Stories of my ancestors. Share your's here.

[polywog999]

During the spring of 1974 I had several long conversations with my late grandfather Robert Luis Bowyer 1875-1981. He was a farmer. born on Bedford Mountain Va. He came to live with my parents even before I was around.

Every morning, gram'ps would eat fried eggs, cooked in the grease from his bacon. He also smoked cigars. I was only eleven at the time, but fortunatly poor memory is not amongst my many failings. My grandfather was 99 at the time.

These conversations took place in his room, while he sat in his rocker, ocasionally stopping to use his cuspidor. The very first thing he wanted to share with me was a sip of his wisky and some chew. I know, no one now a days, would do that....he was from the nineteenth century, what did you expect? Next, he wanted to share his knowledge....

His father was James Winchester Bowyer 1843-1927, husband of Margarete Frances Orange. He was a farmer and a private in the Confederate infintry. He tried to join at the start of the war, but was too young. Wounded at the battle of Seven Pines, he was latter captured and sent to Point Lookout Prison Camp, a horrible nightmare of Smallpocks and disintary. A place that oddly, I now go fishing at every year.

As part of a prisoner exchange program, he was sent back to being a soldier and eventually surrendered with General Lee at Appomattox.

He later recieved a pension from the government from his wounded forearm, which left him partaly disabled.

James's father was Thomas B. Boyer 1815-1866.

Thomas was also a farmer and a soldier. He became Ill and was sent to a sanitarium. He was making his way home and was shot and killed by the Union as a possible spy. Thomas fought in the first and second battles of Bull Run and spoke of the river being red with blood after the battle.

Here is his last will and testimate in it's entirety-

Bedford County Courthouse

Will Book 20, pp375-376

Will of Thomas Bowyer

In the name of God Amen. I Thomas B. Boyer of Bedford County, Virginia,

being of sound mind and disposing memory do hereby make my last Will

and Testament:

First, after my death I desire my executor to pay all my just debts. Second,

so long as my beloved wife Elizabeth A Boyer remains unmarried after my

death, I give and bequeath to her the property upon which we now live

including all the stock that may be on the place at my death, all to be

managed and controlled for her use and benefit so long as she remains my

widow and no longer.

Third, In the event of my wife's marrying again after my death I desire that

my executor shall then sell all my property of whatever kind it may be upon

the best terms and then divide the proceeds of the sale equally amongst my

children then living, or the children of such as may then be dead, the portion

going to my daughter Lucinda V. Stanley, wife of James Stanley to be held by

my exeutor for the benefit of my said daughter and her children then living.

Fourth, In addition to the share of equality that my son James W. *Bowyer is

to have of my estate I direct that my executor shall pay him out of my estate

five hundred dollars.

Fifth, I hereby appoint Samuel P. Helms(Nelms?) my executor. In testimony

whereof I heretofore sign my name and affix my seal this 5th day of April

1862.

* (Note the diferance in the spelling of the last name, between father and son.)

Thomas B. Boyer

Signed, sealed and acknowledged in our presence who being together attest

this at the request of the testator in the presence of each other,

S.P. Nelms

J. A. Aunspaugh

Jos. Aunspaugh

From then....

Phillip II

Phillip ! (Revolutonary soldier)

Christian Bauer (First to arrive to America via ship)

Hans Andreas Bauer

Gottfried Bauer

Philpp Baur

Georg Baur

Roches Baur (13 generations.)

Gram'ps had, at one time, made a fire to burn some trash. After the fire he found a burned up Buffalo nickel among the ashes. The store would not take it. 60 years later, he gave it to me, but unfortunately my entire coin collection went to support my brother's drug habit. :-(

Even back in the 1800's they had refrigeration. They would dig about a thirty foot deep pit in those days and every winter chip off a huge chunk of ice from the pond and drop it into the pit.

This usually kept untill November, when you didn't need an "ice box" anyway.

One time I found an Opossum in our garbage can. Gram'ps, at the time in his late 90's, reached into the can and grabed the critter by the tail!!! When it would rear up to try to bite, gram'ps woud give it a shake and it couldn't get him! Amazing to me, then and now.

