Have you opened a Pandora's box?

[MarieC]

Nugget is right, having a convict is a badge of honour in Australia.  I have two, who both made good here and of whom I am very proud.  The most ultra-respectable part of my family buried them for a long time, but a cousin dug them up!  (figuratively, of course!  )

I have a murderer, not a direct ancestor, who scarpered and as far as I know was never caught and charged.

My ancestors were very boring re their sexual morals - no premature births that I have discovered. 

I did have a great-aunt who drowned herself - very sad incident. 

It doesn't worry me what I find out - all part of the rich tapestry of my ancestry!  I would try to be a bit sensitive to the reactions of other family members, though.

MarieC

[Lal]

My mother showed me her grandfather's birth certificate and I've now traced his family back a bit. However it looks like his parents had two sets of marriage licences issued....

On one set the bride is known by the maiden name she's known as on her son's birth certificate. And on the other by a completely different name. Is that a mistake by the vicar? By the transcriber? Or something else...because it turns out that her mother kept on popping out kiddies for twenty one years despite being unmarried and no sign of any man about the cottage, only her old widowed mam. These weren't the usual family "fore nooners" (as my Grandad used to call his cousins ) and it's given me a new juicy story to find out.

[Keitht]

I have an extremely boring set of ancestors, unless you count one who went down for four years in 1910 for forging, of all things, two bob pieces.

My wife's family, however, has caused great amusement. Her kids grew up believeing that their mother was one of three sisters, all of whom had this one particular friend. Only when we started delving into the family's history, thankfully after all of them had gone, did we discover that this 'friend' was, in fact, a fourth sister. We still can't get to the bottom of it.

[coombs]

Luckily I have no murderers in my family. tree. Well that I know of.

[lindylou2_2002]

All the time my mother was alive she didnt want me delving in to her fathers family. I found out after she died that her dad had been married before and had 3 children the 4th child bore his name but had a different father on the certificate. He divorced and re married with in the year and had nothing to do with his 1st family at all even though they all lived in the same area. My aunt and uncle had no Idea about it but I suspect my mum did.

He father got kicked out the army too for drinking on duty.

[sharmar]

I think I just have! 

My father has not seen his own father since about 1943/4 when my nan kicked him out leaving her with 2 grown children and 3 still at home under the age of 12.  We knew roughly where he went and after several years of searching I found a death match, traced a marriage to this man and also a birth of a child to this man and new wife, now my problem is he never divorced my nan so this marriage would be illiegal now I'm only 99% certain that I have the right one but I can't check further without contacting the child from this marriage - my problem is I told my dad his father may have died in 1962 but do I tell him that he may have a half sister?  Do I contact her to tell her that her father my have been my grandfather, do I tell her she my have 5 half sisters and brothers?  I have spoken to my dad (haven't told him all I found) and he said if his mom had known he died in 1962 he thinks she would have said, he says that they never divorced he is sure of that, I lived with her for the last 4 years of her life and she never spoke about him, there was no papers in her belonging when she died only her marriage certificate.

So I might just leave it at that - but I'm not 100% sure so this is going to bug me every now and again.

I have a murderer, my great uncle served 7 years for manslaughter would have been hung but got the lesser charge on a technicality. I have the court transcripts and they are very interesting and looking at the evidence it was plainly an accident but they were trying to make it more and you can plainly see he was covering up for his 16 year old son who was with him at the time who I think maybe ahve been the one who done it.

I have a great aunt who was attacked and raped at 15 leaving her with a child at 16 (he was granny reared).

Numerous children passed off as sisters/brothers and no one knowing until I sent for birth certificates.

Great great grandmother having 3 yes 3 daughters with no marriage or fathers anywhere (don't even know if they had the same father or 3 different ones!)

My mom was cleaning an electric fire before she married my father and she got an electric shock - she thought that was why her periods had stopped!   No it was because I was on the way!!! She says that 41 years ago she didn't think there was any other reason why they would stop didn't think about the sex!!!!!!!!!! 5 months gone before she realized they ought to get married!!!!!! 

I haven't been right since!!!!!!!

But all this makes my family who they are and makes them and me unique and they are all mine!!!!

[Latchfordian]

That's some family you have there Sharmar!!! As the one who started this thread I think I must give you the prize for the most exciting Pandora's box. 

[jensquest]

Not 'proper' skeletons, quite a few illegitimate births - which I carried on the tradition of    and then my Gran who married her adoptive father after having 4 illegitimate babies as a teenager ( including a set of twins in that number). We now think that her husband could also have been the father of these children as the resemblance of the elder four to the 2 that were born after the marriage was uncanny! 

[coombs]

I wonder if any Pandora ancestor had a Pandora's Box?