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What do you know of your family history?


MrPotatoTed

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20 minutes ago, jvikings1 said:

Once I finish everything up, I might send you the link to look at. I did find another interesting connection on another line from my mom's dad. Apparently, I am a direct descendent of Sarah Boone (Daniel's oldest sister who was disowned for marrying a non-Quaker). That makes Daniel Boone my 7th great-uncle.

Again, not something I expected to find, but a welcome one for sure!

One of my friends is descended from his brother, father, or uncle Squire Boone. 

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This might be my most interesting line in my family tree, although there are other rivals. This goes from most recent to furthest back. I won't put the names of the most recent generations. Each succeeding # is the previous generation, "begot by," etc.:

  1. Me
  2. My mom
  3. My grandfather
  4. My great-grandmother, who married my great-grandfather, who was the Secretary of the Republican Progressive Party of Ohio during the 1912 election. 
  5. My great-great-grandmother, who married my gr-gr-grandfather who was a famous naturalist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Johnson_Maynard
  6. Thomas Smith Greenwood, who was a lighthouse keeper in Ipswich Massachusetts, shoe manufacturer, and recipient of the Humane Society Award.
  7. Paul Thurlow, a ship captain and merchant operating out of Newburyport, MA. Owned about 17 or 18 ships. Married the daughter of a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, the first Constitutional Convention ever. 
  8. Abraham Thurlow, died when he fell in a well. 
  9. Lydia Thurlow (nee Boynton)
  10. Jeremiah Boynton, a Yeoman farmer in Newbury, MA
  11. Mary Boynton (nee Dole)
  12. Mary Dole (nee Gerrish)
  13. Joanna Gerrish (nee Lowell), married a Boston merchant that served as an officer in King Philip's War
  14. Percival Lowell, immigrated to MA in 1639. Wrote one of the first poems written in North America (Upon the death of Gov Winthrop). Had been a wealthy merchant in Bristol, UK.
  15.  Ann Lowell (nee Percival)
  16. Elizabeth Percival (nee Yorke)
  17. Eleanor Yorke (nee Luttrell), who married one of the leading Gray's Inn legal scholars in London. 
  18. Sir Hugh Luttrell, most recent noble ancestor, died 1521. Fought with King Henry VII.
  19. Elizabeth Luttrell (nee Courtenay)
  20. Sir Philip Courtenay
  21. Sir John Courtenay
  22. Sir Philip Courtenay
  23. Margaret de Courtenay (nee de Bohun)
  24. Elizabeth de Bohun (nee Plantagenet) 
  25. King Edward I, my most recent proven royal ancestor. I could also be descended from Edward III, but can't make a certain claim to that. 
  26. King Henry III
  27. King John
  28. King Henry II
  29. Queen Matilda of Normandy
  30. King Henry I of England
  31. Queen Matilda of Flanders, married William the Conqueror
  32. Adela Capet
  33. King Robert II of France
  34. King Hugh Capet of France
  35. Hugh the Great, Duke of France
  36. Beatrice of Vermandois
  37. Herbert I, Count of Vermandois
  38. Pepin, Count of Vermandois
  39. Bernard of Italy, King of Lombardy
  40. Pepin of Italy, King of Lombardy
  41. Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor (748-814)
  42. Pepin the Short, King of the Franks
  43. Charles "The Hammer" Martel, Duke of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace
  44. Pepin of Herstal, Duke of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace
  45. Ansegisel, who married Saint Begga and was later murdered.
  46. Saint Arnulf, Bishop of Metz (c. 582-c.647), the earliest proven ancestor of Charlemagne and, therefore, for anyone descended from Charlemagne. 

Some scholars do think they found an earlier ancestor for Charlemagne, but they need more information. If proven, then Afranius Syagrius, a Gallo-Roman politician who is on record as early as about the year 345 AD, is the earliest ancestor of anyone descended from Charlemagne. He was Consul in Rome in 382. 

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I was just reading through one of my Founding Fathers playthroughs on the old 270 forum, in preparation for the new one I'll be beginning later this weekend.  I was surprised to see that at one point during that first game, @Magnus Rex made a passing reference to the fact that Scottish King Robert the Bruce is batman's namesake.

Not being a comics/superhero guy, the reference passed right by me the first time -- but as I reread our game recently, it jumped out at me now that we've discovered my daughter is a descendant of King Robert the Bruce (on my wife's side of the family).

My daughter is Batman! 

;c)

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On 6/15/2021 at 4:52 PM, MrPotatoTed said:

I was just reading through one of my Founding Fathers playthroughs on the old 270 forum, in preparation for the new one I'll be beginning later this weekend.  I was surprised to see that at one point during that first game, @Magnus Rex made a passing reference to the fact that Scottish King Robert the Bruce is batman's namesake.

Not being a comics/superhero guy, the reference passed right by me the first time -- but as I reread our game recently, it jumped out at me now that we've discovered my daughter is a descendant of King Robert the Bruce (on my wife's side of the family).

My daughter is Batman! 

