Top Family Secrets

[Windsor87]

In today's Daily Mail (Sep. 13, p29) there is an article on the 'family tree boom'. It says that with records coming online, more and more people are having a go at making a family tree but are finding a few surprises along the way.
Here is their given list of 'Top Family Secrets':

1: Illegitimate children - 18%.
2: Changed names - 14%.
3: Secret adoptions - 6%.
4: Missing persons - 6%.
5: Unmarried parents - 6%.
6: Unmarried grandparents - 6%.
7: Links to Royalty - 4%.
8: Convicted theives - 3%.
9: Convicted murderers - 3%.
10: Bigamy - 2%.
11: Other convicted criminals - 2%.

My family fall guilty to number 1, 2 and 7 (that is if number 1 relates to the wider tree). Number 2 was my great great grandfather whom I spoke of before who lied about his name to cover up the fact that he was illegitimate.

I suppose my top family secret doesn't rank. I was rather surprised to find that a pair of my great great grandparents were first cousins.

[aghadowey]

Surprised that suicide doesn't rank as one of the family secrets.

[ninkynoo]

I've got 8/11 .....am I shocked ....not really , no murderers ...yet !! and I'll leave everyone to guess what the other one is. .

Perhaps my lot were a bit on the bawdy side ,but if they hadn't done what they did ,then I wouldn't be here ,so I really won't complain.

I think the Mail is trying to over sensationalize all this though.It just makes me happy that I have been born now rather than then.

lin

[acceber]

I have 1, 2 and 3 as well as suicide all of which were never mentioned until I started my family tree research.

Although not all secrets are bad, most are just natural, illegtimacy for example has been around since the dawn of time and will be forever more! and can also lead to further trails of the father's identity. My Grt-Grandmother (pictured) was illegitimate and at the moment we are pursuing a lead over her father which we think could be the Lord of the Manor's son  (he then was packed off to Canada 4 years after her birth, and passenger records suggest she may have gone to visit him!)

The article is online here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=481492&in_page_id=1770

acceber

[Comosus]

I don't have any of those, at least in family secrets: I've found illegitimacy but not until about 5 generations back, and no rumour has passed down.  My GG Grandfather committed suicide but that's about it as family rumours go.

Andrew

[philipsearching]

I claim 1,2,4,6,8,10,11 and suicide - also bankruptcy.  D*mn but I'm proud of my ancestors!

Philip

(p.s. - is there a prize if anyone has the full set?)

[Musicman]

Don’t have any of the above in my Family Tree – it’s so b-o-r-i-n-g! (just hope it hasn’t rubbed off on me).  So far, it appears that my lot are “practically perfect”. 

[Musicman]

Just an observation on this subject – I’m currently transcribing the Non-Conformist Baptismal records (pre-1900) onto computer for my local Records Office.  Occasionally only the mother is listed. 
It’s interesting to note that in the C of E equivalent records beneath the mother’s name it states: “Unmarried” or “Unmarried Mother” (usually in capital letters).  Seems as though the C of E really liked to “rub salt into the wound”.

[EDO]

Don’t have any of the above in my Family Tree – it’s so b-o-r-i-n-g! (just hope it hasn’t rubbed off on me).  So far, it appears that my lot are “practically perfect”. 

G'day Musicman,

What are you about to do to change that boring perfection???

EDO
_{from a less than perfect pedigree}