Family Secrets, Revelations, Discoveries?

[Katariina]

Did you find out any shocking or interesting things about your family? I'd like to hear what you have to say :D

I recently found out my last name is actually not my patrilineal surname (i.e. the name carried by your male ancestors). My dad's grandfather was a bastard child and was raised with his mother's maiden name. MY LIFE IS A LIE. Just kidding. But I am kind of bummed out that I have no idea what my real last name should be :p

And even more annoying - I don't know who my dad's g-grandpa was. He could've been a Swede who knocked up my grandma for all I know. Then I'd be even more Swedish than I thought. Eh, that's not a big deal lol.

So do you have any interesting facts or secrets about your family?

[zhaoyun]

I've learned my oldest Uncle was adopted.

I learned that my grandparents actually had a miserable marriage and my grandpa, who was always sweet to me, was actually a total asshole to my grandma (who passed away before I was born).

My parents have a dysfunctional marriage (this I realized only as an adult).

IDK, I'll think of more later.

[StonyArabia]

Nope.

[Carignan]

I recently found out my last name is actually not my patrilineal surname (i.e. the name carried by your male ancestors). My dad's grandfather was a bastard child and was raised with his mother's maiden name. MY LIFE IS A LIE. Just kidding. But I am kind of bummed out that I have no idea what my real last name should be :p


Have you ever thought about going to the City Hall and try looking through the marriage or death certificates?

[Sikeliot]

Other than my maternal great-great grandmother being mixed race (African/Portuguese), and my paternal great-great-great grandfather having recent Greek ancestry, there have been no surprises.

[Katariina]

Have you ever thought about going to the City Hall and try looking through the marriage or death certificates?

I can't because my dad's entire family is from Finland. And I live in the U.S. :ohwell:

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

I can't because my dad's entire family is from Finland. And I live in the U.S. :ohwell:

I know that feel, very annoying when only records about your family history are in different country :/ it has happened to me too.

[Ivan Kramskoï]

I thought that my grand parents divorced because my grand father had an affair with a woman, in reality my grand mother had an affair with an other man first ...

[Wadaad]

My grandfather went to British East Africa in the 1930s and settled in a town called Naivasha...he then moved south to Tanganyka (near Mt Kilimanjaro) and married a local masai woman before he could afford to bring my future grandmom from Somaliland.

So I have a branch of cousins with maternal Masai who still live in Tanzania, but are culturally Somali and Muslim.

[Dylan]

My Great-Grandfather looted a Luger from a Nazi he killed during WWII, we found the gun his attic and learned from his war buddies about it. He was a scout and earned a purple heart after he was spotted by the enemy. He woke up in a hospital bed with his hair gone, and didn't remember what happened. This was in a farm in rural germany.
My grandfather's brother was in the invasion of dieppe and became a pow for several years or so.
My Great-Grandfather's brother became a POW in The Battle of the Bulge after he broke his legs.
My uncle was shot a shit ton of times in Vietnam, and narrowly survived
One of my great-great-great etc. parents was a full blooded Algonquin Native American.

[Stimpy]

I have several really weird ones, especially on my fathers side. I've found out most of these from my mother doing genealogy.

1. My great-great-great(something) paternal grandmom had 23(!!) kids and yet she lived to be 96 years old. This was in 1700s Sweden. Most of her children and even grandchildren died before her.

2. Another paternal female ancestor gave birth to a handicapped baby and left it on a pile of fertilizer(cow shit) to freeze to death during the night. She had to pay a small fine.

3. A mentally impaired brother of my male paternal ancestor was killed after my ancestor found out that he had sex with some kind of farm animal. He killed him out of the shame he brought on the family.

4. My paternal grandad was adopted because he was born outside of marriage. He found out about this when he was in the military because they said he was baptized in Stockholm. He didn't tell his adoptive family that he knew he was adopted during his entire life and didn't contact his ''real'' mom until both his adoptive parents died when he was like 70 years old. She was still alive and lived for like 2 years.(90+ years old).

[Hithaeglir]

I learned around 19 yo that one of my cousins (the one i am closest to) was adopted.It brought back memories from the time we were playing as children and he was constantly insisting that he was from Thrace,even though nobody has ancestry from there.
I felt cheated at first ,because nobody cared to inform us about it earlier.I eventually forgot it and moved on.

[Dylan]

I know that feel, very annoying when only records about your family history are in different country :/ it has happened to me too.

I as well.

[Prisoner Of Ice]

I have several really weird ones, especially on my fathers side. I've found out most of these from my mother doing genealogy.

1. My great-great-great(something) paternal grandmom had 23(!!) kids and yet she lived to be 96 years old. This was in 1700s Sweden. Most of her children and even grandchildren died before her.


Wow. Sweden truly is the 'womb of nations'. Though in the future they will be darkie nations getting wombed.

[Mr Moi]

Sir Thomas More is one of my 14th Great Grandfathers. He was a Statesman, Lawyer, Author, and Roman Catholic Saint among other things... He was beheaded on orders from King Henry VIII on July 6, 1535... Both my wife and my daughter in law are related to Martin Luther through his daughter Anna Margareta Luther.

[dude]

My grandma was disowned because she secretly married a brown mestizo.

[Svipdag]

What ? Do you think I'd disclose them here ? What sort of idiot do you take me for ?

[Longbowman]

Did you find out any shocking or interesting things about your family? I'd like to hear what you have to say :D

I recently found out my last name is actually not my patrilineal surname (i.e. the name carried by your male ancestors). My dad's grandfather was a bastard child and was raised with his mother's maiden name. MY LIFE IS A LIE. Just kidding. But I am kind of bummed out that I have no idea what my real last name should be :p

And even more annoying - I don't know who my dad's g-grandpa was. He could've been a Swede who knocked up my grandma for all I know. Then I'd be even more Swedish than I thought. Eh, that's not a big deal lol.

So do you have any interesting facts or secrets about your family?

Surnames don't matter, you non-traditionalist moderniser. I also take my great-great-grandmother's.

[Atvend]

My maternal family got completely wiped out after great great grandfather illegally left the country back in the 60s. His sons were framed and executed and other male relatives were interned and died in camps. Whole male lineage was erased and there was no one left to carry his name, quite a shame because his family was old and respected. Then when the regime collapsed, they learned that his lineage actually continued somewhere in Sweden, but by then no one was left alive to establish contact and the new generation simply didn't care. Not really a secret but quite shocking when I first learned about it.

[Petalpusher]

Nothing so dramatic, just when i was told and realized as a teen, my paternal grand father married 5 times. So much fun when you have an "Uncle" the same age as you..
On the right track so far, but i suppose i ll never meet his level of ancient slayerism (and don't plan to).

[David Slatič]

I found out that I was very distantly related (by a fifth or so cousin) to my ex-girlfriend. Yikes!

[Smitty]

Sir Thomas More is one of my 14th Great Grandfathers. He was a Statesman, Lawyer, Author, and Roman Catholic Saint among other things... He was beheaded on orders from King Henry VIII on July 6, 1535... Both my wife and my daughter in law are related to Martin Luther through his daughter Anna Margareta Luther.

Sir Thomas More, also of A Man for All Seasons fame. Very cool ancestor.