The myths we tell ourselves

Question

Family Legends and Myths

Watching Out for Red Flags

by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, CG

https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/90_carmack.html

• The Cherokee Indian Princess Myth

• The Three Brothers Myth

• The Ellis Island Baptism Myth

Comments

Another one …

“My ancestor came over from France and fought with Lafayette in the Revolutionary War.”

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The most common I encounter is that every French immigrant to America is a Huguenot...and then every descendant for generations onward is also. And, many names which may or may not be of French derivation from other countries are made Huguenots.

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For Australians it's a case of "my convict ancestor only stole half a loaf of bread to feed his starving family". or "only picked up a kerchief that someone dropped", or "was only walking a horse around while its owner was in the inn/pub/tavern/alehouse/bawdy house/pick your own", or "was one of the hated Irish, so it was political".  None of them was ever a "real" baddie.  (And it's just as much a fantasy for the women.)
Oh, and "Ned Kelly is my xth cousin x-times removed".

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For the record, none of my direct line ancestors was a convict.  I am NOT related to Ned Kelly in any way (or any other of the overly romanticised bushrangers/bad guys).
I AM a direct descendent of Mary and Joseph, and can prove it.  I have the Doctor as my direct line ancestor, and also as a collateral.  And I can prove that, too.  

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Melanie, thanks for the rib tickler. 

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The Doctor? That sounds interesting. Can you gives us non-Australians a bit of his (or her?) history?

Thanks.

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and heaven help you if you disprove one of these cherished myths.

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I did, and wow, I got hammered by that person!

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To George - The Doctor, and The Doctor.  One born in Australia to an Australian-born father and an English mother, moved to England, "regenerated" in England.  The other born in England to that same Australian father, English mother.  One married young-ish, the other only a couple of years before he "regenerated".  Both had children by women to whom they were not, at the time, married.  One qualified LRCPE MRCS, the other qualified MRCS LRCP.  The one who married young-ish had five sons by one wife, two sons and a daughter by a second wife (well, technically he had a son and daughter by the wife, the other son happened along before the wedding, while the first wife was still living).  He decided to "regenerate" at sea, and so he was lost to the eyes of this world.
I cannot remember a time, since watching the First Doctor on our black and white telly, that I have not referred to the one as "The Doctor", and to his father as "The Judge" (which actually became even more of a thing for me during the era of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In").  It was later, on discovering that The Doctor had a brother who was also The Doctor, that my little imp simply could not be restrained.  (Kind of like telling nose-in-the-air church folk (and that's too long a tale to tell in this medium) that I was a direct descendent of Mary and Joseph and could prove it.  I don't take being treated like feces on a shoe with good grace.)

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Melanie, some people really are related to bushrangers. He was born in Australia  ( 1st cousin 4x removed ). Sad to say he was a drunk. He killed an erstwhile friend in a far from noble incident and ended up on the gallows.  His father,  a convict,  was transported for highway robbery but I doubt he was anything like the romantic image conjured up by  the Arthur Noyes poem  or images of Dick Turpin. His family was undoubtedly poor.

My only family myth was from my father's mother. She was brought up in a Birmingham back to back, in poverty but there was a fortune in chancery, money left by a wealthy relative with no children. If only the Aston  parish records hadn't been lost we'd be able to claim it. Sorry Granny; not found any inkling of money in your  direct line and the Aston parish records still exist. You were actually quite closely related to a man who became a wealthy gun designer but  he had plenty of children of his own to bequeath his money.

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Oh, I know there are genuine cases, but there was a rash of people claiming falsely that their ancestors were innocent, framed, or whatever, when it suddenly became fashionable to have convict ancestors.  Same with the Ned Kelly thing (or other bushrangers), especially after the Mick Jagger movie came out, and Reckless Kelly.  (And I happen to really like John Williamson's song about Ned coming to visit (A Flag of Our Own).) 
Instead of being something shameful (which it had been), it became quite the thing to admit such relationships. 
If they didn't exist, invent them!  Like any genealogical fraud, really.  

