RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: StevieSteve on Friday 25 September 15 08:17 BST (UK)
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Right, let's get this started...
Well those who wanted lines to be traced further back certainly got what they wanted though it did seem a bit easy - everybody should have access to a handy headmaster just waiting to get you back to Tudor times.
I felt a little for cousin Theresa - her efforts looked a bit puny compared to what was achieved. If only she'd just put a little bit of extra work into it... ;D
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Just watching it now and I think it has to be the best of this years so far.
Barb
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I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was the one I had been waiting for and I wasn't disappointed. Frank came across as very genuine and personable. Anna
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Hi Steve
Yes, agreed. I did really enjoy the programme but it seemed far to easy by half. My OH watched with me (for a change) and asked if I could do that. I told him without the info from the Headmaster Frank would have been stymied. I loved Frank's enthusiasm, the way he got stuck in, and the pure pleasure as he watched the Master at Arms unfurl his ancestry back to William "C".
On a different note we were really interested in the many wheelchairs that Frank had
A good one.
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Good to see him so enthusiastic and doing some research himself.
Once I saw that scroll on the table I had a feeling where we would end up!
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I think this was the best one of the current series so far. It certainly kept my attention. Amazing that those letters by his GreatGrandparents had survived; presumably conserved by Oxford University?
I couldn't help thinking though... that there must be an awful lot of people in the UK who are decendants of William the Conqueror. It's just that most of us can't prove it!
See:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01g76/
Romilly :)
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I can trace one of my lines to a Lord who accompanied Duke William (William the Conqueror) at the conquest, he was one of the grand officers of the duchy of Normandy.
In my case it is because only a few generations ago this particular line was very rich and were knights at the court, so there is lots of information about them at the British Library, Burke's Peerage etc.
On the other hand, I can't even find out the origins of my g.grandfather who married into this line :(
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I missed most of it, randomly stumbled across it as he first said the word "Tudor". Never seen the bloke before/didn't know who he was.
I, too, knew that once they dragged him into the posh people's research place they'd end up with the big scroll on the desk.
I wonder what the bill would be if he'd phoned up a genealogist and asked them to do the research for him. All that research, Latin translations, meetings, etc.
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I can trace one of my lines to a Lord who accompanied Duke William (William the Conqueror) at the conquest, he was one of the grand officers of the duchy of Normandy.
In my case it is because only a few generations ago this particular line was very rich and were knights at the court, so there is lots of information about them at the British Library, Burke's Peerage etc. On the other hand, I can't even find out the origins of my g.grandfather who married into this line :(
As the chap in the Heraldry Office said, many people will be descendants, few can prove it. My married name is thought to derive from French and is suggested to have arrived with the Conqueror, but I am still striving to find a route into the 16th century.
I enjoyed the programme, and admired Frank Gardner's attitude throughout, though I think his cousin deserved more credit.
Wish I could be a fly on the wall in the royal bus shelter!!! Haha. :D
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I enjoyed this programme as well, although I expect that a lot of us would have struggled to get back that far without all the help he was given. He came over as a really nice person who was genuinely interested in his background, unlike some of the previous subjects who seemed to play to the cameras. I particularly liked the ending, where he said that he wished his mother had been around to learn that what she'd always said was true. How many of us have said the same thing?
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I couldn't help comparing it to a former programme about Matthew Pinsent (Olympic rower) who had an ancestor in the tower and additionally was descended from William the Conqueror. Unless my memory is playing tricks, I'm pretty sure his heraldic chart showed he was also descended from God.
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I couldn't help comparing it to a former programme about Matthew Pinsent (Olympic rower) who had an ancestor in the tower and additionally was descended from William the Conqueror. Unless my memory is playing tricks, I'm pretty sure his heraldic chart showed he was also descended from God.
Haha, - yes I remember that one!
Same scroll I think?
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01g78/
Romilly :)
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I have no idea who Frank Gardner is but am looking forward to seeing this programme (I've come to realise that who the celebrity is of no consequence).
