General Chat

Have you found many in your tree?

not its only a little apple tree so they cant hide in it

None so far apart from William the Conqueror :-))

The bits I have actually verified though I am 100% english and apart from one in Wednesbury and one in Bristol they are all from the south east.

MWAH !!

Maz. XX

Oh yes.
But I didn't find them in my tree cos I already knew them.....my mother's parents were both immigrants.

Further back on my Dad's side we have German & Dutch immigrants.

Do you have them in your tree Uggers?
K

There is still the strong possiblity of huguenots in my family, though I haven' t explored that branch yet.

There was one who was born in the East Indies, but so far I have not been able to find anything out about her, other than she was living with my 4xG Grandparents in 1851, as their neice.

OMG!
Where do I start! lol
Pat

lol Dawnie;)

Yr not very interesting are you, Mazzy:)))

Hiya Karen. I've got loads but they're mostly Southern Irish or French Huguenot. Oh and a few Belgians. I've got one Polish Jew but I'm not directly descended from her:(

Teresa, I'd have to investigate, I can't leave things alone til I'm satisfied.

Go on, Pat:)))

Hiya gang,

I have found that I have possible Huguenot's in my tree which I was flabbergasted to learn about.

Funnily enough I have always loved the French language (not that I can speak it). So wonder if I have the French gene in me. They settled in Cornwall and then moved all over and one branch settled in Wales.

Great this family tree business. xx

Karen, every time people bang on about immigrants I wonder if they've traced their trees :) I think having tried to find as much out about mine as possible it gives you an insight into the hardships faced by immigrants.

Good luck, Harp Strings - there are so many available resources for a lot of Huguenot ancestry and some wonderful info out there.

My lot are, so far, 100% English, but, when I'm bored with my tree, I'm doing my grandad's best mates, as he never had any children. Not got too far with it though. His dad was from Barbados and his mum was at least 4th generation Hampshire born & bred and black. I also want to find out who my grans teacher was at primary school (I'm taking 1910 - 14 here) - she was also black, and gran helped to sew her trousseau when she got married.

Sounds a bit weird, but I get so peed off with British rappers with big chips on their shoulders going on about how hard their life has been, being black (even if they were born & bred here) - it's almost like 'The Only Gay in the Village' syndrome, I want to do some research on how it was before the words immigration. 'diversity' and 'multicultural society' were bandied about.
I might add that 4 generations of my family grew up in the Chapel area of Southampton, an area that has always been a thriving area of all nations.

maggie

No

Oh go on then..................

My paternal grandparents were from Ireland. They came over in the late 1930's.

On my maternal side is where the fun starts!

My great grandfather was born in Brazil, His sister in the US, another sister in Canada and his brother in France.
His father was born in Romania and his mother in Austria.

Going back on my gypsy line of Boswells, I have traced them back to entering England in the mid 1500's from Holland.
Before that it is documented that they (Romany Gypsies in general, Not just my family!) travelled West through Europe over time. Originating in Northwest India, they starting migrating in the 11th Century in retreat to the advance of Islam.

So mine goes back a long way!

Pat

If anyone is interested there is a great book (paperback) entitled "Bloody Foreigners" by Robert Winder.
It covers immigration into Britain, going right back to the first invader of about 25,000 years ago. It covers the Normans, the Huguenots, the Irish, the Jews - all through the ages, everyone who ever came to the British Isles right up to modern day, covering Asylum seekers and illegals.
For anyone with immigrants in their tree, it provides a wealth of knowledge.

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

For Englishmen to boast of generation
Cancels their Knowledge and lampoons the Nation.
A true born Englishman's a Contradiction
In Speech and Irony, in fact a Fiction.

......so said Daniel Defoe in 1700.

K

i agree maggie
lol
yoru bit about the only gay in the village
they so hard done by arnt they,
you feel like saying
wow go over in that corner and ave a word with yourself,

i wish you luck with your searching it sounds like you should find some fascinating stuff

100% English in the main, although my one g g grandma is Irish. As she was born long before the Partition, I suppose she really doesn't count.

I do have one foreigner though, a g grandma who was born in the Black Country, plus another from Birkenhead.

Maggie that must be so interesting - must give you some real insight. I have wondered when looking through censuses sometimes if any of these names belong to black people. I know the US census had colour on it but there would be no clue on ours.

Jac:))

All right Pat, stop showing off now:))

lol Josie's other grandad:)

That sounds good for me Karen:)

Oh and I forgot.
I haven't actually traced my Irish side yet, But it is said that my (Irish) surname is originally Spanish-Well Catalan.
The story is that a Spanish ship sank off the coast of Ireland and some sailors got stranded, They then settled in Ireland. Hence the Spanish name in Ireland.

Pat