Once I grew a strange plant by accident in my garden, that I had never seen; looked like a giant Zucchini. Gram'ps knew what it was right away- "Snake mellon!" Still have never seen another one of these, or even heard of one!

Sadly, gram'ps passed in June of 1981. He was 106 years old. Doctors said he had the heart of a 50 year old man.

Well, there is more, too much to fill a single thread. Hope you enjoyed this journey through the past. I love my gram'ps and spent a lot of time with him. I sure do treasure that now.

Polywog

P.S. I hope none of you guys writes to tell me about how bad the Confederacy was etc. I'm proud of my family no matter what.

[twa]

Thanks for sharing,I have great memories my grandparents shared(and from both my great grandmother and twin sister that lived to over a 100)

Perhaps one day I'll feel like typing

[Dan T.]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

[skinfan133]

My parents have been keeping much better track of our heritage than I have, but I do know a few dates and small tidbits. My dad's side of the family, the Joneses, arrived in North Carolina in 1642. My mom's side, the Weirs, arrived in New York in 1770, and eventually were one of the first families to settle in what is today Ohio. They stayed in Ohio until well into the 1800's before going to Oregon. My Grandmother's family, the Browns, were also in a first wave of emigration, to Arizona. Somehow, I'm distantly related to Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Joneses were wealthy planters in North Carolina and fought for the confederacy as officers and enlisted. The Weir's fought for the Union (from Ohio). The Joneses moved to Virginia in the 1920's and we've been here ever since. My great-great-grandmother Jones squandered our family's land and money in North Carolina and my family was destitute (on both sides) during the depression. Only my dad and mom have built ourselves back up economically and socially speaking as most of my relatives are not college educated and are fairly blue collar. My Grandfather (on my mom's side) was an enlisted Marine in Korea and an officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded and 80% disabled. He was also a teacher after the Marine Corps and he and my Grandmother have lived quite comfortably since the 80's due to creative retirement investing. My grandfather on my dad's side was a graduate of the Naval Academy and was the first Jones to get a college degree in over 70 years. He was a WWII vet as well and he served on the USS Hornet during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I'm going to be a third generation college grad on my dad's side (if you count my grandfather as first generation), a second generation military college graduate, and a 2nd generation college grad on my mom's side (my grandfather was the first in his family to ever go to college. My mom never completed her degree).

My family has a deep history of military service. Relatives on both sides have fought in every war from the Seven Years War up to Vietnam. I'll be a 5th generation officer and a 6th generation military man. I will be the first in my family to join the Army though, both sides have deep naval and Marine histories. So I'm bucking the trend HOOAH!

[thebluefood]

The most notable of my ancestors is James Wormley, who was a prominent, black owner of a hotel in D.C. He also founded the "Wormley School"

[Darth Tater]

Most notable ancestor was Charles Lynch and, yes, that is the name that bequeathed us the concept of lynching.

Charles Lynch (1736 – October 29, 1796) was a Virginia planter and American Revolutionary who headed an irregular court in Virginia to punish Loyalist supporters of the British during the American Revolutionary War. The terms "lynching" and "lynch law" apparently derive from his name.

[Duckus]

Hmmm, good thread idea!.

Both my parents are European born (Dad from Scotland and Mom from England) and immigrated to the US 28 years ago with my older brother. The year before I was born.

Two very very very very different sides - my dad comes from working class Scottish background and my mom 100% aristocrat British blood

My mothers side has some incredible history. All sorts of wild stories that I learn about every year.

For example - this past Christmas my mother gave me as an early wedding present. It was family silver that has been passed down for hundreds of years. I had no idea it even existed or its story before she gave it to me. But here it is -

My relative was named William Carless (Carlos).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Careless_%28Carlos%29

He helped hide King Charles II during his escape from England. In return, "in 1658 at Brussels he received, by letters patent under the Great Seal and with the name of Carlos, a coat of arms incorporationg an oak tree and three crowns representing the three kingdoms of the British Isles; an oak-leaf civic crown formed part of the crest."

That is the seal that is on the silver that I was given for the wedding. Crazy.