Yes, I remember the Matthew Pinsent episode - I have no interest in the Olympics or rowing but enjoyed his story and thought he came across well. He even joined rootschat to comment on the comments about his episode. :)
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I enjoyed this episode.
I rarely know who the "celebrities" are, but I'm not watching it because it is a particular person, but for the Family History research interest.
This one just underlines what records and archives there are out there, if we really dig and take the time to contact different organisations.
The part when he was reading the notes on Grace's time at the asylum reminded me of when I found similar notes at the archives about a distant ancestor of mine who was in an asylum, detailing his state of mind and the "treatment" they gave him.
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Frank Gardner is a British journalist and war correspondent who was shot whilst reporting in Saudi Arabia, his cameraman was killed. Here's a good link about him. www.rootschat.com/links/01g79/
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The part when he was reading the notes on Grace's time at the asylum reminded me of when I found similar notes at the archives about a distant ancestor of mine who was in an asylum, detailing his state of mind and the "treatment" they gave him.
I have also had reason to search through asylum records, but sadly I learned far less, regarding condition, cause or treatment, and no physical description of the male ancestor in question. :'(
But when Frank Gardner remarked on the number of his grandfather's siblings, I was suddenly struck by the thought that before birth control, women's hormones hardly had a chance to settle from one pregnancy, before being unbalanced again by the next. No wonder perhaps that Grace started wandering in the "twilight zone".
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Complete coincidence, - (I didn't know he was going to be on 'WDYTYA') but I had just finished reading Frank Gardner's book, 'Blood and Sand' this weekend. Really gripping read, & of course, absolutely tragic what happened to him & Cameraman Simon Cumbers... What really came across, (both in the book and 'WDYTYA') is his fortitude and courage in the face of adversity, and the positive way that he deals with his physical problems. Very impressive...
Romilly.
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I couldn't help thinking though... that there must be an awful lot of people in the UK who are decendants of William the Conqueror. It's just that most of us can't prove it!
Romilly :)
That is the problem indeed. I thought the chap at the College of Arms was a bit disingenuous when he talked about Frank's ancestors being like a queue for the bus! - true, but it ignores ALL his other ancestors.
To give us a bit of comfort for our own hopes for royal ancestors from kittycooper.com:
"Very simply, if you postulate that 1000 years was 30 generations ago then your theoretical number of ancestors is two to the 30th, or just over a billion: 1,073,741,824.This is impossible as nowhere near that many people were alive back then. Plus not everyone who lived a thousand years ago has descendants today...
...Kenneth W. Wachter came up with an interesting mathematical model for this, described in Stephen Lewis’ blog post How many ancestors do I have. To somewhat paraphrase, “Going back 30 generations… Wachter’s model calculates that [an Englishman] would have 952,279 distinct ancestors in 1077 – only around 0.09% of the maximum but representing fully 86% of the total estimated English population [at that time] of 1.1 million" "
So a pretty high chance for many people...if only we can prove it!
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Sat down with a mug of coffee and a choccy biscuit to enjoy this one......
But it turns out us Scots were denied seeing Frank Gardner . There was a new New Tricks episode instead ??? ( which is absolutely not a patch on the old New Tricks....but that should be another thread).
So not knowing when BBC Scotland will show it , I'm going to watch iPlayer later.
I really like and admire Frank Gardner, so I'm looking forward to it.
Looby :)
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I'm another who really enjoyed this episode. I was interested in the asylum research as my great grandmother's aunt was in an asylum from 1888 - 1893 when she died. The case notes book that was brought out was familiar but about half the size of the one from Lancaster County Asylum.
I thought Frank was very interested and engaged with the process which made it all the more enjoyable for me as a viewer.
When they got that scroll out, I thought - hang on, we've seen this before! Lucky for some that they have ancestors who haven't become part of the masses where tracing a line becomes much more difficult. There were a fair few women on that line back to Royalty as well reducing the chances that somewhere along the line a supposed father actually wasn't.
