I have been on a family history mission and have traced myfamily back to the 1730s in England on one side and to some convicts on the other.
anyway found out anything interesting, similar to this:
Barrack Obama's family has been traced back to Ireland in the 1700s and one of his ancestors was a politician as well

My grandfather is working on tracing the family tree and he told me about a guy in the gold rush days who killed his wife and got sentenced to hanging for it. Thats all he has told me so far, I am guessing it was the most intresting thing he could find at the time

My mum is doing her side and found out that a distant relative went down on the Titanic. He was also an advisor to the American president.

wow thats so interesting! I'd love to find out more about my family tree but don't know where to start! My husbands family tree only goes back a few generations then stops!

klizanne - The best way is to start an account with Ancestry.com.au. It links you up with other trees that link to yours. If you have English or American descendants this is the best way to go.
Minimacs mum - wow! Tres impressive

I know that on my mums side we came to Tasmania as convicts. My great, great, great (however many greats LOL) Grandfather had my Grandmother sentenced to here for seducing and sleeping with the servants

Oooo there's some juicy (and tragic) stuff on my mum's side.
I'm a little sketchy on the details as I've been told this verbally and haven't read the written version (yet!)

The family lived in Ireland until a couple of generations ago. (My great great? grandparents migrated to Australia)

Whilst in Ireland there was a fairly nasty Protestant-Catholic split which was highlighted when a couple of the daughters moved to the US, and one married into "the" Kennedy family. Their father cut all ties with these women, and insisted the family do the same, and then they all moved to Australia.

The disowned women's mother continued to keep in touch with them through letters which she kept hidden in a locked wooden chest, and she collected them over the years.

Eventually her husband found out that she was writing to the daughters and was furious. He demanded she open the chest, she refused. It escalated and he grabbed an axe to smash the chest. She threw herself onto the chest and he hit her instead, killing her and ensuring he spent the rest of his life in a prison hospital/mental assylum.

We also have (another Irish!) ancestor who helped build St Mary's Cathedral.

On Dad's side, the family were one of those given "lots" of the Australian outback, where they packed up their entire life and went to live in the absolute middle of nowhere with nothing and no one to help them, and worked on turning the land into the farm it is today. As a child I loved to visit the site of the original settlement, where my grandfather, as a child, lived in a small hut made of tree branches and tin!

I love family tree stories. On my mothers side we are related to Bin Crosby which is pretty cool.

My dad has heaps of info, I recently found our family crest through facebook, Ours is a very uncommon name and we now have a group on facebook for it!

My great great great grandfather owned a winery in rutherglen we went and saw it and it is now a petrol station. We also found death information for that grandfather, his wife was illiterate and she needed to sign it but instead of signing her name there is just an X. All very interesting.

Hmmm,

- On my mums side, my 6 Great Grandpa's (i think) found Norfolk Island
- Some one from that era also married a Black Tahiatian lady ... mean while I'm still waiting for my tan
- I can't remember whose side its on, but apparently on one side there are traces that my family go back to King Henry the 5th or 8th...
- My great grand mother on my dads side was (excuse the racism) black as black aboriginal...see above about my tan

Nothing too exciting, but well yeah, thats my family


rollagirl


**Note: no racial discrimination is intended at all.....I just make the comments about how dark my great grandmother was, as I am so pitifully white

OUr academic claim to fame is that we are related to the Fisher of Fisher Library at Sydney Uni.

Salacious claim to fame - and never proven!!: One of Dad's direct ancestors married a younger woman two months after his wife died of a sudden illness... allegedly after eating pie made by, wait for it, yep, the younger woman!

I come from a distinguished line of forgers, sheep rustlers and petty thieves transported here.

We have also discovered some weird and wonderful names that DH insists we won't resurrect!! Mountford, Gervaise (I actually like this one), Sackville, Elder...

Just a close link to a member of the Kelly Gang. But that's pretty much compulsory where I come from!

I'm related to James Boswell, who wrote The Life of Johnson (Samuel Johnson - who wrote the first dictionary in England).

I'm also related to the brother of the woman who started Frenscham school for Girls.

