Have you ever found anything surprising or interesting when researching your family history?

[Welsh_Dragon]

I'm not have Welsh ancestry as far as I know (I still have more research to do), but I always admire how passionate their citizens are when they sing their national anthem.

Wow:

If you ever visit Cardiff when a rugby game is on, please try to get a ticket. Even if you don’t enjoy rugby the singing and the atmosphere is amazing and when they open the roof, you can hear the crowds sing and roar when Wales score all over the City.

 

[RUDisney]

My maternal great-grandmother was living in Poland and fell in love with a man. They went to her father and he asked for her hand. Her father told them that wasn't possible because my grandmother was going to to to America to marry a Polish-American boy so she would have a better life. Her father brought her to Scranton, PA, and took her on the back porch. All of the single Polish-American boys were in the yard. Her father picked on and that is the man she married.

They had 6 kids, one of which was my DGF, and her husband died and left her a single mother. To support herself and the kids, she started making bathtub gin during prohibition. There was a knock at her door one night and there was the man she had loved in Poland. He had no idea where she lived nor did he know that she was widowed. He was also still single. So, with no one to answer to, she married the man she loved and they had 5 more children.

My "Babci" is buried next to her second husband. Her first husband is across town in another cemetery. She was one tough lady. She died when she was 94. Both of her legs were amputated due to diabetes and she lived with one of her daughters. I remember her fondly from when I was little.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Well...I've learned that nothing I was told about our family history is likely true.

I'll first say that I was definitely raised in a family who believed "You're American. That's what's important." We have no culturally-based family traditions or anything like that. However, when we had to do family heritage projects in school my mom said that her family was German and my dad said his was French. For family tree projects we never got farther than great-grandparents and even then it was "I don't know. Her first name was Myrtle or Margaret or something like that. I just called her Grandma ___."

When my son (now 20) was in elementary school, he had to do a family heritage project and my parents told him the same thing "German for grandma's side. French for grandpa's side." The school had an ancestry account and brought home a print out home which showed that a LOT more people with my dad's last name immigrated from Ireland than France. Weird, I thought... but there were a few from France, so one of those must be us.

Then, my mom took a DNA test. It originally said that a large part of her heritage was "Northwest Europe" which my mother insisted was the German part. However, it's been revised over the years and now it's almost all England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and a little bit of the Nordic region. Nothing German at all.

Early in Covid 19, I started looking into the family history just for something to do. I lost interest after a while (and/or met dead ends to what I could research for free online). However, on my mom's side, I have traced several relatives back to their immigration to the US and they're all from England or Ireland (none from Germany). And on my dad's side I found out that my grandmother was 100% Irish (American born, but from Irish immigrants). I do not remember her well -- she died when I was 4 -- but several of her siblings lived till I was a teen and I remember them well. I don't remember any of them EVER saying anything about being Irish.

I mentioned my findings to my Dad and he was like "oh yeah, I know..." and I said "I think your grandmother's maiden name was Bunke, but the handwriting on the record wasn't great." And he said, "No... it was Burke" and spouted off a bunch of other info about people and towns were people were buried, etc. How did I not have this info before now?! I *know* I asked. My mother was shocked too and even said "Then why did you tell the kids your family was French?!" and he said "I don't think I did." But he definitely did... all though school and also for my son's project.

In a way I'm not surprised about your family knowing but not talking about being Irish. Being Irish long ago was not something people celebrated and many people when they left Ireland for a new life in America or England changed their identities and nationality in order to survive. Many were ashamed of their poor background in Ireland as the life they had in the new country was a much better standard with opportunities their siblings back home could never achieve.

My grandfather and his brother went to London in the 1940's to work as laborer's rebuilding London after the bombs of WW2. My grandfather came home to Ireland after 2 years but his brother stayed in London. My grandfathers brother changed his name from Michael to Brian so that he could build a new life in London. Irish Mick was a racial slur at that time, same as the n word is now, so by calling himself Brian he was making sure he would be more likely to get a job and be accepted by London people. His wife and children, my dads cousins always called him Brian but he was known to us as Uncle Mike from London.

 

[Lilsia]

My maternal great-grandmother was living in Poland and fell in love with a man. They went to her father and he asked for her hand. Her father told them that wasn't possible because my grandmother was going to to to America to marry a Polish-American boy so she would have a better life. Her father brought her to Scranton, PA, and took her on the back porch. All of the single Polish-American boys were in the yard. Her father picked on and that is the man she married.

They had 6 kids, one of which was my DGF, and her husband died and left her a single mother. To support herself and the kids, she started making bathtub gin during prohibition. There was a knock at her door one night and there was the man she had loved in Poland. He had no idea where she lived nor did he know that she was widowed. He was also still single. So, with no one to answer to, she married the man she loved and they had 5 more children.