More than made up for last week's strange lady.
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By far the best episode this series.
I sat up when the name Rollestone was mentioned. Same name different spelling in my family. Then the Burdett name. They were the local landowners near where I live. It seems likely to me that Frank's mother's claim that they were descended from Normans who came over with the Conqueror is by the Burdett line. She would have known about Dorothy Burdett even though she didn't know about the direct descent from William.
All great stuff.
C
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I too enjoyed this episode - what a change from from last week with Anne Reid. I like to see the celebrities doing some of their own research and Frank seemed genuinely interested of all aspects of his family tree. An enthusiastic and personable man. Great episode
Chris
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Great episode which took one line back as far as it was possible to go. When I get a spare few minutes I will have a look at the family in the later censuses as it will be interesting to see where all the children ended up.
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Much more likeable than last week. The Stanhope story reminded me that one of OH's ancestors in the 17thC was a woman of that name, and I'd never got around to following up her line. It appears that she was a Ggranddaughter of Michael.
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HI Loobyooayr
STV showing prog on Monday night (28th) at 22.35. They don't make it easy do they. I think it was changed because of football match.
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By far the best episode this series.
I sat up when the name Rollestone was mentioned. Same name different spelling in my family. Then the Burdett name. They were the local landowners near where I live. It seems likely to me that Frank's mother's claim that they were descended from Normans who came over with the Conqueror is by the Burdett line. She would have known about Dorothy Burdett even though she didn't know about the direct descent from William.
All great stuff.
C
Yes, I thought when I heard Rolleston 'Hello, this going local'! But I really sat up when they went to Foremark. I've been tearing my hair out over the Francis (Fraunceys) family in Ticknall, which is another branch. Jane Francis of Foremark married Sir Thomas Burdett, so today I've been looking for the connection to Dorothy - nope, can't find it, along with my link.
If I could find these two links, not only me but Frank too could take the line back via a Fraunceys tree to 1050 (pre-conquest). If the tree is authentic, that is!
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I agree cms, when they mentioned the name Burdett, I thought that was going to be the Norman connection as most people with the name Burdett appear to "know" about the Norman connection.... My MIL for one.
I'm surprised no one on here has picked up on the initial newspaper obit which mentioned Grace was the niece of sir Humphrey Davy, the science connection appears to have carried on. Frank Gardener didn't even comment on it which made me think he already knew something about Grace.
I'm still puzzled on who had the original personal letters?
I thoroughly enjoyed the program, it just goes to show, if the subject is truly engaged and enthusiastic it makes viewing far more interesting.
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best episode so far.
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I also must agree it is the best show so far... Really enjoyed it. But wonder who looked after the grandfather while the mum was in the hosptial...
Cheers
Anne
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Loved it
it was as I like the prog to be.. full of dead rellies.... :) and interesting moments.
xin
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Watched it on Iplayer......Thanks for the Scottish TV info Wred but I just couldn't wait till Monday.
Loved it and loved Frank.
Enjoyed the research tracing Frank's maternal line back from Victorian to Georgian to Tudor to Medieval. He seemed genuinely interested and astonished and didn't talk or laugh over the experts when they were talking (unlike Anne R). This has to be my favourite episode of this series so far. It was like the WDYTYA of old.
Looby :)
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I agree it was the most engaging one this series - and I also thought, when "one of those scrolls" came out, that it was going to gallop straight back to William the C. - I think actually it may not have been the exact same document as the Pincet one, the design /layout looked a bit different to me - how envious all those of us who have never managed any "important" ancestors are of those who have the early family well documented.
(I've also found ancestors in Ticknall in Derbyshire - but alas not with well-connected names)
A really good programme, I only got to watch it last night, OH had recorded it for me, but also watched it in real time , and said "You'll like this one..." - and I did!