There's also always been an untraceable rumour that there are links to Perceval -he of King Arthur's Round Table.

My mum has been doing our genealogy for two decades and in that time many awesome characters and tales have emerged, my favourites are all the feisty female characters we have unearthed such as...

A female convict transported for being in a gang of whores who committed robberies. She had the wonderful surname of Gaggers.

I'm also related to a female bar owner (or whatever they were called in those days) who stood up to Ben Hall (Australian bushranger) on one of his robberies.

We also have Wordsworths in our family and someone amongst our cousins claims we are related to William Wordsworth but Mum has been unable to prove that.



Love it.

Genealogy is a strong interest of mine. If anyone is really interested in doing some research, these tips might help.

WHERE DO I START?

Using a blank family tree template, fill in as much information as you can – starting with yourself. This type of family tree is called a ‘pedigree’ or ‘ancestral’ chart, as it works backwards from the present (you) through the direct ancestors (your parents, their parents etc).

You may not have much information to start with, but do not despair! The best place to start is to look at your own birth certificate, which will tell you the names and marriage date of your parents. From your parents’ marriage certificate, you will be able to find out their birth dates and the names of their parents. From their parents’ certificates, you will find out about your great-grandparents – and so on.

When searching for records, keep in mind that errors may be made in spelling, or in the accuracy of dates. Always use alternate versions of spelling if you cannot find the names you are looking for, and – if necessary - search in the years either side of the date you believe to be correct.

Birth, death and marriage certificates are available to purchase from the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state. Birth and marriage certificates tend to be more reliable than death certificates, which are filled out from information provided by someone other than the subject, for obvious reasons. Ensure you are confident you have your facts correct before you search, as some states charge a fee even to view the document online. Before purchasing the certificates and records you need, contact your relatives to see if they have copies already. This can save time and money. Remember to copy these certificates and return the originals to their owners promptly.

As you continue your research, collect as many documents, photographs, letters, postcards and other records that relate to your family as you can. List them on the Document or Photograph List, and file them by the surname of the author or subject. It can be a good idea to store them in plastic pockets, and label these pockets with information such as a brief description of what they are, who created them, and when they were created.

Visit or correspond with members of your family of an earlier generation, such as parents, aunts and uncles, or grandparents.

Make sure you source all information you receive. If this information is not in the form of an official certificate or document, try to trace it back to its original source. Always note down where you obtained your information (ie State Library of Victoria, Great-aunt Mary etc) so you can refer back to them for more information at a later date, if necessary.

Visit the places in which your family has lived. Local newspapers, cemeteries, museums and even former neighbours can provide interesting information. Take your own photos, where appropriate, to add to your files.

My DH's family has been traced back to Edward I and he won't let me forget it!!

This line had a lot of 'Samuel's which we only found out after naming our DS Sam - but there were also 3 men called 'Athenasius' - if only we'd known!

My grandmother was approached by a young man doing his family tree for his doctorate (or something similar) and had an intense study done and our line was closely related to his, he actually traced us back to vikings who eventually settled in scotland. Not sure of separate stories but there were a few famous names in there apparently.

We have an old old family name on Dad's side that some of the older relatives would like to see passed on. Not very likely though - the name is Seaman!

Everyone gets stumped on our family tree when you get to my grandfather. The only 2 people who know what happened (my grandfather and his brother) have passed away, but we did find out there is another person with the same surname in our state that has the whole tree, they are on one side and we the other!
Before my uncle passed he did tell me his mother was not his mother, he and my grandfather are the product of relationship that was never meant to be.

My great great grandfather (or great grandfather - can't remember), was an admiral in either the Austrian/English navy. His family was quite wealthy.

They decided to immigrat to Australia, so he sent his wife and kids over first.

However, his boat sunk (along with all the family's furniture and wealth - gold bullion, coins) in the English Chanel on the way over here

I asked my dad once why we couldn't try and retrieve it. He said that it would cost millions, so no-one has ever tried

Dad also told me that we are related to Greta Garbo

Mel

My family is traced on my maternal side to late 14th century scotland, the Campbell family line.

My maternal grandfathers line we are unable to trace, but he was in an orphanage in Redfern, Sydney and he was stolen generation.

