Family rumours have they turned out to be true?

[Lydart]

...and the importance of checking out four year old threads on RC !

[betsyblue]

My late mother in law always said  her ggg grandmother came from  the West Indies and we thought it was a far fetched story until I started doing my husbands tree and I found her married in England in 1826  died in Scotland  in 1857 the daughter of a sugar plantation owner from Barbados I couldn't believe it when I saw her death certificate.

Ann

[spark]

I have been told that a Male Mann was carpenter on HMS Vistory and is depicted in the back right corner of a famous painting of Nelson dying.  Story comes from Gt x n grandmother always putting a Union Jack on a picture of HMS Victory on Trafalgar day!

I have yet to make the connection and my source for the story passed away last Nov.

Spark

[sirius]

Well I found out the rumour was true yesterday that they came from Denmark.

Sirius

[Cal241]

I knew we had 'money' way back due to family rumours .... Finaly found out where this came from// my ggg grand father was a stock broker .. in 1814 he was giving away 500 pounds here and a 1000 of pounds there ... blimey he was wealthy.. how ever his descendants left nothing ........................

[bullfrog1995]

I've heard many family rumors, but a lot of them have been either false or not yet proven true.

I've heard that my great-great-grandmother was a full blooded Native American. But disproved it once I found out her grandmother's ancestors were all from England.

I also heard that my great-great-great-grandfather was Native American, and he was an alcoholic so they sent him to a rehabilitation center. My grandmother had told me that she thinks from the gist of how it was told, that he died when his daughter (my great-great-grandmother) was in her teens. At the beginning, I just believed it because I couldn't find anything for him past 1880. But sure enough, not that long ago I found his death certificate and some more census records. He lived to be 84. But he did live in institutions since the 1890's until his death.

I heard that my great-great-great-great-grandmother was a full-blooded Native American. She was a medicine woman for the Mashpee Wampanoag Native American tribe and her name was Rowena Pearl. Well, so far I have found that her name was Elizabeth (Maiden Name: Hall) Pearl. Still can't find anything with the name Rowena or anything to do with the Mashpee Native American's...but still searching!!!

Seems most of my rumors surround those Native Americans!

[Anderson1991]

Hi, I find this very interesting as I am also trying to find out which of grace darlings brothers I am related to!

[BashLad]

Interesting thread.

Supposedly my great-grandfather had a second family during his years in Peru. I'd love to meet some peruvian half-cousins. I think proving that one would be a challenge!

My other maternal great-grandfather on the other hand was easy. I am descended from the second family! 

I don't know where all the womanizing charm went.

[Tariana]

In high school, my Gran* told me that my Pop* was a descendant of Anne Boleyn.
She even had a book detailing the history of his family. (Although it was published before he was born.)

Turns out, in a way, she was correct. My Pop is a Shelton and is a direct descendant of Sir John Shelton and LADY Anne Boleyn, Queen Anne's aunt.

*My mom was raised by a first cousin and her husband, so while I am blood-kin to my Gran, she is actually my first cousin once removed (I think that's right), and I'm not blood-related (that I am aware of) to my Pop. So I personally cannot claim to be a descendant of Sir John Shelton and Lady Anne.

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Well, I wasn't really told any family stories (complicated reasons as to why). My mom did once tell me we were part Italian, though I have found no proof of that whatsoever. Smiths are a nortoriously difficult bunch to trace anywhere in the world.

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Internet research produced two Cherokee 6th greatgrandfathers. One one my mother's side (Tommy Ellis) and one on my father's side (Vincent Tanner). I've done the DNA thing and my understanding is it can fairly accurately tell you what percentage of European, African and Asian (which includes Native American) you are, within 5 generations.
So it's just shy of my "Cherokee" ancestors, however, I came back as 0% Asian and .27% African. Point-27 is just about the right amount for one 6th ggf.
So it seems that one was flat out lying and the other was of African descent passing as a Cherokee.