[Emerald U.]

General Discussion Thread 07.11.2025​

Hey, hey, GrayViners! How are you doing!

GrayViner @GaryBlake shared a cool fact about his family history, so it got me curious about yours (and thinking about mine!).

This story still gets told when we have family gatherings. My parents and aunts and uncles would tell me how I used to follow my great-grandmother around when I was a kid. I'd copy how she walked and tease her, just being playful. They'd tell me about how she had "powers"—that she could make a single rice grain stand, and that she alone could make me stop from crying. I know, it’s borderline witchcraft… but isn’t that how family legends work?

Okay, enough about me. Now, it's your turn! What’s the most surprising or memorable thing you’ve learned about your family? Any quirky traditions? A secret recipe? Does your uncle juggle? Tell us in the comments!

Image source: Thiago José Amaral/Pexels

 

[mmarple]

My great aunt was known as an herbalist, healing and helping others. Many people visited her. As it turns out years later my older brother said she was actually making moonshine and selling it to the locals.

 

[violetmoon]

My family on my moms side is also decended from Royalty. Hugh Maguire from Inneskillen, Ireland. Three castles, one is open for visiting. Maguire name on a lot of buildings in the town. Huge "family" reunion held there for Maguires. This did not have to be FOUND as it is well known. There is a book on it that the family has lost over the years.

 

[Arkie98]

Coming from Wales, seems so many died from being kicked in the head by mules. I had a darling Great Aunt who had a giant size platter from Uncle gave her and it always always with her at family reunions and she would fill it full.

 

[Pattycake]

I found out my ancestry is linked to Robert the Bruce

 

[bear4244]

My two great grandfathers on my father's side both fought in the Civil War, one on the North, one on the South. And I can trace my Father's family roots to Vermont before the Revolutionary War.

 

[lindadominguez]

My family had so many secrets!
I was raised as Catholic. When I was well into my adulthood I learned my mother’s family (moved to US from Italy when Mussolini came into power) were Jewish. My mother converted to Catholicism when she married my father -
My paternal grandmother was the product of a slave/master “relationship”; my grandmother moved from Venezuela to US on the 1920’s, had a baby by a black man (my father) who white-passed. My parents had 4 children: two very white, two very dark.
The truth always comes out, doesn’t it.

 

[Mitci920]

We've worked on our families' ancestry for many years. The stories continue to amaze me. I have Colonial ancestors as does my husband, towns and a university named after us, taking canoes along the Ohio and settling the Frontier, and one lady who was supposedly a medium. One man had 18 children by one poor woman and settled a trading post in Utah where he ran into indian and Morman problems. There's at least one murderer and one who was gored by a bull and died. I've learned so much about this country by just working on our genealogy.

 

[Hazeleyes]

My paternal aunt in the 1970’s testified to legislation for a new definition of death. She is a kidney recipient . She spoke of is time that normal brain function cease. There was no written law in the state on when death legally occurs, but the general rule followed by doctors is that the heart must be stopped. Since heart stoppage often occurs long after brain functions cease, kidneys are sometimes damaged so they do not work well when transplanted.
My maternal side of the family we have an ancestor tree with our ancestors dated back to 1772.

 

[Gibb]

I found out that my great grandmother's husband wasn't my biological great grandfather. I am 77 and never heard this. I remember my great grandfather and wouldn't love him any less. The other man's name never mentioned

 

[Emerald U.]

My great aunt was known as an herbalist, healing and helping others. Many people visited her. As it turns out years later my older brother said she was actually making moonshine and selling it to the locals.

Now that’s a twist worthy of a movie, @mmarple ! I love how legends in the family can shift over time!

 

[Emerald U.]

My family on my moms side is also decended from Royalty. Hugh Maguire from Inneskillen, Ireland. Three castles, one is open for visiting. Maguire name on a lot of buildings in the town. Huge "family" reunion held there for Maguires. This did not have to be FOUND as it is well known. There is a book on it that the family has lost over the years.

That's pretty amazing, @violetmoon! I hope that book finds its way back home someday! Have you been to Ireland or would you want to visit?

 

[Emerald U.]

Coming from Wales, seems so many died from being kicked in the head by mules. I had a darling Great Aunt who had a giant size platter from Uncle gave her and it always always with her at family reunions and she would fill it full.

I love how small traditions stick with us. Do you or anyone in your family still have that dish?

 

[Emerald U.]

I found out my ancestry is linked to Robert the Bruce

Pretty amazing to learn that we have plenty of members who descended from royalty! Has your family ever done anything to celebrate that connection, like visiting your roots or diving into clan history?

 

[Emerald U.]

My two great grandfathers on my father's side both fought in the Civil War, one on the North, one on the South. And I can trace my Father's family roots to Vermont before the Revolutionary War.

That’s a powerful bit of history, @bear4244!

 

[Emerald U.]

My family had so many secrets!
I was raised as Catholic. When I was well into my adulthood I learned my mother’s family (moved to US from Italy when Mussolini came into power) were Jewish. My mother converted to Catholicism when she married my father -
My paternal grandmother was the product of a slave/master “relationship”; my grandmother moved from Venezuela to US on the 1920’s, had a baby by a black man (my father) who white-passed. My parents had 4 children: two very white, two very dark.
The truth always comes out, doesn’t it.

Thank you so much for sharing this, @lindadominguez! Families are full of untold stories, and it’s always a mix of wonder and weight when one comes to light.

 

[Emerald U.]

We've worked on our families' ancestry for many years. The stories continue to amaze me. I have Colonial ancestors as does my husband, towns and a university named after us, taking canoes along the Ohio and settling the Frontier, and one lady who was supposedly a medium. One man had 18 children by one poor woman and settled a trading post in Utah where he ran into indian and Morman problems. There's at least one murderer and one who was gored by a bull and died. I've learned so much about this country by just working on our genealogy.

Wow, this is a whole TV series waiting to be made! From mediums to murderers to one who had 18 kids—your tree is packed with stories. I love how much you’ve uncovered. Are you keeping a written record of all this, @Mitci920 ?

 

[Emerald U.]

My paternal aunt in the 1970’s testified to legislation for a new definition of death. She is a kidney recipient . She spoke of is time that normal brain function cease. There was no written law in the state on when death legally occurs, but the general rule followed by doctors is that the heart must be stopped. Since heart stoppage often occurs long after brain functions cease, kidneys are sometimes damaged so they do not work well when transplanted.
My maternal side of the family we have an ancestor tree with our ancestors dated back to 1772.

What an incredible legacy your aunt left behind, @Hazeleyes!

 

[Emerald U.]

I found out that my great grandmother's husband wasn't my biological great grandfather. I am 77 and never heard this. I remember my great grandfather and wouldn't love him any less. The other man's name never mentioned

Love and memory aren’t bound by biology.