Question of the Week: Going back in time, what burning question would you ask which ancestor?

+37 votes
2.4k views

Going back in time, what burning question would you ask which ancestor?

in The Tree House by Deborah Collier G2G6 Mach 3 (39.1k points)
Betty, Those stories you remember are actually quite amazing and wonderful. Times were hard back then and few survived. Yet, YOU are here. Your ancestors memories are part of you. You keep their stories alive. You are here because they survived, and that was no small feat. I congratulate your ancestors for being as tough as they were. I am happy that you are here to tell their tale. my best to you and yours.
Kathleen - this is the kindest comment I have ever read - you have a beautiful heart.
Thank you Kathleen, it is so very nice of you to say so.  They are amazing and wonderful. I want to keep their stories alive and pass them on.   What could be a better tribute to them?  Hugs!
I agree, her comment is very beautiful.
I'd ask my 10x great grandparents, Thomas and Ann Brownell,  if they were followers of Annie Hutchinson. Both men were dealers in fabrics and they were religious families. When Annie was banned from the colony they moved to Rhode Island soon after it was opened. The timing is right and they would have certainly known the Hutchisons because of their professions.  

Annie Hutchison was an interesting character with a larger attendance at her Bible Study group than pastors in approved churches had at the time.
I'd love to ask my Brownell ancestor who was injured at Bunker Hill what it was like to take on the British Empire. I'd have been terrified but it was a good decision.
I'd love to ask my GR grandparents what they thought when they were introduced in New York. They had met on the docks in Scotland but they were getting ready to ship out to America. When they were introduced they discovered they had traveled on the same over crowded immigrant ship and hadn't seen each other. I'd also ask what it was like to be on a crowded ship like that for weeks or months.
I'd like to ask my great-great-grandmother why she changed her mind about the name of her fifth child, who was born after her first husband's death. He was registered as Samuel in the New Zealand birth register, after which she returned to the Cape via London. He was christened Charles at the age of 17 months.

I have many guesses, most of them based on what might have happened in London, where all her in-laws were living.

The name Samuel, complete with middle name, belonged to her husband's brother-in-law, whom she may well never have met before. Did she find him unlikeable or for some other reason not good godfather material? Did her mother-in-law quietly tell her that it was not done to name a child after someone who is not a blood relation?

The name Charles, complete with another three middle names, belonged to her husband's younger brother, aged about 17 when she met him, probably also for the first time. Did she discover only then that Charles had the same birthday as her husband (who had died less than two months before the baby's birth)? Did she like the glorious ring of the four-barreled name, repeating only one of the seven names of her elder three sons? Was it because that one repeated name belonged to a baronet alleged to be the biological father of her husband's grandmother?

Or have I not come close with any of my guesses?
I would ask Adam Schafner born 1702 who his parents where and their parents. Also who his first wife's, Anna Margretha, parents where. I can find nothing before they came to Nova Scotia in 1751
My husband's ancestor, Caleb Buglass from Berwick upon Tweed, left England for St Lucia and Grenada, eventually ending up in Philadelphia in c.1773.  I would like to know if he deserted his wife and six children in Berwick, or if she died before he left, as there is no sign of her after he spent all her money!!  Just for interest, Caleb was a bookbinder who was asked by the newly established United States to bind the first Book of Common Prayer.  He attended the same church (St Peter's) as Ben Franklin who was a printer, so if I am allowed a supplementary question, I'd like to ask if Franklin knew him and, if so, whether he gave him the commission to bind the prayer book.  He married again in the US, to Mary Early and they had two daughters.

45 Answers

+5 votes
I'd like to ask Hugh Ross where in Ireland he was born, and which ship he and Elizabeth Wherry Brown Ross sailed on into the Carolinas.

I'd also ask Antoine desRosiers/Desronziers which language or dialect they spoke at home in Roanne. Obviously not Parisian French or Normande, but would it have been Northern Provençal, or Burgundian?
by Ross Ashley G2G6 Mach 1 (13.4k points)
+5 votes

Oh boy, where to begin...

To my great-grandfather Robert Dunn - Why did you drop the E from your surname? What happened between you and your brothers that caused all of your families to be estranged?

To my 2nd-great-grandfather Christopher Dunne - Where in Ireland are you from? How did you and Anne Guilfoyle meet? What did you think when she followed you to America on the next boat - or was that totally planned? :)

To my 2nd-great-grandfather Edward W. Freeth - What does that "W" stand for?

To my 2nd-great-grandfather Eugene Camus - Did you really cut out your own cancerous tumor? Who were your relatives in Quebec? How did you meet Anna Ellermeyer, and what became of Mary Ince in the end?

To my 3rd-great-grandfather George Freeth http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Freeth-67 - Were you born deaf, or did you lose your hearing over time?  Did you really steal gold from your employer and sell it back in England?  What happened between you and William Lee Smith that caused him to totally turn against you; rat you out to said employer AND your wife?  By the way, what are the names of all your kids with Jane Rudge? Did all of them turn against you? Did any of them ever find or forgive you later?  How did you & my 3rd-great-grandmother end up at the Five Points Mission House?  One last thing... did you actually die in the late 1870s, or did you run off into the sunset with yet another younger woman?