Another crazy one - I don't know how many "greats" anymore (my mom knows) but Sir William Edward Parry was my great great great great grandfather. He was a somewhat famous arctic explorer who received a medal from the Queen of England for his work - which my brother now has. My mothers middle name is Parry in his honor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Edward_Parry

My dad who was born in Glasgow, Scotland and comes from a working class European family background. My grandfather was a ship worker and his story is actually pretty amazing.

My grandfather left school at 12. Worked a few jobs until joining the steel workers in the ship yards at 14 and worked for a decade or so in hard labor. Fought in WWII. Then became a very big player in the Union movement during the big Labor - Management battles in the UK post-WWII. Started working with an organization whose goal was to have "honest dialogue" between Labor - Management and ended up traveling the world and meeting presidents, dignitaries and high level policy wonks all over the world. He ended up living in dozens of countries. For several years in both India and Japan. Pretty amazing for a man educated only until 12 years old. He passed away last year at 96. My personal hero.

Two very different sides of a family.

[Hdf561]

This is my most famous ancestor on my mothers side http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rufus_King

This is my wifes most famous ancestore http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_F._Cheatham Her father is Bejamin Franklin Cheatham IV, B.F. Cheatham Jr. was also a Major General In the Spanish American war, and World War 1

[stoney26]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,873686,00.html

Harry Stonehill is my grandfather. Some of this is true and some is bull****. Reading over some of the other things on the internet and listening to family stories is just so crazy and awesome to me. He was always just grandpa to me.ngreat thread idea by the way.

[Dr. Do Itch Big]

Both my parents are indigenous to Peru, my mother and father both grew up with no electricity or running water. My mothers little village were she lived was destroyed by terrorists. My father as a child would walk/run around 12 miles to school every single day. Everyday he would wake up around 4 or 5 in the morning and would help his dad with the little farm they had. My dad has I believe 7 sisters and 4 or 5 brothers. Neither of my grandparents could read or write. Before that not much is known about my ancestry.

[fullnelson9999]

My great grandfather was Leason Adams. He was pretty high up on the social ladder, as well as a respected geophysicist.

Some societies he was a member of:

National Academy of Sciences

American Physical Society, fellow

Geological Society of America, fellow

American Geophysical Union, vice-president, president

Royal Astronomy Society, fellow

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, vice-president

Washington Academy of Sciences, president

Philosophical Society of Washington, president

Cosmos Club, president

And there is also a biographical entry published by the National Academy of Sciences.

http://books.google.com/books?id=h9xnzIV_zQYC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=leason+adams&source=bl&ots=LYLZzYQzvp&sig=b9UDaefyygCxuICoMad0yT-mS6s&hl=en&ei=mjJGTaeyH4P88Abs6Z34AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=leason%20adams&f=false

[China]

Most notable ancestor was Charles Lynch and, yes, that is the name that bequeathed us the concept of lynching.

Charles Lynch (1736 – October 29, 1796) was a Virginia planter and American Revolutionary who headed an irregular court in Virginia to punish Loyalist supporters of the British during the American Revolutionary War. The terms "lynching" and "lynch law" apparently derive from his name.

Any relation to the John Lynch that founded Lynchburg, VA?

[Mickalino]

Is this a serious thread, poly ?

[NattyLight]

I just received an unpublished copy of my great grandmother's story. I have not read it yet, but this is how it's prefaced:

-------------------------

"Although her name is not widely recognized, her writings tend to surface when people study the documents of our local history. Two years before Bulloch County celebrated its 200th birthday in 1996, the county-wide Bicentennial History Committee read several newspaper clippings by or about [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] (1881-1963), probably the first child born in the village of Statesboro after the Civil War.

Seven years later, Stateboro's Bicentennial History Committee used her writes that brother's Leodel and G.C. Coleman included in their excellent locate history: Statesboro: A Century of Progress, 1866-1966. [redacted] name became momentarily familiar in 2004, when three actors portrayed her at different ages in the bicentennial musical, A Place to Call Home.

The contents of this book make clear why her life and work deserve to be known. This is the first publication of her collected writings.

How did the book come into being? The answer, in a word, is "serendipity."

-----------------------

Not trying to be a dick or anything, but her first name is my Mom's middle name, her middle name is my middle name, and her last name is my sister's middle name and my mom's maiden name. So yeah, I'm going to read it and let it get published first before I disclose any more info.

