Fascinating topic. So far, my direct lines have included: 1) A guy who caught his wife in bed with another man, and proceeded to hit the guy with a stick, killing him. (This guy is an Acadian ancestor and I betcha I'm not the only one on the list who knows who this is...) 2) A guy who was imprisoned in New Jersey for "mischief and riot" and was apparently such a ne'er-do-well that his only son, born out of wedlock, went all the way to Louisiana to get away from him. And... the kicker -- his father was the constable of Ocean County, New Jersey! 3) A fellow who, according to legend, lost his soul to the devil in a card game, and as a result still haunts a castle in Scotland. 4) Louis, the first of the Exnicios family in Louisiana, who I'm willing to bet was on the run from the law. He signed his name "Ex Nescio" on the only document we have with his signature -- and "ex nescio" is Latin for "from nowhere." I.e. -- "My name is Louis, but You Don't Know Me." Plus, my great-great uncle was John A. Murrell, the so-called Land Pirate -- a prominent highwayman in the first part of the 19th century. Ah, my illustrious forebears. I hope I'm living up to their legacy. :-) cheers, Gordon Bonnet Trumansburg NY On Sep 30, 2007, at 10:30 AM, Smileson@aol.com wrote: > > Since the list is very quiet, here is something to think > about...this came > from the UK > > Who's rattling in your family closet? > Last Updated: 12:01am BST 14/09/2007 > > As a study warns of the shocks in store when we research our family > trees, > Telegraph genealogist Nick Barratt shares some secrets > > 'The past is a Pandora’s box; once opened, there’s no going back’ > > There is a restlessness in today's society. Community ties are > looser and > families more widely spread - and yet we all yearn for a sense of > belonging. For > many of us, that longing is fulfilled by exploring our family history. > Genealogy has become increasingly popular as access to the > internet has made > mapping our family trees easier. One in three Britons have > conducted research > into their ancestors online - but sometimes all that digging can > unearth some > dark secrets. > A study by the genealogy website ancestry.co.uk reported this week > that one > Briton in six has uncovered illegitimate children, convicted > criminals or > secret adoptions while delving into their family history. They have > found that the > past is a Pandora's box; once it's been opened, there's no going > back - so it > is best to be prepared. > The actor John Hurt wasn't prepared for the truth about his > family's origins. > He has always taken great pride in his Irish aristocratic ancestry, > believing > that his great-grandmother was the illegitimate child of the > Marquis of > Sligo. Research by the BBC programme Who Do You Think You Are?, > screened last > night, found that this was a myth and that his family hailed from > Croydon. > > advertisement > > > As a historian, I am used to helping other people find out about their > ancestors, but in the course of my research, I stumbled upon a > secret that had been > kept in my own family for 75 years. My paternal great uncle had > disappeared > mysteriously in 1932 and none of my living relatives knew what had > happened to > him. > One day, I was looking through the National Archives with one of my > relations and we spotted my great uncle's name. We did some digging > and discovered > something that none of us could possibly have imagined: he had been > a Soviet spy. > He worked for the Foreign Office and was passing information to the > Russians. The British authorities eventually caught on and he must > have had a sense > that they were closing in on him because, sadly, he committed suicide. > My uncle, who is now 80, vividly remembers having to look after his > younger > brother - my father - who was very ill at the time, while his > parents rushed > off to an unknown destination. He was never told why or where they > were going, > but the dates match the discovery of my great uncle's death and, > presumably, > his funeral. > The website study indicates that illegitimacy is the most common > discovery. > Eighteen per cent of us will find babies born out of wedlock in our > family > trees. In many ways, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. > In the mid- to late-Victorian period there was a huge stigma > attached to > illegitimate children so people went to great lengths to keep such > births secret. > There was a lot of unofficial adoption within families, where the > baby's > grandparents would raise a child as their own. > One of the signs to look out for is an unusual age gap in census > records; > for example, three teenage children registered and then a newborn > baby. Birth > certificates are also full of clues; a child is likely to have been > illegitimate > if there is no father recorded or if the baby was baptised with the > mother's > surname. > Many people find links to the Royal Family or to aristocrats through > illegitimacy. Sometimes hints about a liaison have been passed down > through the > generations but are based only on circumstantial evidence. > If you have suspicions, my tip is to look closely at names - the > middle name > of a child may reflect the surname or Christian name of its real > father. > Birth dates can also give clues, while unusually valuable family > heirlooms may > shed light on who the father was. > There may even be a portrait in a grand house somewhere that looks > remarkably like you. Usually, the story behind these findings is > that a servant girl > was impregnated by her royal or aristocratic master. > We saw an example of this on Who Do You Think You Are? featuring > the author > Sebastian Faulks. He discovered that his great-grandfather had been > taken in > by a family because he was born illegitimately to one of the household > servants. > Family secrets safeguarded through generations are often linked to > a sense of > shame; all sorts of mysteries have their roots in social > acceptance, or > poverty. Finding out about the hardships our ancestors faced can be > an incredibly > emotional experience. > Sometimes, people find that relatives were born or died in the > workhouse. > Death, burial or admission records will show you how long they > spent there. Such > discoveries can provide a fascinating insight into the often > difficult social > circumstances of the time - and there may be more sinister secrets > to unveil. > Examples of criminal activity in a family can come as a huge shock > to people > who have embarked on a bit of gentle research. Local newspaper > archives often > contain details of trials or court reports; death certificates may > show that > someone died in prison. > There may even be transportation papers if they were sent for penal > servitude in Australia. Lists exist of those detained in the hulks > before > transportation. There might also be gruesome details of the trip, a > surgeon's log and > records of their penal servitude. The upside might be the discovery > of an > Antipodean branch to your family tree. > Unearthing new relatives is usually a wonderful thing. But if it's > a secret > family you never knew about, it can be hard to come to terms with. > Bigamy makes > for a particularly shocking discovery - and two per cent of us will > find it > in our family histories. > Divorce laws didn't come in until 1858, and when they did, the > conditions > were strict and biased against women. It was also incredibly > expensive to > divorce, so people desperate to escape unhappy marriages often just > left and settled > quietly into a new life somewhere else. > Tell-tale signs of this could be an unexplained movement within > the family, > or if people suddenly disappear from the records and appear in a > later census > as a bachelor. The BBC research team found that the comedian Vic > Reeves's > ancestor, a man called Walter Lee, married, had three children, > then moved, > claimed to be a bachelor and started a second family with a new wife. > We all have an idea of who we are that is derived from our own > lives and from > what we know of our ancestors; uncovering new facts about our personal > heritage can challenge that sense of identity. > So when you begin your research do bear in mind that you might > happen upon > uncomfortable truths. Be prepared to deal with the consequences of > what you > learn, but don't let it put you off. Such secrets will make you > feel closer to > your ancestors than you might if the family tree was more > straightforward. > You think about how they must have felt and wonder what you would > do in > those circumstances. It will give you an incredible connection with > the past. > > > > ************************************** > See what's new at http://www.aol.com > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ACADIAN-CAJUN- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

Wow Gordon - very interesting - thanks for sharing with us!! TTFN, Nova Gordon Bonnet <jaggy227@fltg.net> wrote: Fascinating topic. So far, my direct lines have included: 1) A guy who caught his wife in bed with another man, and proceeded to hit the guy with a stick, killing him. (This guy is an Acadian ancestor and I betcha I'm not the only one on the list who knows who this is...) 2) A guy who was imprisoned in New Jersey for "mischief and riot" and was apparently such a ne'er-do-well that his only son, born out of wedlock, went all the way to Louisiana to get away from him. And... the kicker -- his father was the constable of Ocean County, New Jersey! 3) A fellow who, according to legend, lost his soul to the devil in a card game, and as a result still haunts a castle in Scotland. 4) Louis, the first of the Exnicios family in Louisiana, who I'm willing to bet was on the run from the law. He signed his name "Ex Nescio" on the only document we have with his signature -- and "ex nescio" is Latin for "from nowhere." I.e. -- "My name is Louis, but You Don't Know Me." Plus, my great-great uncle was John A. Murrell, the so-called Land Pirate -- a prominent highwayman in the first part of the 19th century. Ah, my illustrious forebears. I hope I'm living up to their legacy. :-) cheers, Gordon Bonnet Trumansburg NY On Sep 30, 2007, at 10:30 AM, Smileson@aol.com wrote: > > Since the list is very quiet, here is something to think > about...this came > from the UK > > Who's rattling in your family closet? > Last Updated: 12:01am BST 14/09/2007 > > As a study warns of the shocks in store when we research our family > trees, > Telegraph genealogist Nick Barratt shares some secrets > > 'The past is a Pandora’s box; once opened, there’s no going back’ > > There is a restlessness in today's society. Community ties are > looser and > families more widely spread - and yet we all yearn for a sense of > belonging. For > many of us, that longing is fulfilled by exploring our family history. > Genealogy has become increasingly popular as access to the > internet has made > mapping our family trees easier. One in three Britons have > conducted research > into their ancestors online - but sometimes all that digging can > unearth some > dark secrets. > A study by the genealogy website ancestry.co.uk reported this week > that one > Briton in six has uncovered illegitimate children, convicted > criminals or > secret adoptions while delving into their family history. They have > found that the > past is a Pandora's box; once it's been opened, there's no going > back - so it > is best to be prepared. > The actor John Hurt wasn't prepared for the truth about his > family's origins. > He has always taken great pride in his Irish aristocratic ancestry, > believing > that his great-grandmother was the illegitimate child of the > Marquis of > Sligo. Research by the BBC programme Who Do You Think You Are?, > screened last > night, found that this was a myth and that his family hailed from > Croydon. > > advertisement > > > As a historian, I am used to helping other people find out