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A little Americana. Post Civil War, Missouri attracted several criminals looking to profit from the destabilized society much like privateers took to the high seas in the 16-1700's. Several notable local boarder ruffians took up arms against union supporters due to tactics like Order Number 11. Kin folk were rounded-up and murdered, Homes and farms burnt hence, part of Cass county known as the Burnt District. Some were motivated by greed while others were provoked into action to seek revenge. Through genealogy I have made some family connections of notable ruffians to the historical outlaws. Many were not known as outlaws until the Civil War. Some were second generation outlaws carrying on family sentiments. Exposure to certain activities must be hard to overcome once a person is pressed to do something they considered contrary to begin with. How much of their new reality influenced the next generation?

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You left off "I'm Of  A Royal Line".  I can't tell how many time I have seen, " Am I related to King so and so." question, only to find no profiles from any of  their research have been made.

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On royalty, I received the story that the Ulster Scots named Stuart in my maternal grandmother's ancestry were from the royal Stuarts of Scotland. I did not give it much credit. But remarkably enough, it turns out that there might be a royal Stuart relation in my maternal grandfather's New Netherland ancestry, via the Duncanson sisters of Scotland who found their way to Amsterdam and ultimately to New Netherland.

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How many generations?

Answer 1

Thank You for the link Edward

Answer 2

Daniel Webster Dalton aka "Kit" rode with The James Gang who were related to the Daltons through Adaline Younger. Adaline married James Lewis Dalton to create the Dalton Gang. Charlie/Charley Pierce rode With the Dalton Gang. My grandma was Alma Pierce married to Edward Dalton. Ed's grandpa, Samuel, was a brother of Benjamín, father of James Lewis. Are you saying I should quit working on this side of my family and return to the Smith, Taylor, Green Dallam Paca side. It did seem much easier than tracking outlaws.

Answer 3

I was always suspicious of my paternal grandfather’s claims that we had both Native Americans, and other people of high renown in the family. My grandfather was such a great story teller and I never knew what was true. 

Forty years after his death, I decided to build our family tree on Ancestry. Holy moly, he wasn’t lying after all. Everything he alluded to about the family, and more was right there in black and white. I wish he was here to see it all. 

My challenge has been to present my research to the family in a way that is worthy of their trust. They tend to look at me like I used to look at grandpa. Now, I have it online so they can see it, but still…Seems like the the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction! 

Comments

Most look at my new interest in history much like I did in high school. The more I see about my connections to history the more I see why so many secrets. Once I have enough info to satisfy me I don't care if connect all the dots. So far, it's been eye opening. Too bad my grandparents and teachers couldn't capture my interest like this 50 years ago.

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When I was growing up in central Virginia, the common myth for anyone local with a German surname from the area was descent from Hessian prisoners kept at Charlottesville after the Battle of Saratoga.

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Why not--I'm guessing they too procreated. If you are of German descent and encounter Brick Walls in that time period, I'd go back to grandpa and grandma and start building sideways. Some trees are full of mythology and un-source-ables.

Answer 4

I was researching my Quaker ancestors in early New Jersey and came across a source which immediately confronts the reader with 20 specific 'items' of caution about genealogy research (at that time, some now outdated and others still timeless). The author titles her suggestions "The Genealogical Follies of 1933". Admittedly some of the early/mid 20th c. slang she uses is beyond my understanding but it's used within analogies that are very suggestive of what the writer is trying to communicate. Some of them are socially outdated and somewhat vitriolic but many are also funny (athough sad when looked at another way). For example:

II. That history and genealogy can be created by ... digit proclamations.

IV. That an American Heraldry can be established, without law or jurisdiction, or by vote and certificate of purity.

X. That, the Real successor to Savage has been since born, or the perfect genealogist has now arisen. 

XI. That the sneer of the professional at the amateur is more harmful than assumed... [This suggestion being more a reflection on good manners.]

Monnette, O.E. "First settlers of Ye Plantations of Piscataway & Woodbridge, Olde east New Jersey, 1664-1714" p.890