To my 3rd-great-grandmother Rachel McCarthy - What in the world did you see in George Freeth? Did you know he was already married when you married him on the boat to America?  And why, after finding everything out, after he went to prison for murder - why did you wait for him? Did you have any family in the US? Where in Ireland are you from, who are your parents, etc?

by Vicky Majewski G2G6 Mach 9 (90.2k points)
edited by Vicky Majewski
Oh Vicky - I can't believe what a little scoundrel George Freeth must have been and how much in love Rachel was with him to overlook everything and wait for him!  Your family history is extremely colorful (I'm a bit jealous)!
+5 votes
"Of all the places in the United States to choose from what the hell would make you go from warm almost tropical Sicily to snow up to your a** Niagara Falls, NY?"
by Jim Tareco G2G6 Mach 3 (36.1k points)
Now that's the absolutely funniest question anyone would ask! Great sense of humor!!
+5 votes
I would ask my probably-6 G grandfather James Best (maybe originally the German name Jakob Beste) to tell me about joining Count Schomberg in 1690. Schomberg led a large contingent to Protestants to N. Ireland to fight with William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne.

The Best family history dictated in 1870 says James came from the Hanover region, I am guessing he heard the commotion of the army passing through Hanover, and joined the army on a whim! I want to know all about his adventures. Oddly enough, the family left N. Ireland for Canada in 1819, so they were in Ireland only 130 years.
by William Watts G2G1 (1.3k points)
Oh the trouble we can get into 'on a whim'!
+5 votes
My question would be to my GGGrandfather William T.R. Turner-10954 and GGgrandmother, Lucinda (Haywood-626) Turner what happened in AL, that made you up and leave your families and come to Mississippi? What was the family disagreement about? Please tell me who your parents were, and tell me all about yourselves. I have missed out on so much of my family history, and would love to see the puzzle fit together.
by Deborah Dunn G2G6 Mach 3 (30.2k points)
edited by Deborah Dunn
I love the reference to fitting the puzzle together. I've always felt that my ancestral history was like a big jigsaw puzzle with some of the important pieces missing :) How sad that they left their families over a disagreement - life is certainly too short for that.
The story goes that there was a family dispute concerning the Civil War between the Turner men of the family.  The rest of the children stayed in AL, and Georgia area, but my line was the only one that came to Miss. Through the years and research during my mission of digging up bones, I have discovered and met many wonderful Turner relatives, and we simply did not know each others family existed.  I owe a lot to my grand father William Harold Turner, who instilled in me the importance and love of family, and also to my Dad, William Thora  "Billy" Turner, who gave in to my insistence to have his DNA tested in 2006.  If not for the doors that the DNA opened for our family, we would still think we were about to become instinct.
+5 votes
I would ask my Grandfather why he was so secretive about his mother that he never even told my Grandmother that she (his mother) had married twice and that his sister was really his half-sister.  Everyone knew that his father had married twice!
by Linda Moskal G2G1 (1.4k points)
Goodness - it appears your Grandfather 'kept his cards close to his chest' or was very, very protective of his Mother's reputation!
+5 votes
For Mary nee Cossins Winn - my great great grandmother- b. 1796 maybe died 1848 but no  present proof of that fact yet !   Where and when did you die and why can't I find that info and where you are buried ??  Was it 1848 in OHIO or PA ?  or did you go to England  to visit relatives and die there?
by Virginia Parker G2G Crew (350 points)
Well this seems to be quite a puzzle for you. How will you ever solve this mystery? Do you have any leads?
Thomas E. Winn did remarry in 1850 to the mother in law of one of his own daughters.  Marriage shows on document too, but I think he married this wife because they were both living in the same household of his dtr and of this #2 wifes son.  Not one other clue has ever shown up and not one person that I have corresponded with has any more info than this. Some still claim she did die in 1848  but no proof has ever been offered. I searched FIND A GRAVE, paid  a researcher in OHIO and one in PA to check it all out --received answers of "no info" from both.  Maybe she went back to England to visit relatives and died there but contact with those lines has never gotten me anywhere either.  Thanks you for answering my msg. Virginia M nee WINN Parker
+5 votes
Oh boy. Off the top of my head, I would ask my 3x GGma who impregnated her. It is my understanding that she was raped by the son of a man in whose home she worked as a servant. It drives me crazy that the secret of his identity has been so well-kept. I wish that there was a way I could figure it out through DNA, or at least a direction to go in, but I'm told there really isn't.

But there are probably a lot more questions that I could also come up with for all my other ancestors, too!
by Tanya McLauchlan G2G3 (3.9k points)
It seems like this type of question has the most sought after answer ever!  Imagining the pain and suffering she must have gone through is tragic!
I know...I would like to know more about her in general. I have always been told she was "slow," and on one of the censuses she's listed as an "imbecile," but I don't know how bad off she was. Apparently she wasn't able to raise the child alone so they both lived with her parents.