My paternal greatx3 grandmother was Lady Jane Green (Late 1700's (near Cantebury, Kent) - a British aristocrat who was poor anyway due to someone stuffing around with family money.

My Paternal other side (my nannas side) were also from Cantebury, Kent and came out in the 1800's to set up the town of Pemberton, (I am related to Mary Pembers) and worked as forestry loggers and farmers. We had a family farm on the Vasse Hwy for years.

I found out my dad had another wife befor my mum and he never told us

It's something I'm really interested in actually but have never really had the time to thoroughly research. I always thought it might be too hard to do from here since I am from the UK and wouldn't be able to access any resources that aren't online.

My grandma has a family tree going a couple of hundred years back but I haven't really looked at it (I don't think there is anyone interesting in it!) - might ask her for a copy of it next time I am in the UK.

Anecdotally, on my mum's side we are apparently related to one "Mucklemouth Meg" who was hanged for sheep stealing

On my dad's side we know that my great grandmother was forced to leave school at 13 to work in a factory (typically working class London). At the same time, we are pretty sure that we are descended from peers of the realm who used to go hunting with King Charles II although that hasn't been proven as far as I know and I suspect the family branched off many years ago!

..

[quote]Grandfather had my Grandmother sentenced to here for seducing and sleeping with the servants [/quote] OMG Hell hath no fury
Hug - have you thought of getting a family history researcher in to solve the mystery of your grandfather?
[/quote]At the same time, we are pretty sure that we are descended from peers of the realm who used to go hunting with King Charles II although that hasn't been proven as far as I know and I suspect the family branched off many years ago! [quote]
Nic - tres impressive.
Us? well we are from a long line of multiple marriages and breeders. My biological grandfather was married three times and his Mum was married four times. Also one of my ancestors had 21 kids Another died when she was 35 and already had 8 kids No doubt the death was due to childbirth.
I have also just found my half uncle and cousins and I feel like an underachiever. He was a helicopter pilot - his daughters are vets, barristers, accountants, nurses and a journalist (which I used to be). Don't you think that is spooky, my half counsin is a journalist too? Bit of a coincidence.
As for the PP who was related to Ned Kelly, you are officially Aussie royalty. You go girl

we managed to trace ours back to the 1800s but nothing much came up, ive apparently got family all over the world including hong kong. however over the past few yrs i have found out some very juicy secrets about my mums parents, including 2 affairs and fake hair.

My husband had assumed his family was Welsh or English due to his (our) last name. Well, one day I decided to muck around on ancestry.com, and I found out that his paternal family had emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania to escape Lutheran persecution. The old name was very German, and because our name is similar I can only assume it was either transcribed wrong, or was Anglicised.
Looking further, the descendants of his line have practically taken over this place in Pennsylvania, the family is huge! They even have a website, and one member has written a book. I contacted the webmaster, and she answered, signing 'Cousin Joan'. Nice! There were murders, disappearances, and so many other interesting stories. Also very interesting is that there were two main 'escapes' for the German Lutherans - Pennsylvania, or South Australia. My stepdad's family went the Aussie route, and DH's the American.
DH's maternal family are Norwegian, the family has done their own research and found Vikings.

As for me, well! I really think I will hire someone to do the research for me one day. My paternal grandparents lines both go dead end for me. I have heard that on Grandad's side a relative was Kate Kelly's best friend. On Grandma's side they were Dutch South African, and my line is apparently the result of a love affair with a servant - they fled here. My sister and I both have African body types, despite being fairish (skinny high calves, big thighs and booty, swayback )

My sis is currently in Kent, England visiting our maternal great-grandmother's sister, who has just turned 101. They have a manor house there that has been taken over by the National Trust. My maternal grandfather's side is Scottish, the best story I can remember from that side being that my grandfather's mother was about 4'5" and my grandfather was 11lb at birth

Oh, I could ramble forever. Genealogy is fun.

..

Thanks for the tip. Will do. I have lots of convicts in my family

An ancestor of mine was killed when up a ladder by an out of control horse and cart carrying apples upending his ladder.