Congratulations to the WDYTYA? lot for at last getting it really right.
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I think getting it 'really right' is down to a number of factors, many of which can't be controlled. For instance, the researchers may get an interesting line of inquiry, but combine it with a celebrity who doesn't do the information justice then it won't work as well as with one who does. The three that have worked especially well for me this series are Derek Jacobi, Jane Seymour and Frank Gardner.
Jerry Hall and Gareth Malone's programmes had rather a lot of filler in them to pad out the interesting part that didn't fill an entire show. Jerry Hall's was also let down in my opinion by her lack of engagement other than to be wowed and amazed and the less said about the quite bizarre behaviour of Anne Reid the better...
It's wonderful when everything comes together but when the programme makers approach a celebrity to make the show can they really back out if they're part way through making it and it seems it's not gelling together. I think they must work hard then to try and provide something half decent!
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You're all lucky to have seen the Frank Gardner programme at the right time. Here in Scotland a networked BBC TV programme is often replaced by some dross for local consumption only, like a minor football match, and the programme which the rest of Britain has been watching is shown the following week at some stupid time. I gather that the Frank Gardner programme is being shown one night next week at 10.35 p.m., so I'll be sitting watching it in my jim-jams, clutching my teddy. I look forward to it and I'm not going to read all the posts on this thread as I don't want to spoil the surprise.
Harry
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You're all lucky to have seen the Frank Gardner programme at the right time. Here in Scotland a networked BBC TV programme is often replaced by some dross for local consumption only, like a minor football match, and the programme which the rest of Britain has been watching is shown the following week at some stupid time. I gather that the Frank Gardner programme is being shown one night next week at 10.35 p.m., so I'll be sitting watching it in my jim-jams, clutching my teddy. I look forward to it and I'm not going to read all the posts on this thread as I don't want to spoil the surprise.
Harry
Harry, I was disappointed too to switch on my TV and find WDYTYA postponed and New Tricks on (which had been moved because of football, I believe). But I watched the episode on BBC i-Player on my laptop. Couldn't wait till next week ;D
Looby :)
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Sat down with a mug of coffee and a choccy biscuit to enjoy this one......
But it turns out us Scots were denied seeing Frank Gardner . There was a new New Tricks episode instead ??? ( which is absolutely not a patch on the old New Tricks....but that should be another thread).
So not knowing when BBC Scotland will show it , I'm going to watch iPlayer later.
I really like and admire Frank Gardner, so I'm looking forward to it.
Looby :)
Ah, now I know why it didn't record! Had to go and find another showing of it via the Sky box. If you have one you can find the episode 'on demand' and download it.
Kit
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This was more like it!
Lots of proper genealogy and sensitive and intelligent responses from the celebrity.
Enjoyed it very much!
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Fantastic episode! I hope there are more episodes like this, however I would have liked him to do a bit more of the research... ;D
As stated earlier in the thread we are probably all, if English, descended from William I, but Frank is one of lucky few who can prove it!
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Watched it real time, and have downloaded this one to watch again! Even my sister, who does not share my passion for this subject, commented on how good it was.
FS
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I was somewhat surprised that as a wheelchair user, that Frank was able to find Headstone (of The Professor and his wife) in a very overgrown cemetery on his own.
Frank made good use of the various wheelchairs.
I loved the part where he was given the letters written by his Great Grandfather.
Frank's Grandfather had a lot of upheaval in his teenage years.
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Good morning,
Most definitely the best so far, better than many in past series as well. I supect the camera man/woman had found the headstone and Frank just went to him.
The different wheel chairs looked like one chair with different attachments to convert it. At one point when on the cycle version you could see the normal front wheels suspended in the air by his feet.
John915
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I agree with all that's been said about this episode. I was looking forward to seeing what history he would find and I wasn't disappointed.
He certainly seems to come from a long line of those who have overcome adversity. I have great admiration for him and how he continues on with life after everything he suffered.
It was the best one in this series and nice to see the person doing some of their own research.