;c)

Fun Fact: One of my family lines (I can't remember which side) had the surname of Batman

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I have been diving into my mom's mom's side now (the side that I knew the least about until now). She has a lot of English in her ancestry (specifically through Massachusetts). It appears one of her ancestors was killed at the Salem Witch Trials. She also has connections to the Winslow Family (though her direct ancestor came after the Mayflower).

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10 minutes ago, jvikings1 said:

Fun Fact: One of my family lines (I can't remember which side) had the surname of Batman

I've seen that surname. I have a whole book on MA colonial families.

8 minutes ago, jvikings1 said:

I have been diving into my mom's mom's side now (the side that I knew the least about until now). She has a lot of English in her ancestry (specifically through Massachusetts). It appears one of her ancestors was killed at the Salem Witch Trials. She also has connections to the Winslow Family (though her direct ancestor came after the Mayflower).

I'd like to see the full list of this names when you can provide them. We are probably distantly related. 

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@jvikings1 and @jnewt Here's some colonial Massachusetts basics for both of you, since you're both of Massachusetts descent as I am. 

  • The Mayflower group, and their Plymouth Colony, is completely distinct from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The latter arguably "Won" the war over who would control Massachusetts as they were larger, wealthier, and had more overall resources. Many of the Plymouth Colony had lived in Netherlands for years before migrating. 
  • The Massachusetts Bay colonists started arriving in 1628--8 years after the Mayflower. They first settled in Salem and then spread to Boston and Cambridge. This group was mostly landed gentry from England, ministers, wealthy merchants, and indentured servants. Some are of royal descent. 
  • The two above groups were religious outcasts but also very different from one another. The Mayflower group wanted to break completely from the Anglican church, while the Massachusetts Bay Colony wanted to reform the Anglican church. 
  • The "Great Migration" of Massachusetts colonization occurred from 1630-1642. Most people of colonial Massachusetts descent had their ancestors arrive during this time. Immigration was very low here from 1642 until the 1840s (when the Irish arrived). As this is the case, it is very common for people with Massachusetts ancestors to find a common ancestor in the 1600s or 1700s. 
  • Migration out of Massachusetts started pretty much right away. Puritanism saw some colonists flee to CT, NH, ME, VT just to get away. Some went into Western Massachusetts (then considered dangerous) to get away from Boston and Salem. Some founded towns in NJ and NY. 
  • I have a theory that origins of American liberalism/big government comes from Massachusetts Puritanism....that is Colonial Eastern Massachusetts. While American conservatism/limited government comes from those that went West into Massachusetts and South into RI and CT. The Deep South (VA, SC, NC, GA) was something else -- too authoritarian. It resembled England more than something new that can be considered leaning towards Democracy.
  • I also have a theory on why Northern states (outside of immigrants families and blacks originally from the South) are generally more prosperous, while Southern states historically have higher poverty (for both whites and blacks). The indentured servant situation was totally different. The North was more conducive to upward mobility for their indentured servants. The stigma of being one wasn't there either. Many of the servants because indentured in Massachusetts to pay for passage. They worked off their passage for 5 or 7 years and then were socially at the same level of their masters--often owning land, becoming wealthy, holding office. This was very rare in the South. Massachusetts didn't really have a class system in the way Virginia and South Carolina did. 
  • Westward migration from Massachusetts didn't really happen until the Mohawks were driven out during the Rev War. This opened upstate NY to settlement, so you have a New England diaspora there. 
  • The above New England diaspora spread further when the NW Indian War opened up OH, IN, and MI to settlement. OH, IN, MI, Upstate NY, IL, IA, WI, MN become New England diaspora, bringing over the  ideals of the New England work ethic and innovation. This also spreads to WA and OR. 

As far as I know, everyone of my Massachusetts ancestors are from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I don't have any Mayflower/Plymouth. A few of my ancestors went to CT, but they almost all stayed in MA until the 1880s. In 1881, my great-great grandmother divorced my great-great grandfather, who was a great ornithologist but a neglectful family man. She married a man from Cleveland, Ohio and moved there, with my Great-Grandmother eventually moving there also to go to college (She got a philosophy degree in the 1890s!). By 1900, only my great-great grandfather was in Massachusetts. He died in 1929. My mom was born in Ohio but moved to Texas, which is what explains why I am Texas born. I definitely identify more as a New England person even though I've never lived there. I've visited a lot though. 

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/7/2021 at 12:10 PM, MrPotatoTed said:

My wife (and therefore my daughter) are descendants of the Scottish King Robert the Bruce.  

UPDATE:

My wife just traced my lineage back far enough and discovered that I, too, am descended from King Robert the Bruce.  

King Robert is my 21x Great Grandfather...and he's also my wife's 23x Great Grandfather.

In fact, we have an even more recent common ancestor -- King Robert's grandson King Robert II is my 19x Great Grandfather, and my wife's 21x Great Grandfather.

Sure, I could focus on how weird it is that we're technically related...

But I choose instead to focus on the fact that as the more immediate descendent, my claim on the Scottish throne is stronger than my wife's!  ;c)

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