about their > ancestors, but in the course of my research, I stumbled upon a > secret that had been > kept in my own family for 75 years. My paternal great uncle had > disappeared > mysteriously in 1932 and none of my living relatives knew what had > happened to > him. > One day, I was looking through the National Archives with one of my > relations and we spotted my great uncle's name. We did some digging > and discovered > something that none of us could possibly have imagined: he had been > a Soviet spy. > He worked for the Foreign Office and was passing information to the > Russians. The British authorities eventually caught on and he must > have had a sense > that they were closing in on him because, sadly, he committed suicide. > My uncle, who is now 80, vividly remembers having to look after his > younger > brother - my father - who was very ill at the time, while his > parents rushed > off to an unknown destination. He was never told why or where they > were going, > but the dates match the discovery of my great uncle's death and, > presumably, > his funeral. > The website study indicates that illegitimacy is the most common > discovery. > Eighteen per cent of us will find babies born out of wedlock in our > family > trees. In many ways, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. > In the mid- to late-Victorian period there was a huge stigma > attached to > illegitimate children so people went to great lengths to keep such > births secret. > There was a lot of unofficial adoption within families, where the > baby's > grandparents would raise a child as their own. > One of the signs to look out for is an unusual age gap in census > records; > for example, three teenage children registered and then a newborn > baby. Birth > certificates are also full of clues; a child is likely to have been > illegitimate > if there is no father recorded or if the baby was baptised with the > mother's > surname. > Many people find links to the Royal Family or to aristocrats through > illegitimacy. Sometimes hints about a liaison have been passed down > through the > generations but are based only on circumstantial evidence. > If you have suspicions, my tip is to look closely at names - the > middle name > of a child may reflect the surname or Christian name of its real > father. > Birth dates can also give clues, while unusually valuable family > heirlooms may > shed light on who the father was. > There may even be a portrait in a grand house somewhere that looks > remarkably like you. Usually, the story behind these findings is > that a servant girl > was impregnated by her royal or aristocratic master. > We saw an example of this on Who Do You Think You Are? featuring > the author > Sebastian Faulks. He discovered that his great-grandfather had been > taken in > by a family because he was born illegitimately to one of the household > servants. > Family secrets safeguarded through generations are often linked to > a sense of > shame; all sorts of mysteries have their roots in social > acceptance, or > poverty. Finding out about the hardships our ancestors faced can be > an incredibly > emotional experience. > Sometimes, people find that relatives were born or died in the > workhouse. > Death, burial or admission records will show you how long they > spent there. Such > discoveries can provide a fascinating insight into the often > difficult social > circumstances of the time - and there may be more sinister secrets > to unveil. > Examples of criminal activity in a family can come as a huge shock > to people > who have embarked on a bit of gentle research. Local newspaper > archives often > contain details of trials or court reports; death certificates may > show that > someone died in prison. > There may even be transportation papers if they were sent for penal > servitude in Australia. Lists exist of those detained in the hulks > before > transportation. There might also be gruesome details of the trip, a > surgeon's log and > records of their penal servitude. The upside might be the discovery > of an > Antipodean branch to your family tree. > Unearthing new relatives is usually a wonderful thing. But if it's > a secret > family you never knew about, it can be hard to come to terms with. > Bigamy makes > for a particularly shocking discovery - and two per cent of us will > find it > in our family histories. > Divorce laws didn't come in until 1858, and when they did, the > conditions > were strict and biased against women. It was also incredibly > expensive to > divorce, so people desperate to escape unhappy marriages often just > left and settled > quietly into a new life somewhere else. > Tell-tale signs of this could be an unexplained movement within > the family, > or if people suddenly disappear from the records and appear in a > later census > as a bachelor. The BBC research team found that the comedian Vic > Reeves's > ancestor, a man called Walter Lee, married, had three children, > then moved, > claimed to be a bachelor and started a second family with a new wife. > We all have an idea of who we are that is derived from our own > lives and from > what we know of our ancestors; uncovering new facts about our personal > heritage can challenge that sense of identity. > So when you begin your research do bear in mind that you might > happen upon > uncomfortable truths. Be prepared to deal with the consequences of > what you > learn, but don't let it put you off. Such secrets will make you > feel closer to > your ancestors than you might if the family tree was more > straightforward. > You think about how they must have felt and wonder what you would > do in > those circumstances. It will give you an incredible connection with > the past. > > > > ************************************** > See what's new at http://www.aol.com > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ACADIAN-CAJUN- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ACADIAN-CAJUN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase.