Hi Lauren I have put this back into the Stewart forum because I believe in healthy debate, but I have removed your comments in case you didn't want them out there? I hear what you are saying. But it is not always about claiming a throne - sometimes it is about one's identity. There are also interesting arguments to the Act of Parliament situation. There are those that say the Scottish Parliament never signed the Act of Union, they prorogued themselves [hence devolution 1999] to avoid doing so and a convention of nobles later signed it and all received payment for doing so - hence Robbie Burns' 'Parcel of Rogues' who sold their country for English gold. Now don't misunderstand me I am not saying this is accurate or what I firmly believe, I simply don't know enough about the accuracy and legalities of these claims - but I acknowledge that it is an argument. I keep an open mind. There are websites that show how much they were all paid but they vary very slightly. Yes the first Hanoverian had a splash of Stuart blood [1/8th I think from memory] but in putting G1 on the throne there is research that claimed they bypassed 57 people with a better claim on the basis of religion - religious discrimination I believe? But then you must judge a society by the norms of its era and not from 200+ years later when we have all evolved in our thinking. Charts of the genealogies are supplied and they appear accurate to me? Again don't get me wrong I don't think the Queen should abdicate, when we had a referendum in Australia as to whether to retain the monarchy or become a republic, I voted for the monarchy. I simply keep an open mind. It is all about freedom of debate and the truth - what REALLY happened? We are all much more educated than the general populous was 200 years ago with access to all types of literature and resources - it is time for the truth. There is so much information out there that sooner or later more than one person will join all the dots. Baseless legends fade away - this one never does. Paninski's book is a typical example of someone who had enough faith in his family legend of descent from Bonnie Prince Charlie to pursue it and he was lucky enough to locate records held by a French aristocratic family. Most resources will simply tell you his ancestor was called Marie who died c1820 unmarried in a convent at Chateau Beamanoir and she was the daughter of Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany. In actual fact her name was Marie Victoire Adelaide who married and had a child. Curiously, her names correlate with yet another independent legend that she was named after the daughters of Louis XV - Victoire and Adelaide. Truth is stranger than fiction. You will notice Paninski also says something along the lines of it is not all about chasing castles and kingdoms - it was about his identity and a footnote to history. A second factor is Marie will probably have many other descendants than just Peter Paninski - so there ARE descendants of both MQS and BPC out there. Charlotte is usually the only child of BPC 'officially' recognized because she was much harder to deny as both Prince Charlie and the King Louis XV legitimated her c1784 and records exist in the French archives. Did you know, there is a quote of Queen Victoria's admitting to Stuart descendants? And one extremely reputable historian made statements alluding to the Stuart heir, James, in Scotland in the 1840s - but it was buried in a 19th century academic work. I firmly believe records have been 'adjusted' and 'lost' over the centuries, possibly by more than one side, and it needs to be unravelled - although it may never be. There are almost certainly political and 'constitutional' reasons why some don't want it so? 'Constitutional' being in parenthesis because even in the 21st century Britain does not have one. Sir Walter Scott admitted to papers 'going missing' out of the Stuart archives which he was assigned to read. Did you know in the anonymous 1832 edition introduction to Scott's' 'Redgauntlet' there was all sorts of Jacobite information and it was removed for all later editions because of its political sensitivities and has only become available in the last 10 years? It tells of Bonnie Prince Charlie going back into London for the coronation of G3 and how when the Knight Champion performed the 'Challenge' section of the ceremony by throwing down the gauntlet, BPC stepped forward from the crowd and picked up the gauntlet. Did you know the ancient Challenge section has never been used in the coronation ceremony since then? Think about that - why is it necessary to keep it out of the ceremony? Even the infamous [by British standards, the French loved him] Napoleon believed there was an heir because he summonsed BPC's estranged wife of some 25+ years, Louisa, to Paris 1809 where he interrogated her and detained her for a year. It was said she denied she had a child, but again, at least one reputable historian speculated she was not prepared to let the French use the Stuart cause against Britain. There are no known transcripts of the interrogation so as to what was actually asked and what was actually replied is unknown. I keep an open mind. I remember having an email conversation with you about your Boyd ancestry and you being surprised at just how active an ancestor [William Boyd 4th Earl of Kilmarnock] had been in the Jacobite movement and that he was the leader of the Templars because that sort of information was not 'mainstream'. I believe some Stuart descendants fall into the same category. I think we all need to keep an open mind and allow healthy debate away from the 'mainstream'. Remember the overthrowing power of the Stuarts remain in power. Imagine if the Bolsheviks remained in power in Russia, would we have found out all the information about the Romanovs that has been located - their bodies, how they were killed, who was missing etc - I don't think so? I say to anyone who has a family legend of descent from MQS or BPC, don't dismiss it as an impossibility, but research it ACCURATELY. And, if you get stuck, ask questions, there are lots of people out there doing the same and they maybe able to help you. My research indicates there are descendants in the USA and it is one of the reasons I lurk - on more than one list [and I have made contact with people]. Most don't carry the surname of Stuart/Stewart but curiously one does because a female descendant married into a non- royal Stewart family. Truth is stranger than fiction, eh? My comment about Leo being snug in bed was tongue in cheek - I know you don't expect immediate answers. Keep up the debate, keep an open mind and if you have a legend PURSUE it. Trish On 12/01/2006, at 12:26 AM, confido@ix.netcom.com wrote: > > -----Original Message----- >> From: Trish Lawrence <charli@iinet.net.au> >> Sent: Jan 11, 2006 7:30 AM >> To: confido@ix.netcom.com >> Subject: Re: [STEWART] Re: Mary Queen of Scots/ Forgotten Monarchy >> >> Hi Lauren >> >> I agree entirely, Paninski's has a far stronger case. But his story >> was not readily available in the mainstream genealogies, he had to do >> an enormous amount of work to ferret out his family legend. So, as >> I said, keep an open mind regarding family legends but always >> remember one cannot claim descent unless it can be proven with >> primary sources or extremely good evidence such as DNA. Books are >> never a primary source, they are the result of someone's work, so >> they are always secondary - and not always reliable. But by the >> same token they are also a way of conveying new knowledge, so they >> can't be totally discarded. They have to be assessed. 'Wordsmith' >> is a great description that Norah used - always check what is >> actually said and not what is implied, then go looking in other >> places to see if any of it can be backed up. >> >> As for my friend Leo - it is 11.22pm WST time here in Oz and I can't >> sleep - Leo is 2 hrs ahead in EST - so it is 1.22am for him - >> hopefully he is snug in bed. >> >> Trish >> >> >> >> >> >> On 11/01/2006, at 11:11 PM, confido@ix.netcom.com wrote: >> >>> Dear All: >>> >>> Let's be cautious of mixing proven genealogy with that which has >>> holes in it. >>> Don't forget Michael also claims descent from Merlin. I know folks >>> that know >>> Michael, who say he is a very nice man. That point I won't argue. >>> I don't >>> know him. One of the couples that know Michael, that I do know >>> have said that >>> Peter Pinsky (?) has a much stronger genealogy leading to the >>> Stuart line. >>> So... look to Poland. >>> >>> Leo.... I believe you are still subscribed to the list... care to >>> chime in here, a bit? >>> >>> As with all genealogy, we should attempt to go back and view the >>> most original >>> documents. Let's remember that a modern day book is not a primary >>> source. >>> >>> Yours Aye, >>> >>> Lauren >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Trish Lawrence <charli@iinet.net.au> >>>> Sent: Jan 11, 2006 5:31 AM >>>> To: STEWART-L@rootsweb.com >>>> Subject: Re: [STEWART] Re: Mary Queen of Scots >>>> >>>> Hi David - I too have heard this before - maybe Michael Stewart/ >>>> Lafosse says it in his book, 'Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland'. If >>>> not he, then maybe Laurence Gardner somewhere in his work? I will >>>> search it out if you are interested? >>>> >>>> Trish >>> >>> >>> ==== STEWART Mailing List ==== >>> Interested in Genetic Genealogy? >>> Join the Stewart-DNA-L@rootsweb.com