Be wary of family stories

[lizdb]

Seems all families are full of these stories, passed on as absolute fact, probably getting more and more embroidered as time goes by.

My mother in law always claimed that the surname De Boo had been changed from De Beaux only a couple of generations back. Well - back into the 1700's it is still De Boo or Debo or other such spellings!

My father was always told that his grandmother was nee Archer and that her family was linked to a Lord and Lady Archer. Sorry, her maiden name was Kemp, though actually her mother's maiden name was Archer, but sorry, again, no sign of any dignatries around!

[XPhile2868]

There is a story that my great great grandfather James Clitheroe Scowcroft was actually Scottish, although the reality is that his father's family were from Ireland, Lancashire and Suffolk. My maternal grandad is certain that its a Scottish name as well, even though its a Bolton surname.

Stephen

[KathMc]

Kath- my Canadian grandmother's aunt belonged to DAR. She died unmarried in 1930s. In the 1960s my grandmother tried to join but could find no trace of an eligible ancestor (and the family history is fairly complete regarding direct ancestors). In the 1970s my Dad's cousins tried to trace the link to Aunt Bernice's DAR connection but was told by DAR that at an earlier time submitted records were not thoroughly checked with the result that some people were admitted to membership that really had no connection.
This DAR link has always puzzled us as the family were very much Loyalists and when their side lost the Revolutionary War they were invited to leave the country which is how they ended up in Nova Scotia. There was one relative, not an ancestor, thank goodness, who belonged to the 'other' side and was made Governor of New Jersey as a reward for services rendered but we don't like to talk about him.
Anyway, back to the DAR... in the late 1970s I was able to look through some records of DAR ancestors and got very excited, and surprised when I found a couple whose names rang a bell. Took notes and rushed home to check my files. Yes, I was also descended from this couple but dates weren't even close. Believe it or not, my ancestors had a grandson named after grandfather who married a cousin with the same name as his grandmother, thus explaining different dates. We now suspect that Aunt Bernice joined DAR under this couple and as applications weren't checked well the mistake wasn't caught at that time.

I will have to see if we can check through this route and see if there is anything to be found. At this point I'd be happy to find the membership to the DAR, because this is my brickwall for 15 years. I think part of this line could have been in the country for a very long time, as there are some Dutch names we THINK are connected that go back to the 1600s in the New York-New Jersey area.

Kath

[stoney]

We were always told that our Meyers' side of the family came from Heligoland - but the furthest I can get back is my 2xG-Grandfather Archibald Meyre who, according to the 1841 and 1851 census, appears to have been born in Scotland - and there the trail goes cold...!

We were also told that at the outbreak of WW1, there was trouble in the street outside the family shop because the name MEYERS was thought to be German. My grandmother always used to say the trouble maker was a distant cousin  she referred to as "Langmeyer".

Rooting about in Wetheral chruchyard looking for any of the MEYERS I came across the name LONGMIRE. With a bit of digging and sifting through census and BMD's it turned out he was the aforementioned troublemaker - I hadn't taken into account my grandmother's Northern accent which changed the sound of the name!

[suttontrust]

I've researched several trees for friends, and I've found that you can't shake their faith in these family legends.  One friend's grandfather was supposed to be Scottish.  My research proved beyond doubt that he was Hull all the way through; but her older sister said she remembered him with a strong Scottish accent so I had to be wrong.  Another friend refuses to believe that her grandparents weren't married, despite the fact that there's no trace of a marriage.  In my own family, my mother always believed that her father was from Wales and was related to Sir Gordon Richards, the jockey; and that her mother had Scottish roots.  Neither story is true.  The worst hazard is those little, often handwritten memoirs which are largely fictional but take on the status of holy writ.