It does make you wonder what artefacts are laying hidden about our relatives that, unless we are lucky enough to have a research team,we never get to find! All those documents just waiting to be found and enjoyed! To be able to see a bust of ones relative must be something special to.
That reminded me of the episode with Emily Fox and the discovery of her relative at The Royal College of Music and how amazed she was too!
It has restored my faith in the programme!
Although as was said by Barnes612 once they've started investigations it would be difficult to just drop the episode.
Keep more good ones coming hopefully.
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Good morning, Most definitely the best so far, better than many in past series as well. I suspect the camera man/woman had found the headstone and Frank just went to him.
The different wheel chairs looked like one chair with different attachments to convert it. At one point when on the cycle version you could see the normal front wheels suspended in the air by his feet.John915
Yes, having spent many a frustrating hour falling over and into dips in churchyards, I have to say I was quite astonished how simple finding the stone seemed for the programme!! :-\
While I feel it is not quite proper to be discussing the wheelchair aspect, [not quite the same thing as Jerry Hall's wardrobe surely,] I was really happy to note that FG can get himself into his car with apparent ease. Having watched the episode a couple of times I concluded that the basic chair can be converted for different purposes.
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It does make you wonder what artefacts are laying hidden about our relatives that, unless we are lucky enough to have a research team,we never get to find! All those documents just waiting to be found and enjoyed! To be able to see a bust of ones relative must be something special too. Keep more good ones coming hopefully.
There certainly is a huge wealth of artefacts, but sadly, unless a person was important or notorious in some way, there will be little documented about them.
For example, even in the early parish registers you might find a father's name, but you won't necessarily find the mother's. :'(
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Hadn't he met the Stanhope expert before the graveyard visit? I expect he'd have been able to provide a pointer to the location.
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This was the best WDYTYA I've seen in ages. I'd almost given up on it, most episodes of the past couple of series have been so boring, with far too much social history to pad out limited genealogical information. It was vey touching - Frank Gardner was so anxious to find evidence of his mother's stoicism, of which he is an obvious shining example. Someone here mentioned his book - I must read it. I also thought that it must be a hard programme to do shortly after the loss of a parent. I hope the producers of the programme are reading these comments - please take note of what people enjoy most - plenty of genealogy and a sympathetic subject!
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This certainly ticked all the boxes for me. OH usually falls asleep at the beginning and claims 'it was boring' as his excuse. He stayed awake all the way through (I confess I missed a couple of minutes) and keeps talking about it even now.
I was particularly impressed with Frank Gardner and his attitude to his disability. He didn't seem to have any problems at all and barely even mentioned it. A wonderful man.
I assume because there was so much found during their research that there was no need for the 'padding out' of the programme. The singing/baking/driving/horse-riding becomes very tedious but what else can they do? At least this one was full-on research and interest.
The fact that he was doing this for him Mum was something that probably touched many of us. How many times have we all said 'I wish I could tell Mum/Dad/Nan/Grandad that.'
A very enjoyable episode and I wish we could have more the same but, alas, I tend to think this is a one-off and we will be back to the endless singing/baking/driving/horse-riding scenes very soon.
Rishile
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This certainly ticked all the boxes for me. OH usually falls asleep at the beginning and claims 'it was boring' as his excuse. He stayed awake all the way through (I confess I missed a couple of minutes) and keeps talking about it even now.
I was particularly impressed with Frank Gardner and his attitude to his disability. He didn't seem to have any problems at all and barely even mentioned it. A wonderful man.
I assume because there was so much found during their research that there was no need for the 'padding out' of the programme. The singing/baking/driving/horse-riding becomes very tedious but what else can they do? At least this one was full-on research and interest.
The fact that he was doing this for him Mum was something that probably touched many of us. How many times have we all said 'I wish I could tell Mum/Dad/Nan/Grandad that.'
