- Original Poster
- #1
Since there have been so few messages posted to Time Out.... 
Over the holiday period, I decided to sign up for a month's membership at the biggest ancestry website. Years ago, while working in central London, I dropped by various record offices and did quite a bit of family history research. Almost all my ancestors are from Cornwall and have Cornish names, so it was quite easy to get back to the 1600s - but no earlier. I kept hoping to come across someone like "Cromwell - Oliver", but no such luck. They were mostly farm labourers. The only interesting thing was that the spelling of last names would change often since they couldn't read or write and simply dictated their names to a clerk.
Well, signing up for this online service, I was able to confirm all the work I did then. There were very few additional links; however, I was able to find the parents of one ancestor from the 1700s. Tracing that line, I went back and back and back...and almost fell off my chair. I'm directly descended from the kings of all six Celtic countries (Cornwall, Wales, Brittany, Man, Ireland, and Scotland) - and a majority of the ancient kings of Cornwall, Wales, and Brittany. Among the more well-known Celts are Dafydd Gam ap Llywelyn (through two separate lines), Hywel Dda, Cunedda ap Ederyn, the various kings Hoel of Brittany, and the wife of the king of Cornwall who, according to legend, was effectively raped by Arthur Pendragon. Since the earliest Celtic tribal leaders inter-married with fleeing Roman rulers of Britain, I'm also descended from at least seven Roman emperors. One Roman son was married off to an Iceni princess, so I'm also directly descended from Boadicea. Wow - what an eye-opener. Of course, my first thought was that users of the system have fabricated links to famous people; however, I went back and verified the facts (as much as possible) at various historical websites, and it checks out. No Oliver Cromwell, though.
So, who are among your ancestors?
Over the holiday period, I decided to sign up for a month's membership at the biggest ancestry website. Years ago, while working in central London, I dropped by various record offices and did quite a bit of family history research. Almost all my ancestors are from Cornwall and have Cornish names, so it was quite easy to get back to the 1600s - but no earlier. I kept hoping to come across someone like "Cromwell - Oliver", but no such luck. They were mostly farm labourers. The only interesting thing was that the spelling of last names would change often since they couldn't read or write and simply dictated their names to a clerk.
Well, signing up for this online service, I was able to confirm all the work I did then. There were very few additional links; however, I was able to find the parents of one ancestor from the 1700s. Tracing that line, I went back and back and back...and almost fell off my chair. I'm directly descended from the kings of all six Celtic countries (Cornwall, Wales, Brittany, Man, Ireland, and Scotland) - and a majority of the ancient kings of Cornwall, Wales, and Brittany. Among the more well-known Celts are Dafydd Gam ap Llywelyn (through two separate lines), Hywel Dda, Cunedda ap Ederyn, the various kings Hoel of Brittany, and the wife of the king of Cornwall who, according to legend, was effectively raped by Arthur Pendragon. Since the earliest Celtic tribal leaders inter-married with fleeing Roman rulers of Britain, I'm also descended from at least seven Roman emperors. One Roman son was married off to an Iceni princess, so I'm also directly descended from Boadicea. Wow - what an eye-opener. Of course, my first thought was that users of the system have fabricated links to famous people; however, I went back and verified the facts (as much as possible) at various historical websites, and it checks out. No Oliver Cromwell, though.
So, who are among your ancestors?
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so thank you very much for asking.