I suppose it's not the nicest question to ask, but I still want to know. I have a whole branch of ancestors that I can't fill in my tree with. :/
+5 votes

I would ask my 2x great grandfather, John Rich, just who is parents are and clear up this brick wall that is making me nuts.  :)  I'd also like to know what race they are.  I've been told by many family members over the years that he is Native American but I have suspicions that one or both of his parents or grandparents were either of black or melungeon ancestry.  

I've taken an Autosomal DNA test that shows both European and African ancestry but no Native American.

by Living Frazier G2G5 (5.3k points)
+5 votes
I'd ask my 7th gr. grandpa Louis DuBois about the persecution the family endured in France which ultimately led to them migrating to Germany to Netherlands to New Netherlands. We know some of the facts, I would want to know the details about losing nobility and the destruction of the family records.
by Rod DuBois G2G6 Pilot (191k points)
Persecution of beliefs led many families to flee their native lands to find peace where they could worship freely. It is truly unfortunate that this still happens today and many haven't learned anything from history.
Agreed, Deborah. This brings up points I've discussed for years. The USA complained about and fought against England in the Revolution and 1812. We want our freedom, religious and otherwise. We want human rights and mutual respect. Yet how did we deal with Native Americans, African Americans and in the end The Philippines? What we say and what we do are sadly not the same. Ok. Off my soapbox. Back to family history.
You know Rod, sometimes it's difficult NOT to climb on our soapboxes when the injustice is so blatant...but...you're right...back to family history :)
+6 votes
I'd like to know where/when/if Cherokee was added to our bloodline.
by April Hagan G2G Crew (380 points)

April - that's also one of MY burning questions - family keeps saying GG Grandma was Cherokee but I can't find any proof as of yet! Hope you have better luck than I am having.

+6 votes
Would love to chat with all my ancestors & know more of them and their lives. Picking one question, it would go to my Great Great Grandfather - Timothy Connors "Could you tell me of your life before leaving Ireland?"
by Living Connors G2G2 (2.4k points)
edited by Living Connors
+6 votes
I would ask my great-grandfather William Harrison McMahan ; What gives with you?   what is the secret in your life ?  did something happen in the civil war that makes you so elusive? changing your name at every census, who are you? William, or Harrison, or Harry, or Willis, or???  you have led me a merry chase for so many years, and I still do not know you.
by Bea Chadburn G2G Crew (380 points)
Oh, this mystery sounds like a good but extremely frustrating one!
+5 votes
I would like to ask any one of them, aside from self preservation, what gave them the strength to survive. I can't even imagine the daily struggles they had. However, it makes me appreciate all the comforts I have.
by J Murray G2G6 Mach 3 (36.8k points)
+5 votes
When I researched my family, I found that a lot of my ancestors were quite wealthy. Farmers (of large farms, employing loads of help), ship owners, shop owners (some with chains of shops), Doctors, Ministers. On census records, many had loads of servants (Housemaids, cooks, gardeners etc).

I worked in the steel industry, 40+ hours a week, for over 40 years.

My question would be... "WHERE HAS ALL THE MONEY GONE?"
by Dave Welburn G2G6 Pilot (140k points)
+5 votes
I would like to ask my 6gr grandfather about his life before he immigrated to the United States as a Palatine replacement for the British soldiers who were here making war materials to use in the war between England and Germany.  They were German refugees camped outside of London and the English were tired of supporting them.  (History repeats itself doesn't it?)  Someone in the New York colony had the idea of using them as replacements and giving the Londoners relief from the costs.  They were imported but it was a disaster because our trees were not capable of making what was needed.  I would like to know who his first German wife was, did a child accompany him here, and the background of the widow he married here, Gertrude.  They laid the foundation of our American heritage.
by Beulah Cramer G2G6 Pilot (561k points)
+5 votes
I would ask my great great grandmother,  about her life.  What part of Ireland, she came from and all about her family.  Her name was Ellen Murphy and Ellen Mulroney.
by
+5 votes

I'd like to ask my paternal grandmother's father a question. When I did earlier research, it stated on his marriage certificate to my gram's mother, that this was marriage #2.... though absolutely no one in my family ever seems to have known about it! I tried researching in the state he was born (CT), too, in case it was before he came to VT, but I found no trace of it. I would ask him: "Harley... who was your first wife?!".

by
I had that happen with my Grandfather - couldn't find the first wife or their CHILD!  I started looking in neighboring US states (he was from Ontario, Canada) and I lucked out and found him married in Michigan (wife died of TB 6 mo. after marriage, daughter died at the age of 5 from pneumonia - both in Michigan)! He returned to Ontario and married my Grandmother :)

Good luck in your search!
+4 votes
I think I would ask my great grandmother if her mother ever gave any hints as to who her father was. It was never written down anywhere. All I have are photos which tell me that, though she was born in the north of England in 1876, her father was of African heritage. Sigh
by Susan Scarcella G2G6 Mach 7 (78.5k points)
+3 votes
I would ask John Hunnicutt what he did to keep his head after participating in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 .
by Anonymous Roach G2G6 Pilot (196k points)

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