Things your family did...

[Timmy Tucker]

Saw this on another forum I frequent and thought I'd try it here. Got any interesting family members or events you wanna share, good or bad?


My great, great, great, great uncle was the Governor of NC in the 1870's. I could be off on the # of greats. The guy's pic creeps me out cause it looks almost exactly like my grandfather and a little my dad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Hooks_Brogden

My great uncle was the VP of Reebok until he retired.

I've got 2 second cousins locked up for life for murder. Both from the same side of the family but different events. One of them was pretty big news in NC years ago when it happened.

My great, great grandfather owned a large portion of the land that is now Smith Mountain Lake in VA. Sold it for next to nothing according to the family tales.

Another distantly related part of my family is descended from President Andrew Johnson.

And then there's the dude on the right:





On a non-family note, a former client of Mom's is a Hatfield, a direct descendant of the infamous Hatfield and McCoy fued.

My grandmother grew up with Elvis and I have several cool stories that she told me over the years.


So let's hear it... The good, the bad and the ugly about your families.

[NAKID]

My wife grandmother used to work for Lucille Ball. That's all I got...

[madmax178]

My grandfather used to sell luggage to Al Capone, LaBonte's luggage in springfield IL

Was known as little chicago, they'd close down the store for them.

Also My grandma labonte was asked out by Agustus Busch of anheiser busch, but turned him down.

[Rameses]

One of my grandfathers flipped a Jeep over with George Patton in it.

[somegirl]

One of my ancestors was a direct student of Confucius.

[Rameses]

My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery.

My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet.

My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark.

Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament.

My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets.

When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really.

At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles.

There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum...

It's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

[NAKID]

Great, now go brush your teeth...

[johnster]

My mother, father, and little sister all were diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer within a 1 year period. My father + sister were diagnosed within 2 months of each other, + both were told they likely would not live.

-ALL of them made full recoverys have been cancer-free for over 5 years now!! Can you blame me for wondering when my turn is?? 

-In addition to having cancer, my mother survived (walked away from!!) a United Airlines 727 crash in Cleveland, OH back in the late 1970's in which many were killed (overshot the landing and the thrust reversers failed, hurtling the plane full-speed across a highway + into a corn field), on her way back from being dumped by her former fiance!!

-My father survived a high-speed parachute malfunction while skydiving when both his main AND reserve chutes became tangled (this was after the cancer)...

-No famous people involved, but I just thought it'd be interesting to share...

[TJR178]

One of my grandfathers flipped a Jeep over with George Patton in it.

I had a mixed reaction about that one.

Anyway...I think my aunt (non-blood) is a distant cousin of Maria Shriver.

That's it for me...I think.

[ZLTFUL]

My great grandfather on my mom's side invented Sea Foam.

His son marketed it into a very successful product and sold the company a few years ago but still works there as their VP of Sales 3 days a week.

My grandfather on my dad's side owned West Realty until the mid 70s when he sold his company to another real estate firm that became Iowa Realty, the largest realtor in the state.

My great grandfather several times removed on my dad's mom's side was none other than Robert the Bruce. I have the family tree tracing it all the way back and beyond there.

Me...well...I fix computers.

[A.B]

My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery.

My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet.

My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark.

Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament.

My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets.

When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really.

At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles.

There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum...

It's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

  Any chance you were listening to "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" yesterday around 7:00 pm

[kriswhite_23505]

My great uncle played for MLB in the 30's...He was black but had to act as a cuban to be allowed to play (according to my grandfather).
I never met him.

My Grandfather also was a truck driver for the U.S. Army Air-Corp in Pearl Harbor that actually loaded up supplies to the firgate that my other grandfather was the commanding officer of during WW II.

My mother was on the Phil Donahue show twice.

My great uncle was the former head of the "Black Mafia" in New Jersey. I never met him either. He owned a whole bunch of convenience stores and Laundromats. My family on that side still have a great deal of the money. Both of his grand daughters (my cousins) lost both of there fiances on 9-11 (both cops in the towers).

My stepfather was a professor at Cochran Art School and is pretty well known in the art world...John Clendening.

My father was a professor in Japan and is a pretty well know photographer...Wynn White

I'm not sure how great these stories are but they're my family.

[Scooter Montgomery]

Probably related to David Della Rocco from the movie Boon Dock Saint somehow.

One of my great x1000 ancestored invented the wheel.

Bob

[sqweak]

Maternal
My Grandmother was the first female Barber (not Hairdresser, Barber) in Kentucky.

My Grandfather was a champion horse trainer and buggy racer.

My last name is Garnett.  My grandmother's maiden name is Kemp.  I'm white, but often joke that my only famous distant relatives are Shawn Kemp and Kevin Garnett.

My mother dated Pat Riley in college, during his days playing at UK.


Paternal
My Great-Great-Grandfather built a large portion of Missouri's Capital, Jefferson City

My Grandfather built a large portion of the residential subdivisions in suburbs south of  Kansas City

My Grandmother was an executive secretary at TWA and worked with Howard Hughes

My Father at various points was a security guard at NASA in Houston during the space race, was half of the 2 man paramedic/ambulance crew for the KC Chiefs, owned a parking lot sweeper, owned & ran a cheerleading camp and uniform business (which sadly, was gone by the time I could have truly appreciated it. ), owned the donut shop in Steamboat, Co, published brochures and programs for half of the country music attractions in Branson, Mo, and built and ran the first movie theater in my home town.  He is self taught in everything and never finished college...kinda like me.

[Speeddog]

My cousin owns a small percentage of MicroSoft.