A very enjoyable episode and I wish we could have more the same but, alas, I tend to think this is a one-off and we will be back to the endless singing/baking/driving/horse-riding scenes very soon.
Rishile
I agree with everything you say Rishile. What a wonderful man he is and very humble I thought.
As you say how often have we said I wish......... He at least had some insight into where he wanted to look for his mothers sake and I'm really pleased that he was able to prove what she'd always thought as correct.
Like everyone else I fear this may be one of a very few episodes that have real meaning into WDYTYA!
It's a shame that all the comments couldn't be forwarded to th BBC so they can get an idea what is thought about each one they do.
I've just received my WDYTYA magazine and the top heading on the outside is ' Exclusive Anne Reid interview' can't wait to see what it says!!!
Not sure who it is this week?
Has the series finished?
Caroline
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Still to come
Anita Rani 1 October 2015
Presenter Anita Rani is keen to learn about her maternal grandfather Sant Singh, and the circumstances in which his first wife and child died
Mark Gatiss 8 October 2015
Frances de la Tour 15 October 2015
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Thank you StevieSteve for the info!
Who is Mark Gatiss, never heard of him?
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I've just received my WDYTYA magazine and the top heading on the outside is ' Exclusive Anne Reid interview' can't wait to see what it says!!!
There's my bedtime reading sorted out then. That should send me to sleep in double-quick time ;)
Rishile
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Who is Mark Gatiss, never heard of him?
He's Mycroft in TV's Sherlock
Also co-writes it
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Don't be too alarmed , but the first paragraph says they could have made a WHOLE SERIES dedicated to her. Heavens above what next'!!!!!!!!!
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Who is Mark Gatiss, never heard of him?
He's Mycroft in TV's Sherlock
Thanks for that little gem - not a series I watch so will be interesting to see what he's like!
Also co-writes it
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Yes, having spent many a frustrating hour falling over and into dips in churchyards, I have to say I was quite astonished how simple finding the stone seemed for the programme!!
Like you, with my husband we've walked up and down graveyards looking for my ancestors, on one occasion in the pouring rain and just as I was about to give up after about 2 hours, for some unknown reason I decided to look behind a bush that had grown right up to a wall. There was my 2 x g.grandfather's gravestone and more importantly it showed that his wife was also buried there, even though she had died over 40 miles away.
On the other hand, we went to a graveyard in Cumbria, my husband went one way and I went another and immediately in front of me was the grave I'd been looking for. With lots of names and information on it - so it can happen.
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Only just caught up with this episode as I thought it'd be as dire as they seem to be lately...how wrong was I?!!?
Loved it!! Firstly he came across as suck a lovely man, secondly the 1st part about his great grandad and nan the poor last that went insane was fascinating! And just wow at them tracing him back to William the conquerer!!
Absolutely loved this episode and as a King and queen geek since I was a little girl I'm always impressed by royalty being mentioned in family trees ;)
More like this please wdytya x
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I am always amused when they show direct connections through to royalty in this case around 30 generations back. WDYTYA are well aware that Kings and Queens removed and added descendants to fit in with their preferred ancestors. Whole lines were sometimes removed and replaced with a better one. Always take these trees with two pinches of salt!
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Well, now that BBC One Scotland has finally got round to airing this programme, I'm very pleased to have seen it and I agree with the various complimentary comments on this thread. Now I'm just wondering who Frank's Gardner forebears were!
Harry
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I am always amused when they show direct connections through to royalty in this case around 30 generations back. WDYTYA are well aware that Kings and Queens removed and added descendants to fit in with their preferred ancestors. Whole lines were sometimes removed and replaced with a better one. Always take these trees with two pinches of salt!
Was a bit disappointed they missed out how all kings and queens were descended from Adam and Eve...thus direct defendants of God! Sure I saw a wdytya before with the actual family tree type scroll showing this ;)
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Being connected to the Stanhope family myself, I was interested to check his tree, but dissapointed to come across an error. His Mary /Margaret Jerningham who married Thomas Stanhope would appear to be the daughter of John Jermingham and sister of Edward Jermingham who married Mary Scrope. As his tree was supposed to ascend through Mary Scrope up to William the Conqueror, if what I found is correct, then he would not be a direct descendant. I would be happy to be proved wrong!