My "Babci" is buried next to her second husband. Her first husband is across town in another cemetery. She was one tough lady. She died when she was 94. Both of her legs were amputated due to diabetes and she lived with one of her daughters. I remember her fondly from when I was little.

Polish Babcias are tough ladies. Mine is 93, lived through the war, came to America and is still kicking.

 

[Diznotyzed]

My mom thought we had some Dutch in with her mostly English/Irish heritage, but it turns out that is actually what our German ancestors started claiming during WWI, even though they'd been in the US for a very long time. Some of the English ancestors were early settlers of Vermont, where Waitsfield was named by/for them. My dad is half French Canadian and no idea about his father. Can't find a thing on him til the 1930 census where he suddenly shows up married to my grandmother in Minnesota.

 

[kdonnel]

Not while doing any sort of research.

Days after my mom died my dad blurted out that he was not the father of my estranged brother. My mother was pregnant when he met her. Her previous boyfriend died in a car accident.

He had been sworn to never tell while she was alive.

 

[MataHari22]

I am serious @BadPinkTink (a tad). Why does everyone want to be English, or Scottish, or Irish... even French? Be different, be Welsh!

When I got my DNA done, I was prepared for the Italian / Sicilian / Greek because my great grand parents on my dad's side came here from Italy and Sicily. My mom was never really sure of where her family was from. She said she thought she had French - Canadian, English, and some Native American. I was very surprised to see mine come back as 39% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh! I was thinking there could be Irish, I was not prepared for Scottish and Welsh. I thought it was cool!

 

[EMom]

My husband’s side of the family came over on the ship after the Mayflower. And they’re related to William the Conqueror.

Through William and Mary Brewster?

 

[Buzz Rules]

Pocahontas... I have a direct ancestry line to Pocahontas.

Can’t recall now how many generations back, but she’d be my great-great-great-great-great-(however many greats) grandmother!

That's really cool. You could go up to Pocahontas in the theme parks one day and say "Hi number times great grandma" and see what reaction you get from the cast member.

 

[Buzz Rules]

When I got my DNA done, I was prepared for the Italian / Sicilian / Greek because my great grand parents on my dad's side came here from Italy and Sicily. My mom was never really sure of where her family was from. She said she thought she had French - Canadian, English, and some Native American. I was very surprised to see mine come back as 39% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh! I was thinking there could be Irish, I was not prepared for Scottish and Welsh. I thought it was cool!

Awesome.

Welsh_Dragon you got your wish!

 

[Dznypal]

While this wasn’t through DNA. We were invited to a friend of mine from
Work wedding. My mom saw the reply on my desk. Turns out her uncle. Her dads brother married my aunt. My dads sister we knew we were related but could never figure out what we were. To each other.

 

[Disneyland1084]

I found out recently my step-dad knew Walt Disney. In the 60's, he attended a Cal Arts school that Walt would visit occasionally. He did some work for him to. He said Walt was very down-to-earth. I'm sure he told me this 20+ years ago, I just completely forgot.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Be different, be Welsh!

Efallai fod Cymru'n wlad fach ond mae'n enfawr o ran harddwch.

 

[Buzz Rules]

I found out recently my step-dad knew Walt Disney. In the 60's, he attended a Cal Arts school that Walt would visit occasionally. He did some work for him to. He said Walt was very down-to-earth. I'm sure he told me this 20+ years ago, I just completely forgot.

Do you know if he worked on any rides or movies? That's very cool.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

[Summer2018]

I’ve known my entire life that my mother’s side of the family came over on the Mayflower, and that I am related to Tom Thumb.

The newest thing I learned is that I am related to Amelia Earhart thanks to my cousin’s research.

 

[Caropooh]

And none of you are Welsh!

I'm 1/2 Welsh! My mothers parents were born in Barry and Llanelli. They moved to the United States in the 1920's. My uncle and mother were both born here.

 

[AustinTink]

My great-grandfather was one of the founders of a small Texas town during the days of the wild, wild west. Some of the craziness involving him and the other founders has made it into Texas history museum. It would make a great movie!

His ancestors were actual pirates, so there's that too. Lol.

 

[AlmostHeavenAppalachia]

It appears I share an ancestor with a two term Georgia governor, and my great great grandfather was the stonecutter responsible for all the marble and stone work in the Candler building, aka Coca-Cola building, in Atlanta.

 

[tex1989]

Johnnie Cash is my sixth cousin. My Gr Gr Grandfather was elected the coroner of Brazos County, Texas in 1843. Texas was a Republic and Brazos is the county where Texas A&M is located. I wondered what exactly he did other than check someone and say "Yep, he's dead". He was not a doctor and had no real medical training. I suppose he did read and write so he could keep the records up to date. My family were all members of a Grainger Lodge and raised money for A&M as it was being built.