Your Family History Thread

[The Spie]

Adopted at birth as well here. Adopted family: both grandfathers died before I was born, both grandmothers came from large Polish families about which they wouldn't really talk about. Maternal grandfather's parents were both Pomeranian, born in what was then Danzig; maternal grandfather born in the US. Paternal grandparents had seven children, three of whom died young. Only have one aunt left out of the four that lived. That's about it.

Thanks to changes in law that took effect last year, I got a copy of my original birth certificate. I now know my birth mother's name and where she was living at the time of my birth (only a few miles from where I grew up). No father listed.

This pretty much sucks.

 

[Red_Bull]

Is the house still in the family?

BTW, that's the second story I've heard about dodgy family connections to horse racing and illegal betting in the last few weeks (the other being about one of my relatives).

It is, yes . Before you grab your shovel and wrecking ball, sadly there's no evidence to suggest the money exists. I'd say it was just a warning from the police that they were no longer prepared to tolerate that sort of stuff which was basically par for the course back in those days.

 

[thomas]

arrested for grand theft horse.

GTH!! Mayde my day! :lol:

 

[Loz]

Good thread, see lots of posts already.

Am still checking the likely aircraft type shown crashed on the ship's deck above.
​

Have been Googling a bit:

This photo is of a BYMS Class minesweeper J955 and the exact photo is used in the mast head of the Royal Naval Patrol Service Association's website.

More detail here:
BYMS Navsource

From the photos of your G-GDad, it is difficult to tell if that was his ship or not. It looks like it could be.

The photo itself looks like an offical one taken by the Navy and then held in the archive, as well as given out copies to the sailors, maybe at the end of the war?

Interesting find about the boat. I thought it was an Anti Sub ship, not Anti Mine... Learn something new everyday.

I'm unsure as to what German planes operated up in the Faroes. Going by the size, it could be something like an Me-262 or a Stuka. Though I was thinking it could be a smaller 2 prop bomber?

EDIT: Some light Google for German Planes in the Faroes brings up either the Heinkel He 111 or the Dornier Do 17. Going by the shape of the tail, it looks to be the He 111, though i'm not 100% sure on that.

 

[equiraptor]

My grandfather only used to talk about the war when I was little.

My grandfather (mother's side) did not talk about the war. Grandmother talked about "her time in Europe" - she was in the WAC. She only talked about the happy things - the beauty of the cities, spending time with friends, etc. If I didn't know the only time she was in Europe was in WWII, I would never have known these stories were from a time of war. My maternal grandfather is US born, but in an area of the state settled by Czech immigrants. He is 100% Czech in ancestry. He met my maternal grandmother in the war - she is originally from New York City (my only grandparent not a native Texan), and is 3/4 German and 1/4 English. My grandmother had good family records - I have family trees dating back to when each ancestor came over on a boat, and even which boat it was and when it arrived.

My father's parents were a bit younger than my mother's, and avoided WWII. As far as I can tell, they were either old enough or crafty enough to avoid Korea, too. My paternal grandfather died when I was 4 or so, but my paternal grandmother is still alive. She is... well, she's a pistol. She is a tough woman who takes no shit from nobody, and never has, but she is also an artist. My grandmother is an amazing woman who balances femininity and strength in amazing ways. Her grandfather (if I have my generations right) survived the 1900 Galveston Hurricane by tying himself to a telegraph pole with his belt. This part of my family came to Texas after the Civil War. My father tells me parts of this line have been on this continent since 1694, and some possibly as early as 1604.

 

[SpitfireMK461]

My family has a very unique name, so it makes it relatively easy to trace, and thus the family line can be followed as far back as the 1500s. It comes with an interesting story that has been passed down, though the validity hasn't been confirmed.

The family lived in France in the 1500s under a different name. During the protestant persecution, they escaped into Switzerland to a village in the Ormont-Dessous area through a certain mountain pass. The villagers thus gave my family our name, meaning "Of the [said mountain pass]". My great-grandfather's family, when he was two years old, then came to the United States in 1887 and moved out to Colorado. Other branches of the family remain in Switzerland, others moved to Argentina. Facebook has allowed us to create a collection of the family members around the world (numbering over 100 now). We have also discovered the various spellings that have been adopted.

On the WWII note, my grandfather and a few of his brothers (had 8) served in WW2. He was a part of the 4xxth Quartermaster division of the 101st airborne, attached to a glider squadron. The division entered Europe during Normandy, though my grandfather didn't get to the continent until after the invasion and went to Bastogne following Patton's army. While in France, he randomly ran into one of his brothers (a photograph of the encounter, we have). Near the end of the war, his division was incorporated into the 82nd airborne in preparation for being sent to the Pacific, but the war ended before that happened. In 1946, before he was sent back to the states, he was able to travel to Switzerland and even Ormont-Dessous. Unfortunately for us, he never talked about his experiences, so most everything we know about his service came from belongings we'd found, after he'd passed away, including letters he'd written to his Mom during his service (these unfortunately were not very detailed due to the secrecy of the military).

 

[Heathrow]

^

A good friend of mine has an unusual French protestant, Huguenot surname.

Also, Equi, does yor Grandmother remind you of anyone?

Interesting find about the boat. I thought it was an Anti Sub ship, not Anti Mine... Learn something new everyday.

