Family Myths

[suigeneris]

I'm curious how often you have encountered written accounts about the family history, done by some beloved ancestor like a GGGrandpa, that you check out carefully and can prove were wrong?

I have two or three discouraging cases like this. How often did our ancestors try to burnish the family origins by inventing stories of grandeur that weren't true?

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Yes - I've been told all my life that we're related to William Seward...

...yet I've not found a single link other than sharing a very common surname (Miller) with his wife.:(

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. A granddaughter in the 1930s

wrote an article for the Beloit paper that discussed each of the 10 brothers and sisters of my great grandfather.

Supposedly one was held prisoner at Libby during the Civil War, but I just got his full service record the other day, and can find no mention of Libby in it anywhere. :-(

FSC

[Momgonepostal]

3. two things

1) my grandfather always said he was descended from one of the passengers on the Mayflower, and it's true that one guy on the Mayflower had the same last name as my grandfather. In doing some digging, though, we found that our ancestor's on that line came over in the 1700's. While there is a slight possibility that of of the Mayflower guy's descendents went back to England and then the family came back in the 1700's, I doubt it.

2) on the other side of the family I have a great-great uncle who was supposedly very well educated and into genealogy. He wrote a book which he had published that traced our family back to France and had information on many of the other family lines as well. As it turns out, this family has a very large and active genealogical organization and their information all differs from ours. Theirs is also much more specific, very well researched, and IMO more reliable. Our guy appeared to have made stuff up. :-(

[Rhiannon12866]

4. My Nana (grandmother) said that we were related to Martha Custis,

Who married George Washington. But I have a book, commissioned by her aunt, back in the 1960s, which traces the family back to the 1600s. No Martha Custis is included, but I cannot ask my Nana where she heard this, since I lost her six years ago.:-(

[sandnsea]

5. A few

My great-grandmother is a Ford, and someone said was related to Henry Ford. I'm not finding it. Also, there's always been a story of an Indian Chief, can't find that either although I did get an email from the other line of the family who heard the same story, so that's a little weird. No famous people in my family. But I have noticed that when you find somebody who has your family name in a line that goes back to royalty, beware!

[hfojvt]

6. my grandfather's cousin, who did some genealogy

insisted that their great-grandfather was Amish. So I was hoping for alot of Amish relatives. I found them to be Moravian, and the family seems to have left that denomination after just two generations.

[cleofus1]

7. suposedly my grandfather rode with pancho villa

but he was born in 1906...so is this possible?


he would have had to have been 10 years old or so...maybe in his later campaigns

[VRine]

8. Pancho Villa

Interesting. My ex Father in Law said his Father (b.c. 1885) rode with Pancho Villa. He had a picture of his Father with a man he said was Pancho Villa.

Father in law has been dead some time now and family members say they cannot find that picture.

[cleofus1]

9. so did he look like the dude in the picture i posted?

hated by thousands (americans)...loved by millions (mexicans)

[VRine]

10. Pancho Villa

Heavens! I wish that I could tell you!

I saw that picture maybe 40 years ago. I wasn't interested in genealogy and it seemed no big deal at the time. (yes, I could kick myself)

I am still in touch with the family and I have asked about that picture. It wasn't very clear as I remember, but I'm sure I could clear it up via photoshop. They promised that they would look for it. If I get it, I will definitely post it.

This man was born in Mexico according to family stories as well as the Census. His family believes that he was Mexican, but I don't.

The Census states that his parents were born in Louisiana.
A group of Louisianians went to Mexico to seek a better life (I'd have to check for exact dates) Some stayed, others returned. I believe his family was a part of that group.

[Cybergata]

16. I have no doubt that 10 year olds road with Pancho Villa.

They were in both armies of the Civil War at that age. Why wouldn't they be with Pancho villa at that age as well!

[bleedingheart]

11. supposedly my grandmother was supposed to be on the Titanic

but ended up being too ill to travel due to some sort of fever...being of very little means she would have been riding steerage and would have drowned...

don't know if it is true but my aunts (her daughters) swear it is..

[jmm]

12. My great grandmother was born in Nova Scotia.

I know her family had alot of land there and she claimed that the government approached them, I'm not sure if it was her mother's or father's side, and asked if they'd donated some of it for a reservation. They agreed because they were part Micmac and felt the Native American's deserved to have a space of their own. I always thought that was a cool story but she died before I was old enough to think of asking specifics that would help me verify it.

[applegrove]

13. It happens. I include the myths in the family tree because often they

have made it into local history books or are still in the minds of some branches of the family - and they will need to be debunked for all eternity. So include them - with the debunking information - so that someone starting from scratch and reading libraries (when all libraries are digital and come across archaic local histories or previous research easily searched) will know that the myth is a myth.

Genealogy done by non-professionals is really detective amateur hour and the sooner you state that outright - the easier and more cautious future family genealogists will be.

There is so much info out there on the rich in Europe (or wherever you are tracing back)and such a lack on normal folk - that the information is already skewed towards you finding rich people with the last name (when you look up a name's origin say).

So too - the family stories passed on are morphed every generation. It is not just one's family that will build up myths - but local people passing on information to visiting genealogists will also embellish.

So include the myths and the debunk if it is a myth that already has legs. And source all your information. And whereever possible - copy the original letters and documents so that future searchers can see the "primary information" or at least the "thinking of the person who collected the stories".

I have a grandmother in NS who listened to local history her whole life and it was written down. Vague stories of people's lives. I will include this in any genealogy but source it along with her story and particulars of how and how and how she collected the information - so that others can judge for themselves. And perhaps check out some of those myths. If someone got to Nova Scotia as part of a prisoner exchange during the American War for Independance - that may be verifiable to some searcher at a later date.

[sybylla]

14. I had one sad family myth turn out to be true but many others that weren't

As a teenager, my grandfather told the story about how his grandmother committed suicide in 1896 when his father was 7. He said his father told him he and his dad were getting the wagon ready to head into town. It was the week before x-mas and I'm sure like any 7 year old he was looking forward to the trip. But his mother was taking overlong getting ready to leave and his dad sent him back into the house to see what was keeping her. That little 7-year-old arrived at the door of the house just as a gunshot was heard. He was the first to find his mother dead in her bedroom. Ten years later after my grandfather died unexpectedly, I started researching my family tree and was surprised to discover it was almost entirely corroborated by an obituary and a newspaper article detailing the suicide of the wife of a "prominent farmer".

But we also have myths saying there were Native Americans in our family and with most of the tree on that side finished back to 1600's in Canada and France, I've found a decided absence of even a hint of Native American ancestry.

Recently, I've located a cousin in the records and his daughter as well as the local historian perpetrated inaccurate accounts of his history.

I've heard my family are related to the founders of the city I was born in, but I can find no specific genealogical ties except a common name and province of origin.

After finding that the story of suicide was related so accurately, I do record all the family stories I hear in hopes that one day I may find it is true. But in my experience, truth is generally lacking in family stories and I take them all with a grain or two of salt until facts tell me otherwise.

[CountAllVotes]

15. hand up!

My father always swore that he was related to the actor Robert Wagner. He said it was his "mother's sister's daughter's son" (aka his cousin's son).

:shrug: Never found anything to substantiate this BUT it could be true.

He also told me there was a sea captain in our family. I found this sea captain. The first name was said to be "Natius". The person I found was occupation "marine engineer" and his first name was "Ignatius". So Dad was right about "Natius".

I have German bloodlines and perhaps I am related to Robert Wagner.