I have been working on my family tree for over 10 years now, and it sure is interesting, you find out things you never knew about people in your family, people in general and how the census has evolved

I have found 2 famous people in my tree, one is Daniel Boone and the other is William Randolph Hearst and even a horse thief, guess he would be the skeleton :))

Since my grandmother's family was part of the landed gentry in England and her family name is present in the Doomsday Book of Britain which is dated back to the 10th Century, we have a lot of interesting things in our genealogy. I think the most interesting is being directly related to King John I of Britian, who was an awful person, so much so that they called him bad king john. I like that! It makes me infamous!

I think the most interesting thing I have found in my genealogy is to find out character traits of my ancestors. I have been working on my family tree for almost a year. I had been reaserching a great great uncle. He was definitely a type A personality. A Civil War hero, a doctor, a member of the Texas Legislator, founder of Nadine, Texas and editor and owner of the town paper. When I Googled his name it brought up a Daughters of the Confederacy Magazine from 1865. In it this guy about a particular battle of the Civil War in which he mentions that my great great uncle was quite a hero. The guy went on to give his nickname when he said that five minutes after the battle my uncle, "Old Bones" as he was affectionately called, sat down next to some other soldier because he had the biggest haversack." Haversack was the bag they carried their food.
He was also a member of the Texas Legislator. He had a meeting with the other members the day after his wedding at the state capitol. I was able to find a copy of this meeting. At the close of the meeting one of the other members makes a toast to my uncle congratulating him on his nuptials. He spoke about what a wag and a ladies man my uncle was. It sounded all in fun as they teased him.
It is great to find birth records, marriage license, draft records and I have even found passenger list when my ancestors first came to America but to me learning the personalities of my ancestors has been the most interesting.

I found that one of my ancestors was the stand-in wife, shall we say, for Micajah Harpe, AKA Big Harpe. The Brothers Harpe, Big and Little, were the United States of America's first serial killers. In late 1790s, in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois, they sadistically killed over 30 men, women, and children before Big Harpe was shot, beheaded, and his head humg from a tree to warn off anyone who wished to do evil.

His wife and second wife, my ancestor Betsy, were tried for murder and found innocent. Betsy remarried and lived on a chicken farm untiil she died of old age. How's that for a skeleten.in the closet.

ProfessorBob

After tracing my family tree I found out that I am a descendant of Emperor Charlemagne. Also my family was once part of the Knight's Hospitallers that later evolved into the Knights of Malta. I found this to be a significant discovery in my life. I have been doing much research about Charlemagne and the Knights Hospitallers.

A will that left the tic to my great, great, great, great, great (however many) grandfather's feather bed to his beloved daughter.
I thought that it was great that he split up his assets evenly among his children and wife...but in addition to her share, this one daughter was to have a tic to a feather bed. :-)

Also found that my great grandmother lied about her age...even to her husband!

An interesting story! It is easy to forget that ancestors were real people with unique personalities and character traits. Too many people these days are only interested in how far back they can trace their family.

Welcome to WebAnswers and thank you for the award.