Geneology

**Big Paul** · 24th October 07, 11:26 AM

The coolest person I found in my family tree is Robert the Bruce... Can I confirm it, No.. Is it cool to think about, Yes!

Other than that I have found many governors including:

Thomas Crittenden, Governor of Missouri. He signed the warrant for Frank and Jesse James!

Eli H. Murray, Governor of the territory of Utah. Murray, Utah is named for him. He was also a General by the end of the Civil War.

I have others, I can't remember off hand..

I have found the first Murray in my line to come over to the US from Ireland. He is my 5th Great-Grandfather. He fought in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812! His grandfather (my 7th) is reported to have been a Highland Chief that was forced to flee to Londonderry, Ireland with his family.. So far I can't find any info past my 5th ggfather..

**McFarkus** · 24th October 07, 01:27 PM

One of my cool finds is that George Washington's mother was the half-sister of my 8th greatgrandfather.

**ChromeScholar** · 24th October 07, 09:19 AM

One of my mother's cousins has documents going back at least one hundred years before that, that I waant to get copies of. My family never throws anything away.

As an aside, I apparently have a great great great grandmother who was named (believe it or not) Transylvania Carter...

**cessna152towser** · 30th October 07, 09:48 AM

Well I'm quarter Irish and many of their records were destroyed by fire in 1921 and my other 75% is descended from Paisley weavers. Even at the start of the industrial revolution, Paisley already had a population of 4,500 and such records as exist do not give much information so I've got stuck at the fourth or fifth generations with most of my ancestry lines. Though I did discover in my paternal lineage (Cunningham) a great great great grandfather by the name of John McKenzie who was a soldier in the Lanarkshire militia. Jane Hamilton, the daughter of a Paisley weaver, married John McKenzie at the Glasgow gaelic chapel in 1803 which suggests he may have been of highland origin. Their daughter Isabella McKenzie became a Cunningham by marriage.
By contrast my wife's ancestry is from rural south-west Scotland where there were fewer people and more detailed records, and some of her ancestors owned farms, so I have been able to trace some of her ancestry lines back to the late 1600's.
A tip I would offer if you are researching Scottish ancestors is that you will often find two indentically named people in the same place around the same time. At first this can be daunting as you can't be sure which one was your ancestor but if you are able to go back another two generations you often find they were cousins, due to the practice of naming the eldest son after the paternal grandfather.

**Surly Dave** · 5th November 07, 09:19 PM

All this geneology talk reminds me of the old song, "I'm My Own Grandpaw".

**Ian.MacAllan** · 12th November 07, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Cawdorian

. . . you will find many famous and notorious ancestors. . . .

Originally Posted by gilmore

. . . most of our ancestors were probably impoverished peasants (by far the bulk of humanity until modern times) . . . I find that the rogues and scoundrels usually had much more interesting life stories.

When I stayed at a B&B in Inverness a few years ago the landlord asked me if I were Scots. I told him the name suggests it but I hadn't looked into it in any detail because I wasn't sure I'd like what I found. He nodded sagely and replied, "Aye. A mon kin pay 10 pounds t' fin' suthin' out an' a hun'red more t' hush it up!"

.

**McFarkus** · 12th November 07, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by Surly Dave

All this geneology talk reminds me of the old song, "I'm My Own Grandpaw".

or to paraphrase Tom Lehrer http://members.aol.com/quentncree/lehrer/oedipus.htm

Oedipus Rex...he loved his mother
His daughter was his sister and his son was his brother...
When he found what he had done,
He tore his eyes out, one by one.
A tragic end to a loyal son
Who loved his mother.