Man. Both my parents recently did ancestry kits. My mum’s dad was adopted so it was nice to work out where she really came from and she’s connected with a long lost uncle (I think I’ve mentioned that in the DT before)
But 90% of the stuff that has come out has been both fascinating and a headache. As the family academic historian, the job of wading through the shit has fallen to me. I love it but god damn once skeletons are out of that closet there’s no way to put them back.
Through ancestry we’ve found out that adopted grandfather is likely the result of family sexual violence, which is why the family wiped all record of him and long lost great-uncle never knew he existed; mum’s mum is not related to her parents at all, not anyone else in her family. She’s actually the child of a young girl that lived down the street who was 16 at the time she had nana. The father is the 46 year old father of her friend; it’s likely that the woman who, according to the new family tree, is nana’s niece, is actually also her sibling, which means old mate had a sexual relationship of some kind with his daughter.
I was just helping dad this morning. Populate his family tree and BAM. Ancestry gives us his grandparent’s marriage certificate, but also 4 OTHER marriage certificates in the name of his grandfather, with other women all over the world. And no divorce certificates. 🤦♀️ old mate had 5 wives and god knows how many children.
At this point I’m just like, come at me. Oh, incest? Is that the best you’ve got? Bigamy? Unregistered adoptions? Child’s play.
You wanna know the worst of it all?
Mum was always interested in the family history, but the older generations were VERY cagey about it all. When mum’s nana died, mum went around to the house where the will had just been read out to her grandfather. He told her, “your grandmother wrote you a letter explaining the family history and left it in with the will for me to give to you. But I was too incriminating to too many people, so I burnt it.”
To this day, when me and my cousins get together we get drunk and ask each other
Burnt it? How dare they! That’s going against a deceased person’s wishes! For shame. No disrespect to your grandpa intended, but I feel almost superstitious about that stuff. As executor of my late mother’s will, there were things I didn’t agree with, but in the end they were her wishes and not mine.
You’re not the only one. Without wanting to reveal too many details, a will was Not Followed when the house came to be sold and the proceeds divided. Things that have happened in the families that were a party to it or colluded were… not good.
My mum did the ancestry thing and all she did was find out about second cousins and distant relatives. Found out that my like great great great uncles founded the town of Creswick.
Dear lord. I’m the sort of family tree person in my family and thank goodness no skeletons like that unearthed on my mum’s side. Mostly just war survival stories or unfortunate alcos/gamblers. There’s one pedophile but that’s been known for over a decade.
Dad’s side, we already had the bomb dropped on us when I was 18 and found out he had a whole 'nother TWO families in different countries and three children between them, one of which was born after his first grandchild. I’m not interested in finding out any more.
But your mum’s parents, christ on a bicycle. I wonder how she’s been coping with the revelations too
Man. Both my parents recently did ancestry kits. My mum’s dad was adopted so it was nice to work out where she really came from and she’s connected with a long lost uncle (I think I’ve mentioned that in the DT before)
But 90% of the stuff that has come out has been both fascinating and a headache. As the family academic historian, the job of wading through the shit has fallen to me. I love it but god damn once skeletons are out of that closet there’s no way to put them back.
Through ancestry we’ve found out that adopted grandfather is likely the result of family sexual violence, which is why the family wiped all record of him and long lost great-uncle never knew he existed; mum’s mum is not related to her parents at all, not anyone else in her family. She’s actually the child of a young girl that lived down the street who was 16 at the time she had nana. The father is the 46 year old father of her friend; it’s likely that the woman who, according to the new family tree, is nana’s niece, is actually also her sibling, which means old mate had a sexual relationship of some kind with his daughter.
I was just helping dad this morning. Populate his family tree and BAM. Ancestry gives us his grandparent’s marriage certificate, but also 4 OTHER marriage certificates in the name of his grandfather, with other women all over the world. And no divorce certificates. 🤦♀️ old mate had 5 wives and god knows how many children.
Is it too early for wine?
Holy fuck that’s a lot to unravel.
Bottoms up on that wine
At this point I’m just like, come at me. Oh, incest? Is that the best you’ve got? Bigamy? Unregistered adoptions? Child’s play.
You wanna know the worst of it all?
Mum was always interested in the family history, but the older generations were VERY cagey about it all. When mum’s nana died, mum went around to the house where the will had just been read out to her grandfather. He told her, “your grandmother wrote you a letter explaining the family history and left it in with the will for me to give to you. But I was too incriminating to too many people, so I burnt it.”
To this day, when me and my cousins get together we get drunk and ask each other
What 👏 was 👏 in 👏 the letter 👏???
Burnt it? How dare they! That’s going against a deceased person’s wishes! For shame. No disrespect to your grandpa intended, but I feel almost superstitious about that stuff. As executor of my late mother’s will, there were things I didn’t agree with, but in the end they were her wishes and not mine.
Nah great pop was an all around asshole, we can all say it.
You’re not the only one. Without wanting to reveal too many details, a will was Not Followed when the house came to be sold and the proceeds divided. Things that have happened in the families that were a party to it or colluded were… not good.
At this point I can only assume the sorts of shenanigans previously only known to the greek pantheon
Jesus Christ.
That’s putting it lightly
My mum did the ancestry thing and all she did was find out about second cousins and distant relatives. Found out that my like great great great uncles founded the town of Creswick.
🍷
One is not enough
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
That’s better
hands you all the wine
I know they say be prepared to Find Out Things with DNA tests, but bloody hell.
Holy actual shit.
Well, at least that’s a perfect excuse for early drinks?
Dear lord. I’m the sort of family tree person in my family and thank goodness no skeletons like that unearthed on my mum’s side. Mostly just war survival stories or unfortunate alcos/gamblers. There’s one pedophile but that’s been known for over a decade.
Dad’s side, we already had the bomb dropped on us when I was 18 and found out he had a whole 'nother TWO families in different countries and three children between them, one of which was born after his first grandchild. I’m not interested in finding out any more.
But your mum’s parents, christ on a bicycle. I wonder how she’s been coping with the revelations too