Things your grandmother didn't tell you....

[sp1]

I began my interest in genealogy when I was 12, and had both maternal grandparents still alive.
They were able to fill in a lot of details, although dates were a bit hazy - most of which I have subsequently confirmed.

But.....
They completely forgot to mention that my great grandfather (Jeremiah Rollason - he is on BCC) had been in the army: they must have known - he was in India for most of the 1890s, served in South Africa from 1899- 1902 during the Boer War, and as if that wasnt enough, as a reservist, was recalled in 1915 ( although he didn't serve overseas this time) - have only found this recently.....

It gets worse....
They INSISTED my grandfathers grandfather was named ALBERT Walker - spent years, no decades!, looking - everything I found pointed to him being named David (should have got certificate I know, but at the time these cost FOUR weeks pocket money so I left it for a long time..)

Anyone else been misled?

[MarkCDodd]

My wife's Grandfather grew up with his first cousin living with him from an early age.

Family story was she was orphaned when her father and mother died when their ship sunk somewhere in Port Phillip Bay.

He father was a ship's captain and I could find hundreds of records of him traveling to and from the UK for over 30 years.

I spent weeks looking at old newspapers and other sources trying to find the name of the ship he was supposedly a passenger on when it sunk.

I eventually ordered his and his wife's death cert and found they both died of TB.

[SRD]

Stories told at grandfather/mother's knee are frequently embroidered, I always understood from family gossip that there was Irish or Scottish blood in there (presumably to explain my maternal grandfather's red hair, my father's auburn beard and my red hair - but, going back 7 generations, I ain't found it yet.

MrsSRD's parents were always known as Jane & Jiles but I bet that the grandchildren aren't aware that they were actually christened Viola and Donovan, not that it's been hidden just rarely discussed and then in the kind of 'grownup' chat that bores kids rigid.

[sparkstopper]

My mother (a Williams) always insisted her grandfather originated in Wales,
went to 'Oxford' and was a Schoolteacher: subsequently found that he was
born in Wolverhampton, married my Gt/grandmother(who came from Oxford),
and his occupation was a 'Commercial Traveller'.....nuff said...

[grangers14]

My Nan told me there was a family she didnt realy know but her Dad used to sing about them
Idena, Adelina, Annie, Ada, Graham.

Took me ages to find!

Idena Adelina Annie Ada Graham
birth 27 Dec 1890

It was 1 person not a family!

[dudleytaylor]

My mom told me that my grandmother had a lovely old shawl given to her by a Italian lady , who was married to her cousin. I cannot find any Italian, and that one of my mom's grandmother's was welsh ,and could not speak a word of English, I haver found any welsh connection. On dads side ,every one thinks we are related to Vesta Tilly. I can't find the connection .

[Antie Em]

My dad was Welsh and had a beautiful singing voice. He always sang in Welsh and used to tell us that he was related to Harry Secombe. Never found a connection there, but he would have been thrilled to know that is grandmother Ann Hughes was a cousin of John Hughes who wrote Cwm Rhonda.

[snoopysue]

There is a story about someone going to Ireland for some butter!
What they may have meant that someone popped next door to borrow some butter from one of their Ireland relatives - ther are many with that surname!!!

Also a story of a couple of spinster relatives visiting from Oz, they were supposidly the daughters of a convict, but the story doesn't tell us who!!