[Darth Tater]

Any relation to the John Lynch that founded Lynchburg, VA?

Yep, iirc that was his brother. Another one Thomas Lynch signed the Declaration of Independence for North Carolina.

[China]

I'll have to defer to my sister for more details of some of my relatives, but here are a couple, just from my mother's side:

Aaron Ogden, notable for the landmark case decided by the Supreme Court Gibbons v. Ogden

Also, Judge U.M. Rose after whom the Rose law firm is named, and for whom there is a statue in the U.S. Capitol, is my great, great, great grandfather.

[Vilandil Tasardur]

I don't know of anyone famous, but I have two very neat stories. Let me preface them by saying that I am first generation Mexican America, so both stories take place in Mexico.

My great grandfather on my mother's side was a hooligan. At 17 he robbed a bank, sometime in the early 20th or even late 19th century. You know, back when it was humanly possible to rob a bank with just two other dudes and a few guns and horses. They were eventually caught and dragged up to the edge of a cliff. All three of them were shot and thrown off the cliff. Somehow, my great grandfather survived. He later changed his surname from Ruezga to Rueda, and lived a very normal life. To this day we always ask why my mom's name is different from all her cousins, and that's why.

My grandfather on my father's side was a very wealthy politician in Mexico through the mid and late 20th century. He married an aristocratic woman who was a very famous sculptress. My grandmother's sculptures adorn many intersections in Mexico City and in Cuernavaca. Sometime towards the end of his career, my grandfather's political party suffered huge casualties in the election. As the incumbent, he was victimized by the change in party. My grandfather actually had members of his cabinet murdered and then was framed for it by members of the new political party. It took about five years and most of my family's savings to prove his innocence, but the real blow was that it forced my grandfather into an early retirement.

The last story isn't really historically relevant, but I share it because of how immensely proud I am of it. When I was in high school in sociology class a teacher shared a statistic, something like less than 5% of hispanics in the USA attain a PhD. The reason I bring this is up is because my father is a Mexican Immigrant who received a Ph.D. in solar physics. It may not be historical or anything, but I take great pride in knowing that my dad is a solar physicist and that he defies the statistics.

[polywog999]

I don't know of anyone famous, but I have two very neat stories. Let me preface them by saying that I am first generation Mexican America, so both stories take place in Mexico.

My great grandfather on my mother's side was a hooligan. At 17 he robbed a bank, sometime in the early 20th or even late 19th century. You know, back when it was humanly possible to rob a bank with just two other dudes and a few guns and horses. They were eventually caught and dragged up to the edge of a cliff. All three of them were shot and thrown off the cliff. Somehow, my great grandfather survived. He later changed his surname from Ruezga to Rueda, and lived a very normal life. To this day we always ask why my mom's name is different from all her cousins, and that's why.

My grandfather on my father's side was a very wealthy politician in Mexico through the mid and late 20th century. He married an aristocratic woman who was a very famous sculptress. My grandmother's sculptures adorn many intersections in Mexico City and in Cuernavaca. Sometime towards the end of his career, my grandfather's political party suffered huge casualties in the election. As the incumbent, he was victimized by the change in party. My grandfather actually had members of his cabinet murdered and then was framed for it by members of the new political party. It took about five years and most of my family's savings to prove his innocence, but the real blow was that it forced my grandfather into an early retirement.

The last story isn't really historically relevant, but I share it because of how immensely proud I am of it. When I was in high school in sociology class a teacher shared a statistic, something like less than 5% of hispanics in the USA attain a PhD. The reason I bring this is up is because my father is a Mexican Immigrant who received a Ph.D. in solar physics. It may not be historical or anything, but I take great pride in knowing that my dad is a solar physicist and that he defies the statistics.

Great post. Not necessarily looking for famous people here. Just interesting stories. Bravo!

