My bro-in-law recently finished? a search that has taken him a couple of years and got him back to the 1600s (so far anyway) and I was fascinated to learn that an ancestor of mine, with the exact same birth name as me, got on a ship all alone and sailed to America. While she was on the ship she met a man and they settled over there and raised a family. Really interesting to find this out, but of course then you want to know the whys and wherefores and how a woman at that time could have been brave enough to undertake such an adventure, especially back then.
The one mystery he's been unable to solve is just who my maternal grandfather was. We knew and loved him but there are no traces of his birth or forebears, he's a total mystery and it feels to us as if he was somehow covering something up. Absolutely no clues anywhere, which is just a tad frustrating............oh well, if he wanted to remain a mystery he succeeded
It's really fascinating what you can discover though and good luck with your search Liv
Really interesting to find this out, but of course then you want to know the whys and wherefores and how a woman at that time could have been brave enough to undertake such an adventure, especially back then.
Wow @missty, that would have been a massive deal in those days, brave lady
We knew and loved him but there are no traces of his birth or forebears, he's a total mystery and it feels to us as if he was somehow covering something up.
Similar story on Himself's side. My father-in-law & his brothers could not understand why their father did not collect his pension at 65, but kept on working. It was only after his death they discovered his real name. They found a recently issued copy of his birth certificate which showed not just his real name, his place of birth, parents etc but that he'd added 6 years to his age.
The results pointed to a Middle Eastern origin for Cheddar Man, suggesting that his ancestors would have left Africa, moved into the Middle East and later headed west into Europe, before eventually crossing the ancient land bridge called Doggerland which connected Britain to continental Europe. Today, about 10% of white British ancestry can be linked to this ancient population.