Hi Dear Folk,
I love family stories that have been handed down. Such as my dad's, mum's, father's side of the family were thought to be Huguenots who came over after the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre and settled in the East End of London and were shoe makers for generations. Making hand made shoes for the theatre actors. The shoemaker part is true because my great uncle Alf was taught the trade, although he played the clarinet and was more musical so didn't really pursue it. He played with the band on the old Queen Mary. Also their last name was thought to have been an Anglicized French name, so is that true or not?
I may never know the answers to those questions unless I get my cousin Jeff on the job he is number one ancestry bloodhound. Tracing my mum's, dad's side of the family all the way back to early 1400's, Amazing to see written papers and signed wills of ones ancestors still archived and in existence. To stand on the very Suffolk green, where the family fortune was auctioned off, because of running fowl of some very unscrupulous church clerics who disputed that our family had not paid the correct tithes to the church and of course the church won and our young relative being in his early twenties, who had just inherited when his father died was silly, taking things to court. He just didn't handle it properly. They went within two generations of being totally literate in the 1500s, writing documents and signing wills to being illiterate, that's what money or the lack of money will do for you.
Having said all that, I have sprung for the DNA testing kit. Is this just a big come on or not? What are your thoughts? Has anyone done it? I have wanted to do it for a long while.
We will see, will keep you posted. Hope there are no skeletons in the closet, or can one possibly say that anymore when nothing seems to be hidden.
Have more exciting travel news but that will wait for another post.
Have a great weekend.
Christine
I love family stories that have been handed down. Such as my dad's, mum's, father's side of the family were thought to be Huguenots who came over after the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre and settled in the East End of London and were shoe makers for generations. Making hand made shoes for the theatre actors. The shoemaker part is true because my great uncle Alf was taught the trade, although he played the clarinet and was more musical so didn't really pursue it. He played with the band on the old Queen Mary. Also their last name was thought to have been an Anglicized French name, so is that true or not?
I may never know the answers to those questions unless I get my cousin Jeff on the job he is number one ancestry bloodhound. Tracing my mum's, dad's side of the family all the way back to early 1400's, Amazing to see written papers and signed wills of ones ancestors still archived and in existence. To stand on the very Suffolk green, where the family fortune was auctioned off, because of running fowl of some very unscrupulous church clerics who disputed that our family had not paid the correct tithes to the church and of course the church won and our young relative being in his early twenties, who had just inherited when his father died was silly, taking things to court. He just didn't handle it properly. They went within two generations of being totally literate in the 1500s, writing documents and signing wills to being illiterate, that's what money or the lack of money will do for you.
Having said all that, I have sprung for the DNA testing kit. Is this just a big come on or not? What are your thoughts? Has anyone done it? I have wanted to do it for a long while.
We will see, will keep you posted. Hope there are no skeletons in the closet, or can one possibly say that anymore when nothing seems to be hidden.
Have more exciting travel news but that will wait for another post.
Have a great weekend.
Christine
I want to do one of those DNA tests but husband's niece did one and she was every nation you could imagine. I would like to know more about my ancestors too.
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