When I started exploring my family history nearly 45 years ago, I never imagined that someday I might find a werewolf in my family tree… but here we are! And it does seem appropriate that I would make this discovery in the dog days of August because according to the commercials I keep hearing on the radio, Halloween is just around the corner. Building upon … Continue reading La Bête Canteraine
In an earlier post, I connected my ancestor, Louis de Waudripont, with a minor noble family called the House of Waudripont. Connecting with one branch of nobility often leads to finding more of them. Digging deeper, I uncovered a few new branches containing half-dozen Crusaders and one family line that goes back to Charlemagne. This post focuses on the lineage of Mahaut de Bethune, an … Continue reading The House of Bethune
Two intriguing mysteries have finally been solved. For quite some time, I had been fascinated by the ancestry of two of my 18th-century Belgian forebears, Louis De Wadripont and Maria De Backer. They were not ordinary brick walls in genealogical research, and their origins remained a mystery until last night. Louis and Maria, who married in 1794, piqued my curiosity with their elusive lineages. My … Continue reading Noblesse Oblige
After publishing last night, I found yet more books at Google Books that hold new information regarding my ancestor, the insurrectionist, Jan Van Coppenolle. Thanks to the (new?) translation feature in Google Books, I could quickly decode the data from Latin and French. According to Nouvelle Collection Des Mémoires Pour Servir À L’histoire de France (1853) Ed. Joseph Fr. Michaud The pension amount paid to … Continue reading My Ancestor, the Insurrectionist – pt 4
Thanks to the translation feature in Google Books, I was able to learn new information about my ancestor the insurrectionist, Jan Van Coppenolle. He is a 14th great-grandfather on my father’s side who lived and died in the later half of 15th century. Jan is known in some historical accounts as the “Demagogue of Ghent” as he was the bourgeois dictator of that city for … Continue reading My Ancestor, the Insurrectionist – pt 3
Unraveling the Mysteries of Irish Knoxes Welcome back to the Knox Chronicles, where we continue our quest to unravel the complexities surrounding the origins of the Irish Knoxes. In our previous installment, we explored the genealogical memoirs of John Knox, as detailed by Charles Rogers. We encountered a plethora of names, dates, and contradictions that left us with more questions than answers. Today, we delve … Continue reading The Knox Chronicles – Part V
{In this fourth installment of a multi-part series, I delve deeper into exploring my mother’s Scottish ancestry, uncovering both what I know and what I have yet to discover.} How Romantic! Here is a history of the Knox family as told by someone in the 1920s. This is quoted from “Minor Sketches of Major Folk” by Dora C Jett, 1928, Richmond, Virginia. All I can … Continue reading The Knox Chronicles – Part IV
{In this third installment of my multi-part series, I offer additional clues in my quest to unravel the Mystery of John Knox of that Ilk and, ultimately, to uncover the secrets of my Scottish maternal lineage.} Begin the Beguine Every storyteller, whether a bard or barrister, is tasked with deciding where to start their story. The Knox family saga has multiple potential starting points, and … Continue reading The Knox Chronicles – Part III
{In this second installment of a multi-part series, I delve deeper into exploring my mother’s Scottish ancestry, uncovering both what I know and what I have yet to discover.} What Does DNA say? According to the ethnicity estimate at Ancestry.com, my DNA sample shows that I am 41% Irish and 29% Scottish. That pretty much lines up with the fact that my father’s mother was … Continue reading The Knox Chronicles – Part II
A House of Cards Shortly after writing a post discussing how all people of European descent are related to Charlemagne, I stumbled upon a strange discovery when I realized I could trace a branch of my mother’s lineage back to a 13th-century queen who died 777 years ago. This revelation freaked me out because I had previously traced my father’s ancestry back to the same … Continue reading The Knox Chronicles – Part I
Gathering Leaves 