Geneology, Pirates in yer tree?

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Couple 'o years back I started trackin' down me ancestors. Had always heard me Grammaw sayin' we was Scottish, Irish and native Indian. Well... found Scottish, English, Cherokee and a large portion from the Netherlands/Bavaria. Not an Irishman to be found. Usin' the tools provided by Wikitree and Ancestry I's been able to dig up several stories of piratical interest.  The earliest occurs in 1499 when Breton Pirate Colyn Dolphin ransoms a Sir Harry Stradling for 1 or 2 thousand marks (depending on the source). Sir Harry is 17 degrees away so It's just an interesting tale. Fast forward to the mid 1600's and the Scottish/English ancestors are gettin' deported and leavin' the Empire for the Colonies. Mid 1700's river pirate Samuel Mason pops up as a 13th cousin 6 times removed (wot the bloody 'ell do all that mean?). Come the Rev War and me 6th great grandfather is in the sacking of Ft Ticonderoga in 1775. Quite certain King George would have considered that an act of Piracy. In Sept of 1780 a newspaper puts another ancestor and his son on board the prison ship HMS Jersey.  I finds a certain Phineas T Barnum to be a 4th cousin 6 times removed (Yeah, THAT Barnum LOL) and a 20th cousin 4 times removed  in Robert Louis Stevenson.

So, Who's lurkin' in yer tree?

[Picaroon Lagoon]

I was just this week wondering about my own ancestry and what sorts of scallawags I may be kin to. This is something I need to look into. 
 

Thank you for sharing your own findings. Quite interesting indeed! 

[Duchess]

8 hours ago, Morgan Dreadlocke said:

...a 13th cousin 6 times removed (wot the bloody 'ell do all that mean?).

 

Removes are generations. So this person is six generations after the person that is your 13th cousin. You and your 13th cousin would have to go back 14 generations to find a common ancestor.

[Mary Diamond]

Fascinating! And thank you for sharing! Have been attempting a little assisted ancestry digging, but too many common names are muddying the waters…

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

I highly recommends the Wikitree.com site. It's free, fairly easy to use, and has forums to ask questions on how to do. The few names and dates I had quickly linked me into my ancestors. Most of the work had already been done and documented by others.  It DO get a bit squirrely when there's several generations of sons bein' named after their grandfathers and Jr's 2 and 3. 

It's a big step up from that useless book at Celtic Fests where people look up their "Coat of Arms" and everyone seems to have a connection to the Duke of Devonshire. 

Thankee Duchess. That removed thing has been drivin' me nuckin futz and at my age it ain't a long drive.

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Found more stories collaborated on the Family Search.org site.  In 1685 several dozens Coventers are deported from Dunnottar Castle Scotland. Months aboard the "Henry and Francis" with bad or no food and the group ends up in Perth Amboy (New Jersey). Two of the survivors ,Annabel Gordon and George Brown, start one leg of my family tree on this continent. Their son, Thomas, spends time aboard the prison ship "Jersey" in 1780. Annabel MAY be the daughter of the 7th (not sure of the title ) of Pitlurg. The records get sketchy at that point. The Family Search site is not as picky on documentation as the Wikitree site. Must take it all wi' a grain a salt cause if the prior researcher has entered bogus info everything goes to hades.