why would you want a black sheep?

[stormtroop]

Something has always fascinated me about the English, why do they like the idea of a black sheep in the family??.  Do tell , what is the appeal!!, I do not have any of those, all skilled working class aristocracy in mine and proud of it, Scots non conformists, maybe it is the morality, but somehow going off the rails really never appealed.

I do find the English obsession  with having something "nasty" in the family bloodline and then making sentimental "non judgemental "excuses for it, when everyone else was working and staying  on the straight and narrow really intriguing .
Oh I have a book on English executions so I love reading about how your ancestors were dispatched.

[KGarrad]

It's not just the English who like a "Character"!

I'm not being judgemental, but our friends in Australia do seem to be proud of their convict ancestors!!

[Erato]

That's simple.  The black sheep made the news and so one can learn more about them.  In this sense, they are much more rewarding subjects for research than those who boringly kept to the straight and narrow.  From local newspapers I have learned that my g grandfather got his barn repainted and also that he once sang a duet with g grandma at a meeting of the 'Old Settlers Club.'  Ho hum.  On the other hand, I learned a great deal about another ancestor whose spectacularly scandalous divorce was lavishly covered by the local press.

[giblet]

It's not just the English who like a "Character"!

I'm not being judgemental, but our friends in Australia do seem to be proud of their convict ancestors!!

Definitely so    I love my convict 4x great grandmother. She had "character" 

[giblet]

stormtroop maybe your ancestors just never got caught    

[KGarrad]

Just what I was thinking, Giblet!

[giblet]

We were fortunate that there was a fairly good records on my 4x great grandmother. It gave us a insight into her personality and her ups and downs besides her just been a name.

AND if it wasnt for her there wouldnt be a giblet 

This is going to be a great thread   

[giblet]

Something has always fascinated me about the English, why do they like the idea of a black sheep in the family??.  Do tell , what is the appeal!!, I do not have any of those, all skilled working class aristocracy in mine and proud of it, Scots non conformists, maybe it is the morality, but somehow going off the rails really never appealed.

I do find the English obsession  with having something "nasty" in the family bloodline and then making sentimental "non judgemental "excuses for it, when everyone else was working and staying  on the straight and narrow really intriguing .
Oh I have a book on English executions so I love reading about how your ancestors were dispatched.

Depends on what you mean by "nasty" Sure there were some bad eggs around back then but there were also people who stole to survive. Food and clothing seem to be a luxury some people didnt have. Picture a young orphan living on the streets with no family to care for him/her. What was he/she to do to survive? Or a father who lost his job and had a family to care for.
One of my lot stole a cabbage from someone else's vege patch 
Another one of my convicts was executed for stealing a steer to feed his family 

Proud of my " black sheep"? Damn right i am 
They all have a story to tell.

[atina576]

My paternal gt.grandfather married 4 women!!  My gt.grandmother was the only legal wife & was still very much alive when he married the other 3 in Fall River, MA.  By then, presumably because he was a womaniser she had taken her daughter back to England so wife no.2 was married & produced 6 children but only 3 lived. That wife died so he remarried 6 months later & another 2 children were born - she died & wife 4 was in the picture 3 months later.  Thankfully there were no children to the 4th wife but the 2 children to wife no.3 were adopted out when their mother died because her eldest daughter to the woman's first husband realised that it was a bigamous marriage & took my guy too court.  Confused yet???
Anyway I ended up with more family than I thought I had & they have loved finding out about their ancestor.
Black sheep make a family history fun & stop it from just being a family tree.
A