[No_Pressure]

I could go back generations but I'd rather stay fairly recent for me. My grandfather was a major teacher and role model in certain ways to me. He was born August 22nd 1922 in the Bronx, New York to an Italian immigrant father and his American born mother of deep German heritage. My grandfather had a horrific childhood and I'll spare the details of things, I'll just say that by the accounts of not just my grandfather but all 3 of his sisters, my great grandfather chased him around the house with an axe on several occasions when I suppose the regular beatings weren't enough. He tried to hang himself in their basement at age 8 but was found in time by his uncle.

At age 16, desperate to leave home, my grandfather lied about his age, dropped out of school, and joined the Merchant Marines. He served on several ships, the last one being the USAT Dorchester. Typically, he made runs between Miami, Boston, Newfoundland, and Liverpool transporting lend-lease supplies and equipment. My grandfather mentioned lining parts of the ship with asbestos as one of the duties carried out by those on board, and that he didn't know the danger such filaments posed to his heath. One thing he did know posed a risk to his health were U-Boats. In late 1942, on a trip across the Atlantic the convoy the Dorchester was in took fire from a number of U-Boats. At the time my grandfather said he was below decks getting some ice cream in the mess hall. He felt that if the ship had been hit he would never have escaped the lower decks to make it off the ship before it sank.

The experience shook my grandfather, and as soon as they arrived home in New York he went AWOL. Fearing that the Merchant Transport company would bring charges against him for abandoning his contract, he enlisted in the army and was sent to the 8th Infantry Division. In early 1943, just weeks after my grandfather had jumped ship, the Dorchester was sunk by a German U-Boat while making another run as part of a convoy in the Atlantic. Of the 904 men on board the ship when it was hit, only 230 survived.

After finishing training in Ireland my grandfather, now a PFC in A Company, 1st Battalion, 13th IR, 8th Division was deployed into combat on July 4th 1944. They saw action quickly, capturing the towns of Rennes and Brest, then turning to help the breakout from hedgerow country. When the division was put on rest in Luxembourg in early September, the 13th IR was attached to a tank division which was fighting to the North near Bastogne. When the division caught up some weeks later in mid September, the 8th was thrown into the Hurtgen Forest.

The Hurtgen Forest is a battle which many people don't know anything about. I'll spare the details and simply say this: The Hurtgen Forest is the longest single battle the United States Military has ever fought, stretching from mid September up until February 1944-1945. It claimed 30,000 American casualties which is second to only the Battle of the Bulge (35-40k casualties) in deadliness on the Western Front in WW2. My grandfather had nightmares about this time in his life until the day he died. We would often be driving around to Lakeforest Mall to look for a new jacket (he liked to buy some clothes for his grandchildren every now and then in exchange for us doing all of his yardwork for him whenever he asked us to) and he would randomly describe an incident which happened to him in the Hurtgen forest. Artillery barrages which lasted 48 hours. Advancing through networks of minefields only to run into pillboxes, one of which my grandfather ran up to and detonated with a satchel charge. The constant scenes of death, destruction, and the feelings of utter helplessness and the acceptance of death.

I've never met a man who could make a better case for never having a single war ever again. Many soldiers lose a little bit of their humanity over time. They become desensitized to the violence around them, or purposely block it out and don't dwell on things because it makes it easier to deal with things in the present. Speaking to one of the only veterans I ever met who knew my grandfather from the 8th Division, I found that my grandfather had never lost his compassion and humanity. He was hurt every time he experienced death like it was the first time he had seen it, and he avoided senseless killing at all times, even to the extent of almost beating to death (ironic, I know) a fellow squad member nicknamed "Trigger" who thought it was fun to shoot surrendering German soldiers.

At any rate, during the war my grandfather was given 2 weeks of R&R during 9 months as a rifleman in an combat infantry unit. It seems whenever the division was put on rest for a few weeks or days, the 13th was attached to another unit. One time he even claimed that just his company was attached to a supply unit while the rest of the division got 5 days of rest. Whether or not that was the case, I don't know, but my grandfather wasn't the type to lie about anything really.

In April of 1945 after capturing the German city of Koln, and having a particularly jarring grenade fight in the basement of the city post office, and then sitting watch over about 50 stacked American and German bodies which were making odd noises all night in spite of being dead, my grandfather's unit moved into the Ruhr pocket towards the town of Siegen. In that town on April 9th (If my memory serves me correctly) my grandfather's company was wiped out by a German counter-attack. He was shot in the leg multiple times by a German MG42.

