Family legends that turn out to be nonsense

[snaptoo]

Not my story, but my friend's grandfather or ggrandfather (cannot remember which) really was found under a gooseberry bush!!!!!!!!

[mrs.tenacious]

Brilliant, snaphappytoo!

In a similar vein, where we were living when our daughter was conceived, there was a gooseberry bush under the bedroom window 

We've never mentioned it to her.....

Mrs. T.

[snaptoo]

 

Hi Mrs T!

No need to be so formal!

snaptoo - aka snap, SH, SH2!

[Sara2212]

I too have been trying to find some basis to stories found in my OH's aunt's papers on her death.  Several handwritten copies of family trees had a royal personage secretly marrying the seamstress who bore him a son.  When the royal person had to marry Lady ..... the seamstress was passed to a French Refugee who brought up the son who in turn married and had my OH's g g grandmother.  The only proof of this seemed to be her name = Alexandrina Charlotte Victoria (you've got to be descended from royalty with a name like that!!).  I'm pretty sure it was a story made up by Alexandrina and her sister when they were both orphaned at the ages of 11 and 7.

Another story is that their father (who married Alexandrina) was lost on the Lady Franklin expedition.  After much searching this too is wrong.  He was lost at sea but on a ship having nothing to do with the North West Passage (as far as I know).  I think this is another story made up by the two orphaned girls.

Yet another older piece of paper - well faded, and almost illegible, hints at a servant impersonating his master and taking all the money. Africa, shipwrecks and children running away to sea are also mentioned.  One day I may try and follow this up too, but having spent so much time on royal ancestors and expeditions to the Arctic, I'm staying on the straight and narrow for a while.

Sara

[chinakay]

"Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad.  In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/01/harry-reids-outlaw-ancestor/
 

OH's family is supposed to have had a huge fortune way back when. I have heard the story from two separate branches of the family who don't know about the other.

No evidence for it, but some family members have apparently spent quite some time talking about it

Cheers,
China

[Roger The Hat]

I'm still looking for that promised family connection between the Mother-in-law and Bonny Prince Charlie....

   

 

[arkay]

My Mum, the only one in her mostly red-headed family to be born with jet black hair, was told she must have inherited her hair colour from her Spanish ggg-grandmother.   (This is one of the reasons I started researching my family history.)   Well, the Spanish grandmother turned out to be an Italian great-grandfather - a rogue who fathered her grandmother out of wedlock!  I would never have found him if she hadn’t helpfully named him on her marriage certificate.
   
He was one of my more interesting ancestors.  After arriving in England as a mariner, he became a boarding house keeper, then a pawnbroker, and finally a ship owner, who had amassed a fortune by the time of his death at age 91, outliving three wives - and at least one mistress.
 
It goes to show that these family stories are worth checking out!

Arkay

[rutht22000]

My grandmother had all kinds of stories, most of which I've found have no foundation whatsoever!

one that my great great grandmother's sister was in service to Queen Victoria, that we were descended from the Norris' of Speke Hall, Liverpool, that someone else was involved in the planning of Queen Mary's (Princess of Mary of Teck's) wedding and "smuggled" a piece of material out of the dress as well as some material that the covers of the wedding chairs were made out of.   I've got both these and admittedly they are very nice silk and velvet pieces but they could have come from anywhere (anyone know if Queen Mary's wedding chairs were burgundy velvet ?!    I've seen a colour picture of the wedding dress and its frightfully similar to the piece tho.

the only one I've found out was true was that my great great grandmother's brother was knighted.

[mrs.tenacious]

Hi Mrs T!

No need to be so formal!

snaptoo - aka snap, SH, SH2!

Like "snap" best, if that's OK for the future? 
Great username, either way 

(By the way, have ancestors from Weston-super-Mare, around 1900-1920, maybe we should compare notes?!)