He could have been on both, the white one which looks a bit like a trawler could have been anti-sub.

I'm unsure as to what German planes operated up in the Faroes. Going by the size, it could be something like an Me-262 or a Stuka. Though I was thinking it could be a smaller 2 prop bomber?

EDIT: Some light Google for German Planes in the Faroes brings up either the Heinkel He 111 or the Dornier Do 17. Going by the shape of the tail, it looks to be the He 111, though i'm not 100% sure on that.

Not sure either, too little to tell and photo not clear, but it looks small so maybe a Navy Bf 109?

 

[skidd]

100% Japanese ancestry. For some reason, my family doesn't like to talk about our ancestors a lot. Especially those involved in WWII. I know a few were lost, but I'm not sure whether it was on the front lines or whether they were bombing victims. My paternal grandfather did scheduling for the railroad during the war, so he was spared military service. My maternal grandfather was the equivalent of an assistant district attorney, so he was spared as well. My paternal great uncle survived the war and started a cooking school in Tokyo. That's about all I know in terms of the war. Going further back, there's a couple Emperors. Mostly, on my mother's side is a long line of farmers from the north. My father's side comes from the very south. My paternal grandmother is a direct descendant of a pirate clan. They played an important role in support of the Emperor during the unification of feudal Japan. After unification, the Emperor ordered the clan to disband. They then traded their swords for scalpels, and became surgeons to several Emperors. Apparently cutting to kill is quite similar to cutting to heal.

 

[Cobol74]

Mum came to England and served as a nurse in the RAF during the battle of Britain. The death she saw affected her the rest of her life. Dad's family worked on a smallholding and the in the Co-Operative store both before the war. He joined the army in 1936 in the Royal Engineers (Scotsman - what did you expect?). They met after the war.

My Grandad on the Irish side was a driver and a mechanic and loved Riley cars. About all I know, oh my dad spent alot of time in the Gulf and Africa (Nigeria) after the war working on civil engineering projects.

 

[sonza68]

[/center]

The last photo was the only one able to be removed from the book as it wasn't glues. I'll aslo try to scan more in the future.

Lets see if anyone else here has a interesting Family History .

My grandfather served on a related ship during WWII. Specifically YMS-327.

 

[Correspondent75]

Not sure either, too little to tell and photo not clear, but it looks small so maybe a Navy Bf 109?

Navy bf109? I think a single engine plane didn't have the range to go to the Faroes , I think that a Do 17 is the best bet .
Do you notice that the plane is upside down on the ship deck?

 

[Heathrow]

My grandfather served on a related ship during WWII. Specifically YMS-327.

That's a coincidence, given that the USA had more than 12m men at its peak. Hope your grandad made it through OK.

Try and see if there are any photos around the family to post up.

Navy bf109? I think a single engine plane didn't have the range to go to the Faroes , I think that a Do 17 is the best bet .

Good point, so now I'm back firmly in the "don't know" camp again.

Do you notice that the plane is upside down on the ship deck?

Yeah I did, It was the tailwheel sticking up, that looked a bit like a Bf109.

 

[sonza68]

That's a coincidence, given that the USA had more than 12m men at its peak. Hope your grandad made it through OK.

He did, and he credits Truman for that. He was enroute to Japan in preparation for the invasion when the atomic bombs were dropped. He is convinced that he would not have survived the invasion of Japan if it would have actually happened.

 

[Jay]

I know for certain that one relative with a last name of Hildebrandt and a Scot (no, I don't know either :?) was marched to the coast and told to leave. He went to Denmark, and married a wealthy widow with children; the one stipulation was that he had to take her last name which was Jensen.

 

[thomas]

last name of Hildebrandt

Now that sounds very german. I know at least 2 people with that last name, and have read/heard/seen it what feels like a million times. A variation is just with a d in the end, just a t is quite rare.

 

[Jay]

Now that sounds very german. I know at least 2 people with that last name, and have read/heard/seen it what feels like a million times. A variation is just with a d in the end, just a t is quite rare.

Exactly! A Scot with a German last name? Something tells me he was a shady person, and thankfully his traits were not passed on. My heritage is known for being prudent non risk takers, only a few were adventurous, none are criminal.

 

[Doctor Blade]

My Mom's side came to America from Germany in the early 1700's on one side, and helped found Georgia on the other. My Dad's adopted, but one wit traced that side back to the third wife of Henry the IIX. Oh, and in her research Charlemagne was involved as well.

 

[captain_70s]

Mother's side of the family originates from Scotland and Ireland and were farmers/crofters, her father was a lorry driver for a steel foundry in Leeds. Dad's side of the family are from Yorkshire who amusingly re-located to London just in time for the WWII and then moved back. His dad was in the army and was sent out to the Middle East sometime in the late 50s/early 60s for reasons I've forgotten and then started his own company installing and maintaining lifts.

Mother's side of the family has completely colapsed and no-body speaks to anybody anymore, I'm not even sure which ones are still alive. Dad's family was much larger and entirely based on looking the best, so everything is just a big web of lies and keeping things quiet to not cause disturbances in suburbia. Since nobody talks about anything I know very little of my family history. :lol:

I know nothing at all about my biological father or his family.