General Chat

When my mother was alive it was always a bone of contention with her of people sleeping with the opposite sex and having children out of wedlock,It was never done in my day she would say we were able to control ourselves. Well I have just found out that her own father and his 2 brothers were born out of wedlock and her Grandfather was leading a double life one with his wife and children, and another with his lover and their children..............how many others have found out things like this in their tree lynn

My great grandfather was a 14 year old stow away on a ship from Germany to America. He had 6 children with my great grandmother here in the States. We have yet to prove that there was a marriage between the two as there is no record of one anywhere. Great Gramps was a strict disciplinarian and insisted that each child learn a musical instrument. One night, while having one of his sons practice the violin, he placed a quarter on top of the violin, and instructed the child not to knock the quarter off while playing. The quarter fell to the ground once too often and he beat the child so severely they thought he was dead. Police were called, something unheard of in the old days as what a man did in his own home was his own business. At any rate, Great Gramps disappeared before the police arrived and was not heard from again for many, many years. It seems he fled the country to Australia where he met and married another woman! Documentation we have on this marriage. The newly married couple then returned to the US, on the opposite side of the country from where he left the first wife and family, and had another 5 children with the 2nd wife. Just as there was nothing to prove a marriage with the 1st wife, there was nothing to be found that showed they ever divorced. Does that make me illigitimate? LOL! Judy

I think it does, Judy. My dad was the result of a bigamous marriage. His da, aged 38 'married' my 18 year old gran. He was killed in the war, and gran was 'presuaded' to immediately marry his friend, ( a widower) who proceeded to adopt my dad. This was all hushed up 'cos his real dad was a Commander in the Navy. and the powers that be didn't want any scandal! On my mum's side, G gran had 9 children before she married my G grandad. They had one legitimate child. My ex-husband had 2 spinster aunts. their mother had never allowed them to marry, as no-one was 'good enough' yet one of them was born out of wedlock. When the ex's father (their brother) was dying, we found out he had an illegitimate son, born 20 years before my ex! Reading letters between my Gran and Grand dad, It seems rather obvious that they were lucky not to have had an 'accident'! My sister and I were rather coy by comparison, we just had large wedding dresses, with a naturally formed shelf to rest a plate of food on!!!

I have lots of children sent away and adopted out and a few children family members didnt know about In my tree. I can't understand it when older people (without treading on anybodys toes!!!) say it wouldn't happen in my day IT DID more than I think people realise I think kids were just farmed out here and there so nobody knew whos kids were whos they just changed names here and there!! Jan x