Who gives a hoot? I do!

Although no one has actually said those words to me (or anything like it), I have read it in facial expressions and body language.


I have always wondered about the family stories I heard growing up and wondered just how much was true. Who wouldn't be curious about Prussian barons and signers of the Declaration of Independence or a rare Tasmanian Devil being brought to the states by a distant uncle? A decade or so ago I started working on the family history to find the truth. Along the way, I have discovered some interesting things about people I have known in my lifetime and those that have gone before.


This is my humble attempt to share what I have learned.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Family Lore - Fact or Fanciful Stories?

As I mentioned in my introduction there are several stories I grew up hearing from my grandparents. I always wanted to more. How are we related? Where did they live? What impact did they have on my world?

The first is supposedly my 2x great grandfather Arthur Angel was on a ship that traveled to the South Seas and brought back a Tasmanian Devil for Smithsonian. I was told there is a newspaper article title "Angel Brings Devil". My grandmother and Dad have both have told me they have seen an actual copy of the article but an internet search on numerous newspaper sites has never produced it. I have asked my grandmother to see if she still has the article in her trunk and have my sister or one of my cousins take a picture of it for me. In the meantime, this is what I know:
  • I found documentation for an Arthur Angel working aboard a Naval ship. 
  • That ship was commissioned to sail to Australia and the surrounding islands for scientific exploration. 
  • That ship brought back an assortment of specimens of animals and plants for the Smithsonian.
I will continue my search to confirm that that is my Arthur Angel and a copy of the article.


The next story is that we are related to Elbridge Gerry, signer of the Declaration of Independence of the state of Massachusetts. Supposedly my grandfather's cousin paid a genealogist to prove or disprove the story but refused to share the results. Since her passing her son has refused to share it as well.  Elbridge Gerry does not have any known children, so we would only be linked as distant cousins. I have not gotten back enough generations yet to find a possible link but I do have a lead that we might be linked through his mother. THE HUNT RESUMES.

The last story is that we descend from a Prussian baron that was exiled from Prussia due to being persecuted and fled to Eastern Europe and changed his name. I have traced the family back to England but without more information, I can't go back any farther. I  think DNA may be the key to break through the brick wall.

No comments:

Post a Comment