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Was a bit disappointed they missed out how all kings and queens were descended from Adam and Eve...thus direct defendants of God! Sure I saw a wdytya before with the actual family tree type scroll showing this ;)
Wasn't that the rower? Matthew Pinsent?
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Was a bit disappointed they missed out how all kings and queens were descended from Adam and Eve...thus direct defendants of God! Sure I saw a wdytya before with the actual family tree type scroll showing this ;)
Wasn't that the rower? Matthew Pinsent?
Yes, - already mentioned earlier in this thread.
Romilly.
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Yeah that was him...I enjoyed that episode too.
And sorry, I hadn't read all the thread.
Really enjoyed this one anyway.
Lisa
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Being connected to the Stanhope family myself, I was interested to check his tree, but dissapointed to come across an error. His Mary /Margaret Jerningham who married Thomas Stanhope would appear to be the daughter of John Jermingham and sister of Edward Jermingham who married Mary Scrope. As his tree was supposed to ascend through Mary Scrope up to William the Conqueror, if what I found is correct, then he would not be a direct descendant. I would be happy to be proved wrong!
If this is indeed correct (I have not had time to fully check) then he seems to still have a descent from Henry II anyway and thus back to Guillaume "le batard". This connexion would be via Stanhope, Talbot (Elizabeth Talbot married John Stanhope, of Rampton, father of Thomas Stanhope who married Mary Jerningham), (de) Holand, (de la) Zouche and (de) Longespée.
I noticed Tracy was one of the surnames in his ancestry as well (I am a descendant of this family but via their English branch, rather than their later Irish one).
He also appears to have a descent via Burdett, Tracy, Devereux, Grey, Ferrers, Mowbray and therefore to Henry III.
He likely has many others as well. They presumably chose this particular descent from William I, over those others, likely due to the story of Sir Michael Stanhope.
As for descent from William I., I have many descendents from him due to being a two-time descendant of Edward III. Once one finds a Gateway ancestor it is not so difficult to trace lines back into mediaeval times (although records need to be checked carefully, especially Heralds Visitations) and in some regards back to the British monarchy.
The Rolleston/Rolston family are also a relatively well known gentry family, so it makes tracing his ancestry not that much difficult.
Even without the links back to Henry II, Henry III and/or William I, I appear to be a very distant cousin of Frank Gardner (as I am of many thousands of individuals) via the Tracy family.
I did find the programme very interesting though due mostly to the fact I share some ancestry with him (but not via Sir Michael Stanhope).
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Just, luckily, switched channels and found this episode on a re-run on BBC1.
Lucky me.
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Just managed to watch this episode tonight on catch up tv.
Really enjoyed it. A very nice man - great courage - good research - wished he could tell his mum -
its all been said already.
For me, best episode yet.
Dorrie
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Thoroughly agree, best episode ever. We need more like it !
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Being connected to the Stanhope family myself, I was interested to check his tree, but dissapointed to come across an error. His Mary /Margaret Jerningham who married Thomas Stanhope would appear to be the daughter of John Jermingham and sister of Edward Jermingham who married Mary Scrope. As his tree was supposed to ascend through Mary Scrope up to William the Conqueror, if what I found is correct, then he would not be a direct descendant. I would be happy to be proved wrong!
Very belatedly finding this thread, I felt I must reply to say I'm glad that I'm not the only person who noticed the error in that line! (I even wrote to the College of Arms about it but received no reply.)
Fortunately, Frank has many other lines leading to nobility and royalty, and he is my 13th cousin once removed, our mutual ancestors being George Throckmorton and Katherine Vaux (whose 4ggf was Edward III).
Janice