Up until that point he had managed to make it without a scratch other than some shrapnel which became lodged in his hand. Luckily, the femoral artery was in tact as were his...other parts...and he was captured and taken prisoner by the Germans. The Wehrmacht couldn't spare vehicles for transporting enemy soldiers at that point, so on a shot up leg my grandfather limped the 5 miles with the other survivors of his company to the German field hospital where they were treated with paper bandages. He always mentioned how he pleaded(in German, which he spoke fluently along with Italian because of his parents) with the nurses in particular to stay behind when the Wehrmacht was retreating just days later, and how dismayed he was when they refused and moved on with the army.

Once taken into the care of the U.S. Army my grandfather spent the rest of 1945 recovering from his injuries, and one year after being wounded he boarded a ship home to New York City. He had been awarded the Silver Star by his late Lieutenant for his actions in destroying the pillbox in the Hurtgen, as well as the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and a number of other campaign, combat infantry, sharpshooter qualification, good conduct, etc. medals/badges. Other than his Purple Heart which he received in the hospital, my grandfather's other medals were sent to the address he has listed when he enlisted in the Army, which happened to be his now divorced father's home.

Returning back from war, without seeing his father for the past 8 years, this 24 year old man who had left home when he was 16 was greeted with a "What are you doing here?". He learned that when his medals had arrived at the house his father had quickly thrown them in the trash. A major fight ensued, my grandfather threatened to kill his father, then thought better of it and left to find a place of his own.

In 1947 my grandfather attended GED classes in NYC where he met a 16 year old girl from Long Island who was getting a GED so she could leave high school early. In 1948, after receiving his GED, my grandfather took the entrance exams and was accepted into NYU and Columbia University. He was undoubtedly the smartest person I've ever known in spite of his upbringing and though I didn't believe that he had really gained admission to those schools, I found his acceptance letters he had hung on while we were going through his things after he died.

Unfortunately for NYU and Columbia, that girl from Long Island's family was moving out to Los Angeles where her father was working as an Engineer. My grandfather decided to follow her out there and settled on the University of Redlands which is a fairly decent small school south of L.A. after receiving his degree 4 years later he got a job with the Department of Defense and married the girl from Long Island, my grandmother, to whom he was married until the day he died back in 2005 from Pulmonary Fibrosis, a condition resulting from scar tissue in the lungs which isn't allowed to properly heal for whatever reason. There is a lot which needs to be learned about the condition. My grandfather always felt it was the result of lining that ship with asbestos all those years ago that did it- he was never a smoker and didn't have pneumonia in his lifetime.

I'll spare the details of the 2nd half of his life. I don't know if anybody will even find this story interesting in the least. I know it is a little recent to talk about grandfather's life in a thread about ancestors but...well...next to my dad and my mom he was the most important person in my entire life. He taught me so much, I respected him like no other except for of course my father, and I miss spending time with him greatly. I suppose writing about him is more for me than it is for anybody else out there who may read this. I really miss him, but at the same time I know he was tortured by the memories of the war and I'm glad that he is finally at peace.

He used to tell me he had these recurring nightmares where he was in his house, laying on the bed and a shadowy outline of a child tapped on the window and called to him "Come outside Joe, come and play with us" he said they were shadows, with no discernible features, and voices which seemed somehow familiar. In his dream he would suddenly appear at the front door with the decision to open it or not, and he told me he always dreaded opening it, because he felt that if he opened it in his dream, he would die in reality. One last thing I'll mention- my grandparents took care of foster children once their own kids were out of the house. My grandmother was a 1st grade teacher and was certified to take care of special needs children- one of my uncles is Autistic. They had a child staying with them who had MR. My grandfather asked him once over breakfast if he ever had dreams when he went to sleep. The child replied yes. My grandfather asked what it was he dreamt about. The child replied: there are children outside the house but I can't see them and they're talking to me.

Needless to say my grandfather was deeply bothered by such a response. He always told me that he would make sure that the day I die, rather than sending shadow children, he would make sure that he and my father were there to welcome me to the afterlife. Assuming there is an afterlife, I would like that a great deal.

