Found out some bad things about Hubby's ancestors

[Mike in Cumbria]

I agree with those who have said 'you can't help who your ancestors are or what they have done'
I did feel a bit guilty researching my great gran who was a serial killer (killed 3 husbands and a lover) but she is part of my family history and I can't change that...

That all sounds fascinating - did she end up on the end of a rope?

[Treetotal]

Yes I think it shows how human they were and adds mystery and intrigue...one of my Great Uncles was rejected from the army on first application because he had been in prison over unpaid debts...when I pointed this out to a cousin I was sharing info with... he said he wouldn't include it in
his tree in case it caused embarrassment  He re-enlisted successfully at a later date and proved himself to be worthy of the medals he was awarded.
I think the spicier side of Family History is fun and intriguing...if our ancestors could speak..maybe they wouldn't be too proud of some of their descendants.

Carol

[snooziflooze]

Some of your stories are fascinating..makes my family tree look a bit boring...

[iluleah]

Some of your stories are fascinating..makes my family tree look a bit boring...

I agree however that is why many of us research our branch lines........ that is often where you find the most interesting ones and it also often adds far more to your understanding of your own line as well as de-bunking those family stories we are all told.

I have found ancestors siblings who I knew little to nothing about one who I only found because of a Will written leaving her money and it opened a whole can of worms and lots of interesting information, including why I had not found her in parish records, so the ancestor who was written as 'parish clerk' on his marriage record made me really think about why his aunts baptism, witness named on marriages etc was all covered in ink blots so they could not be read, yet the BT he had no access to once sent ( and sent before he was parish clerk)  it clearly showed her name etc

[Erato]

I agree with those who have said 'you can't help who your ancestors are or what they have done'
I did feel a bit guilty researching my great gran who was a serial killer (killed 3 husbands and a lover) but she is part of my family history and I can't change that...

And I have one who was the victim of a serial murderess.  I've always hoped that some day I would come across one of her descendants so that we could compare notes on how our ancestors' lives intersected.

[Jeuel]

All families will have good and bad in them, that's what makes us human.  In my family I have

a gt gt gt uncle who ended up in Broadmoor after killing his pregnant fiancee;
the first man to be hanged in Cambridge gaol - he killed a 15-year-old prostitute  ;
a gt gt gt uncle who was fined for maliciously injuring a dog

and many more.  But the one that upset me most was my gt grandmother's half-brother, who was imprisoned for neglecting his children.  His wife would have been imprisoned too, but that she died before she could be tried.  There were 6 children and they were split up, the boy to the workhouse and the girls to 2 different establishments.  It made me very sad that none of their many aunts/uncles were able to take them in.

On the plus side, I also have several policemen in the family tree

[fallingonabruise]

I agree with those who have said 'you can't help who your ancestors are or what they have done'
I did feel a bit guilty researching my great gran who was a serial killer (killed 3 husbands and a lover) but she is part of my family history and I can't change that...

That all sounds fascinating - did she end up on the end of a rope?

She was the last woman to be sentenced to hang in Durham, but was given a reprieve due to her age.
You can google 'The merry widow of Windy Nook' for the basic story, most are a bit brief, but Paul Heslop has written a well researched chapter about her in his latest book, Murder and Crime, County Durham.

[Graham47]

Blimey O'Reilly that's quite a story!

We had just the one murder in our family but to close for comfort to relate in detail here - seems he bashed his second lady on the head with a hammer and until very recently at least, was a guest of HM.

Families eh? As if bigamy and thievery were not enough. One thing for sure is that human nature does not change, and neither to the shenanigans we used to get up to.   

[rutht22000]

I'd agree it fleshes out these people that we all come from - I've gone one family with 13 siblings that all had 'something' happen to them that might be seen as a bit unsavoury and it makes them real people.

I've debunked some stories and found things often ten times worse 

One of mine murdered a policeman and his Broadmoor records have been such a fountain of information about him (writing letters to Queen Victoria!) and also his children as they came and visited and all of their visits are recorded.  Another stabbed his wife to death, one had 2 families running at the same time in different parts of the country and one I am relatively sure was running a brothel......

Thing is, they were real people with real faults that had brushes with the law and if Jeremy Kyle had been around then I can say some of mine would have been on it! 

I've not found a single family member who has been embarrassed by what our ancestors got up to - nothing but fascination and a few giggles in fact.

I too have the odd policeman and solicitor interspersed with the lot of them too...