Interesting Family History!

Shantara

Shantara

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My mother and I have been researching our family history (We're Leslie's just incase anyone else is a Leslie and interested) turns out we've got some pretty cool horse people!


The Leslie family motto is "Grip Fast". It dates back to Bartolf, a Hungarian noble who was in charge of escorting Scotland's Queen Margaret. They were crossing a swollen river on horseback when the horse stumbled and the queen got into difficulties but was spared after being instructed to "Grip Fast" to Bartolf's belt buckle. From then on, she decided that'd be our motto.

Normal Leslie and his horse were mortally wounded, but his valiant stead carried him back to the kings tent, where it dropped dead. Normal died 15 days later.

Next is General Sir David Leslie Earl of Newark, who lead a Cavalry charge of...four THOUSAND horses! Charles I surrendered to him.
(4,000 horses! Can you imagine?!)

I also had a (distant) relative on the Titanic, who was travelling to see her husband, who was buying horses. Noelle (Countess Rothes) survived and is even in the Movie, with a speaking part and is frequently featured with the main characters!
http://www.gonemovies.com/www/Raketnet/Drama/TitMoederGravin.jpg The woman with the beauty spot.


Initially, I was bored by my mothers incessant rambling about my family's history, however, when I started to google things myself, I've become very very interested! Those are just a few who're involved with horses (At least vaguely interesting involvement, I'm sure plenty had horses!)

I do wonder what happened. Most of them were some sort of nobility, royalty or something fancy. Where, oh where did it go wrong?! :P



Does anyone here have any interesting family history?
 
You should document it for your kids.

My mum has typed out all my grandfathers ww1 diaries, he was in the engineers corp. He was an excellent horseman, and often refers to handling or clipping, or exercising the horses in his ww1 diaries. As he died before I was born, it is the only way of having any idea what he was like.
 
My mother's done lots of documenting :) She's new-ish to computers, but I told her I'd help her make a website soon!

I love hearing things like that, it makes everything seem much more real! Epic battles are one thing, but hearing about hoof picking or something really brings it home :)

Apparenly we have "Rothes Papers" which tells about an Earl of Rothes and some of his horsey days. Including a gray mare he was interested in :D
 
My surname is an old Viking name :D
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My grandfather, a working class Liverpool man, was in the cavalry, the 17th Lancers. He rode horses into war in the late 19th Century. I have a photo of him in his uniform (circa 1890) but none of him on horseback. I wish I knew more, but he died before I was born, and my Dad's dead too now.

Shortly before my Dad died, he recorded about 4 hours of himself talking about his family, his childhood and the war years. He left the tapes for me. His tales of being a scouse lad in the 1930s are pretty funny!
 
My Mum had a very unusual name, Rudgyard. The only Rudgyards I can find on the internet are related to us.

I told my ex-boss this, and with a straight face he told me rudge is old English for manure, so a rudge yard would be the midden. I believed him and thought of my Mum, so proud of her rare name and all along it means muckheap.:eek:

Then my boss cracked up laughing and admitted he'd just made that up. :D
 
not really intresting, and its not even my family :') my best friends great uncle owned best mate, typically she is only slightly intrested in racing, compared to me who is mad about it!
 
Yes lots of interesting things have come up and we are still going strong! Have gone all the way back to the norman times on my mothers side so far and have a very strong military background on both sides. Fascinating!
 
One of my ancestors was killed by his own horse and cart :(

My Grandad has spent the past few years researching our family history. Nothing exciting though, although a few ancestors spent their lives in workhouses.

Just a question, how do you know those ancestors are actually related to you, and don't just have the same name? :)
 
Tonty Tont said:
One of my ancestors was killed by his own horse and cart :(

My Grandad has spent the past few years researching our family history. Nothing exciting though, although a few ancestors spent their lives in workhouses.

Just a question, how do you know those ancestors are actually related to you, and don't just have the same name? :)
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Bartolf was the first 'proper' Leslie, so anyone after him is 'technically' related in some way.
Even if we're not direct, still very exciting!!

Though, as impressive as the 4,000 horse charge is...we're not that proud of Sir David's other 'achievements'...he did massacre 300+ innocent people, including women and children. >:(
 
Tonty Tont said:
One of my ancestors was killed by his own horse and cart :(

My Grandad has spent the past few years researching our family history. Nothing exciting though, although a few ancestors spent their lives in workhouses.

Just a question, how do you know those ancestors are actually related to you, and don't just have the same name? :)
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You only know by checking records, unless there's someone in the family (like your Grandad) who's already done the research.
 
Ah, thanks for that :)

I just know that my Grandad has spents years and an awful lot of money researching our history, which isn't very interesting, and he can't get very far back either. I'm a bit jealous at having such an exciting history :p
 
My mum was inspired by "Who Do You Think You Are?" and now she doesn't even bother watching it XD She thinks the Leslie's are much more fun!
She also recently found out that her side of the family and my fathers, both signed a deceleration for something, how strange that they should meet in such a way, then meet all those years later!
There's so much, I can't even begin to touch on it!
 