[Boss_Hogg]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential...

Ha, I used to have a poster with this in my dorm room.

[Dan T.]

Vilandil, Rock (and everybody really) - great stories... thanks for posting these.

[Zguy28]

My grandfather was General Mark Clarke's staff photographer and got to ride in Hitler's train. Thought it was pretty cool story. He was also a DJ for WPGC back during the 1960's when it became a rock and roll station. He also created the first satellite system for NPR and was a great pilot. RIP Pappap.

My maternal grandfather used to be a bootlegger during prohibition in Charles County MD.

[Huly]

My Great Aunt (Grandfather's sister) told me this is why she is divorced from her husband.

My Grandfather's side of the family is directly related to Jesse James. Well his sister decided to marry a gentleman with the last name of Long. Come to find out Mr. Long was a direct decendant of the Nimrod Long Banking company which was robbed of $14,000 in 1868. Since our families are historical arch rivals she states her marriage was doomed from day one.

Also there is a lot of Cherokee in my family to the point I could claim citizenship with the Tribe.

[The 12th Commandment]

I started a similar thread years ago link. I hope yours elicits more of a response. We all have cool stories but some maybe we don't want to share. Mine might be thought of that way by some people, but I am proud of grandparents and there's not a hell of a lot we can do about our ancestors anyway. Bottom line my grandparents were radicals and that's just cool! It may come across different this time (the difference 5 years can make), with our current pres and all. I've noticed the mentioning of commie in paranoid light lately and I hadn't when I wrote this.

Here's mine from that thread:

My family’s story is fairly unique I think, and while when I was a kid we didn’t use to discuss it a whole lot, since the end of the cold war it doesn’t seem so sensitive anymore. Some of you may have seen my take on the immigration issue. Here’s why I love Mexico and Mexicans. Sorry it’s so long.

My Grandfather came over from Germany in the 30’s. He was escaping the Nazi’s because, while he liked the finer things, as a young man he was lured by the seductive siren of communism. Probably to spite my G-Grandpa who was a general in the Kaiser's army. I am sure he thought at the time that the US with its inherent freedoms was the place to be. He came over met my Jewish Ukrainian Grandmother and the two of them fell right into the (at the time) radical labor movements in and around NY. Years later, Grandpa wound up managing a factory in Worcester, owning a Mercedes and becoming a concert pianist. Not very communistic. But he still would meet with his buddies and rabble rouse over schnapps. A character trait that is apparently genetic.

Along comes Mr. Joe McCarthy, may his soul rot in hell. In ’53 an FBI agent/neighbor met my Grandpa in the driveway and said, “Kurt, you need to leave and you need to leave tomorrow”. May his soul rest in peace. I am not insensitive to the threat that communism may have played to our country, but freedom is freedom. And history has concurred that Mr. McCarthy was an evil, self-serving ****.

The next morning the car was packed and my Dad, his bro and two sisters joined my Grandma in driving from Worcester to Mexico City. My Grandpa joined them a couple days later and never looked back.

My Dad graduated from high school and college there. My Mom, who was a student at Michigan State, went to Mexico City College for a semester to study Spanish. A chance meeting and a trip to Acapulco (think Frank Sinatra, Down Mexico Way - don't you love Ole Blue Eyes) and the rest was history. After getting married they moved back to the states never to move back to Mexico.

But the impact the whole situation had on even me and my sister was indelible. I am as proud an American as anyone. Bar None. Our whole family are hard-core proponents of democracy and most are politically active.

My own country kicked out my own family. And they would have done worse if given the opportunity. That stings me to write. To this day. And it’s why I am rabidly opposed to generalizations of groups of people like the current immigrant wave. Furthermore, Mexico welcomed us with open arms. Opportunities were there and my Grandpa became very successful. Again, not very communistic but he refused to ever enter the US again.

Unfortunately for me, he spent it all before he died, but that was his right.

[Obibyn23]

I am related to Clara Barton, in fact Barton is my middle name. She was the Civil War nurse who helped start the Red Cross.

Also been told Charlemagne, and I have connections to Obama, Harris Barton who use to play for the niners, and Todd Benzinger who use to play for the Reds and Giants.