the stake.

b

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

Nothing of major interest. My family name is disconnected from my blood line. My Dad's grandmother had some sons with one man, whose last name is now mine. However, he died (or maybe divorced.. I think died,though), and she started shacking up with a fellow named Cox. She got pregnant with my grandfather and gave birth before she got remarried. He kept her original married name, rather than Cox or her maiden name.

Apparently ancestors on my mother's side were the first settlers of Dighton, MA, and we also have a commander of the USS Constitution somewhere in the family. That's about it.

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Vicious Norse/Viking blood seethes through my veins. I am very proud of all the butchery, slaughter, pillaging, and general marauding mayhem all my remote ancestors perpetrated on the parasitic and insidious Christians in Ireland and England all the way to the far reaches of Eastern Europe even to Kiev. They were also traders and trafficked in everything from hides and exotic silks to human slavery. Bully for them. Of course once the Norseman/Vikings became Christianized they degenerated into loathsome settled citizens and haven’t accomplished anything worthy since those fun days of old. Of such bloodthirsty stock I am derived. Recent relatives bolted from Norway for America in 1890 where they stomped though Ellis Island cutting a swath of ignorance and degenerate mayhem that reverberates to this day.

My father possesses a family portrait of my Norwegian born great grandfather and great grandmother (taken in 1903) and their brood of eleven children, all good looking, cocky, and ready to engage in any thuggish behavior necessary to further their family schemes of wealth, success, and honor. This leads directly to me - The full embodiment of all that is vile, diseased, and evil in the human soul.

-Doppelgänger

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I am related to Martin Luther, the CEO (former as of two days ago) of EA and the host of survivor.

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One other story in addition to my royal blood (bow down, peons!): my maternal great-grandfather, who was a government official in the old pre-communist Chinese regime, fled to Taiwan after the People's Revolution. Apparently he was on the very last plane allowed out to Taiwan before flights got shut down. I'm sure you can all guess what happened to government officials who got left behind.

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[ QUOTE ]
No stories handed down generation to generation? Quite a famous guy.

[/ QUOTE ]
None that I know of, sorry.

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my paternal grandfather lost eleven brothers and sisters in the holocaust.

my maternal grandfather served in the german navy.


all 4 of my grandparents migrated to australia in the early 1950s; both couples had two kids, and the two kids became my parents and produced me.


a wonderful story of australian multiculturalism and integration.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

I was wrong. The first American president to be born in a hospital was Jimmy Carter.

But would you get a birth certificate even if you weren't born in a hospital? I think a lot of the records we have of when a person was born, at least in the west, come from baptismal certificates or other documentation that religious institutions have.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

[ QUOTE ]
I was wrong. The first American president to be born in a hospital was Jimmy Carter.

But would you get a birth certificate even if you weren't born in a hospital? I think a lot of the records we have of when a person was born, at least in the west, come from baptismal certificates or other documentation that religious institutions have.

[/ QUOTE ]

Andy,

I believe that doctors were attending births as a precaution long before they largely moved into hospitals, and they may have been issuing birth certificates for quite some time. This is conjecture though.

How my grandfather's stillborn brother got a birth cirtificate has never been made clear to me, because I always thought a birth certificate is actually a certificate of live birth.

Edit: I went and checked Aunt Rita's information. Mystery solved; he wasn't stillborn. He died in infancy. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

[ QUOTE ]
I was wrong. The first American president to be born in a hospital was Jimmy Carter.

But would you get a birth certificate even if you weren't born in a hospital? I think a lot of the records we have of when a person was born, at least in the west, come from baptismal certificates or other documentation that religious institutions have.

[/ QUOTE ]


Both my parents were born at home (1927 and 1930) and this was very common and standard (at least for rural families) for the time and didn’t change until about the 1950’s as mentioned by Borodog. My sister's children where home born in the 1970's and this caused problems later when government (state, county, and federal) agencies demanded birth certificates from her. I forgot how this was resolved but I think it involved numerous forms and notary public stamps and perhaps even a sworn affidavit.

I am sure my parents do not have birth certificates. They do have baptismal certificates and I have mine also, duly signed by Pastor and witnesses. Thus, I'm assured of my place in heaven and consider my baptismal certificate my ticket to hand to St. Peter when I shuffle through the Pearly Gates of Heaven onto those streets paved with gold. Hallelujah!

-Zeno

Edit: Perhaps famlies registered or got certificates of birth after the fact from respective county court house officials etc.

Re: Genealogy & Family Stories
 

Just wanted to compliment you on your initial post in this thread, a classic from that strange world we call Zenoland.

Regards,
Andy

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Cool thread.

I don't know much about my mothers side, but her grandmother b. 1897 used to tell stories of riding in a car when most everyone else was still in horse-drawn carriages. She only died in 1993, so I remember the stories.

As far as my paternal side, my ancestors left Ireland in 1850, supposedly after killing a man. He was to meet his lady at the ship to depart for America, but when he (don't know his name) showed up to leave County Cork, his lady's older sister was there in her place. The father of the girl wouldn't let the 2nd sister marry before the first, so he basically said "eff it" and left for America hurriedly with her instead.

I suppose they came in through Ellis Island, but they basically came all the way in to St. Louis and settled there.

Other stories my dad has told...the son of the guy who came over..my fathers great-grandfather..he owned a construction company and basically wasn't joining unions. He was hiring people for a lot less than the other construction company owners and apparently they all got together for a meeting to determine who would kill him. There were 13 people there, and they all drew a spade from a deck. Whomever drew the Ace of Spades had to kill my ancestor.

Word got out, and apparently my ancestor went over there, busted in and declared, "I know about the Ace of Spades. I'll take on everybody in this room, one at a time." At which point nobody budged. So he kicked over a fire-laden kettle and burnt the f***ing building down to the ground. They never bothered him after that.

Then that guys son...my fathers grandpa...used to live with my dad when he was really old and my dad was a child (back in the 50's). My dad said he was like in his 80's, skinny as a stick, but he would always walk down to the bars in his dress suit and get sh*tfaced, and get into fights with young guys and come home bloody as hell. lol.

I don't know much about my fathers dad, but he was an engineer who played semi-pro baseball, worked on the Arch, helped design the layout for Six Flags over Mid-America and was a personal friend/acquaintence of Mayor Cervantes. He graduated from Washington University after 2 years. He was born in 1904, and died in '76, 3 years before I was born.

I'm sure some of this stuff is exaggerated or fabricated, but hey...that's what makes it fun!