Tonty Tont said:
Ah, thanks for that :)

I just know that my Grandad has spents years and an awful lot of money researching our history, which isn't very interesting, and he can't get very far back either. I'm a bit jealous at having such an exciting history :p
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I fear I wouldn't be able to go very far with mine either. On my Dad's side they were poor working class people, and records for such folk were not well kept. Much of the area they lived in has been demolished now, it would be hard to know where to start.

Wealthier "gentry" familes would be much easier.
 
My grandparents and great grandparents on one side were horse dealers/farmers and used to hunt with King George [Current queen's father].On the other side they were horse dealers from Ireland who bought horses over for the British Army during WW1.Apparently great grandad was out in France working with the horses on the front lines too and was commended for the care he took of them.

We've got a lovely picture of my great grandfather and great grandfather out hunting in the 1930's,complete with baggy jodphurs and bowler hats.It is the only photo we have of either of them as they both died before I was born.
 
What do you do if you're family aren't English. Does that make it harder. My Grandfather came over here just before the second world war started (German Jew) so wouldn't even know how to begin given that I don't speak any German! It would be interested to do both sides I think :)
 
You don't have to come from a wealthy or 'important' family to be able to trace it. My fathers mother was born in the workhouse, and he'd always struggled with tracing that side. With the release of the last census, he (well, me, as he doesn't have a computer) was able to find where she and her mother were (seperately) living, and by looking on Google maps, I could see that they were only about a mile apart from each other. My fathers male line is Outhwaite, he's traced this back to the 1300's, in Yorkshire, around the Ripon area, fascinating stuff, and various spellings of the name, sometimes starting with an A, make it all a little harder. Apparently, thwaite means field, and outh is outer, so from the outers fields, maybe dwelling on the edge of a village?

Mum's is easy - she just knows about 100 years of it off pat, and all her rellies are buried in the churchyard about 200 yards from where she lives now!
 
DragonSlayer said:
My brothers grans cousin was William Lucas, who played Dr. Gordan in the TV series Black Beauty...does that count for anything??
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Recent, but I think it does! How cool :D

My brother will be on TV tomorrow :) If anyone's watching 'Life's Too Short' he'll be an extra, taking pictures :) Look out for a hairy ginger fellow!

He was also in Sherlock Holmes! Also as an extra, but got to be in the slo-mo bit :P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGCMfprPJoA at 2:13, he's the one directly behind Sherlock's head, with rather epic sideburns. I'm ever so jealous! I never get to do anything cool! *cough* Apart from get a hug from Elijah Wood and Jackie Chan's signature...*cough*
 
One of my ggggggrandfathers married Robert the Bruces daughter.


My gggrandfather was born at Hampton Court palace, when he died his wife received a hand written condolence letter from Queen Mary.

My gran was tossed by a stag in Regents Park whilst walking with her nanny and escorted by one of the rangers. When the stag died it was mounted and presented to my grans family from the royal family.
 
I'm a direct descendant of Gilbert Beckett, brother of Thomas Beckett, the the arch bishop of Canterbury martyred in 1170 by Henry II - of alleged. "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" fame... Which by my reckoning makes me part saint :p
 
ATD131 said:
not really intresting, and its not even my family :') my best friends great uncle owned best mate, typically she is only slightly intrested in racing, compared to me who is mad about it!
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I found that interesting as love nh racing, that would have been Jim Lewis who sadly lost his wife a year or 2 ago.
 
Dobiegirl: that's wonderful!! :D I love the stag story :) It must have been great (Not being tossed, of course!)

FionaM12: He looks fantastic :D Old military uniforms always look so smart.
 
Annielusian said:
Dobiegirl: that's wonderful!! :D I love the stag story :) It must have been great (Not being tossed, of course!)

FionaM12: He looks fantastic :D Old military uniforms always look so smart.
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Luckily my gran survived as I wouldnt be here to tell the tale.

Also the other side of the coin 2 murderess in the family but not direct in a ggggrandfathers wifes sister.

Also a hollywood film starring Valerie Hobson & Stewart Granger loosely based on Jermy family which is my grans maiden name.
 
My grandfather worked for the owner of the 1932(?) Grand National winner, Grakle. He was presented with a silver vesta box with the signatures of the owner, trainer and jockey inscribed. Very sadly, we were burgled several years ago and it was stolen. I was mortified as my mum and dad were both in care and this was one of the few things that I had from my mum. It was never traced...I had planned to leave it to the GN museum...that can never happen now!
 
Doris68 said:
My grandfather worked for the owner of the 1932(?) Grand National winner, Grakle. He was presented with a silver vesta box with the signatures of the owner, trainer and jockey inscribed. Very sadly, we were burgled several years ago and it was stolen. I was mortified as my mum and dad were both in care and this was one of the few things that I had from my mum. It was never traced...I had planned to leave it to the GN museum...that can never happen now!
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Oh how upsetting. It probably wasn't worth anything to the thief, either. I doubt they would even know what it was. :mad:
 
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