Talk about upsetting the applecart

There was one particularly lewd relationship with a maid, and the ages of the children of the maid and the wife being similar over several children/years.

My grandmother loves this stuff! Any phone call to her will usually reveal another sordid fact from my ancestral past

1 family member fell into a vat of beer and died.

Funnily enough just today I was given a copy of the in-progress family tree of my maternal Grandfather's family, mostly German which wasn't surprising given the name.

There was absolutely nothing interesting about it! I was so hopeful of rich and famous relatives

My family develop Dupuytrens as they get older so we are from Viking stock a loooooong way back.

So this is my major hobby. I got suckered into it by my sister who started our tree. Gosh it is so interesting!

I have adopted grandparents on both sides of my family so it has been extremely difficult to get past that, but with some creativity you can find anything.

The most incredible thing about doing this I have found is learning so much about our Australian heritage. What those convicts went through is truly mind blowing, and they survived and what's more, they prospered.

I have also found many amazing coincidences through the history, we have a few birthdates that have continually come up throughout the tree.

I found that my fathers gggrandparents lived amongst my mothers family, there are coincidences like this all throughout our tree.

Anyone starting out check out www.ancestry.com and worldvitalrecords.com both are great sources of info!

My mom has just started researching her family tree - we expected a few skeletons in the closet...well, the first skeleton was her - she has just found out at the age of 65 that she is adopted! so far she has the name of her biological mother, but thats it - she is probably passed away by now. so that has been a huge shock for us all - she remembers asking her mother if she was adopted a few times, and it was always denied...mind you, everyone else in the family, and neighbourhood, knew, except her!
she has also started researching my dads side - she is into about the 1800's now...great great grandparents came to england from ireland, and were originally catholic, which i found interesting - we have been anglicised over the years.
my mom actually retired last year, and calls researching the family tree her "job" now!
cheers, julia

Try a Great... marrying a Princess (2nd wife) who is known in the history books as a Nympho .

Also a Spanish Pirate

My side of the family tree has been research by a few people including myself over the last 10 years!! Every now and then someone will get inspire to do some more, so interesting facts:

*Great Great Great Grandfather was a mayor for somewhere in Newcastle and has a street name after him
*One guy committed suicide as soon as he arrived in Australia.
*We have several convicts, the most interesting one would be the woman who was on the "floating brothel" she wasn't a very good girl at all - what makes it funnier is that my mothers grandmother would tell everyone we had a Danish capital on our side and was a bit of a snob but would never tell anyone about the prostitute.

My DH has been researching his for a couple of years now but his finding some of it difficult. Firstly his mother was adopted, and we just got in contact with her real aunty (her mother passed away when DH was young) but from what we have found out then "father" of MIL never knew he was a father, and maybe the one of her birth certificate isn't the one either!! Then on DH father side his grandfather won't give us much information and we just can't seem to find anything.

Oops I wasn't going to go on to much and there is lots more Oh well thats a little bit from me

Lets see:

On Dads side, one of my ancestors (great great grandfather, I think) owned a pub down in NSW during the gold rush and also ran a Cobb and Co coach. The pub was rather notorious as a hang-out for bushrangers. Subsequently, his was the only coach never to get robbed, as he knew all the guys personally!

My Great great grandfather on mums side was VERY wealthy - they owned a huge estate called Riverview up near Townsville, cane plantation, Kanaka workers, the whole thing. He also opened a huge string of cinemas right through QLD and NSW. All the money disappeared though, and that's been covered up.

Going back a few generations on mums side from there it gets interesting! One of my ancestors arrived in Australia, a single woman, about 5 months pregnant, and very wealthy. Up until arriving in Aust, she was a maid in the Danish Royal Court. Paid off to leave, methinks! But by who? I could be related to Frederick and Mary! lol

I remember watching a documentary about the family tree of the British royals (it was just fascinating!). Quite a few generations back there is a bit of a questionmark over the legitimacy of one of the heirs to the throne (dates of the pg don't add up - the king was away at the time!). So, if you discount this entire branch of the royal family and follow the "correct" one, the true king of England is actually a farmer up Mt Isa way!