Introduction
Background
Back around 1991 or 1992, my father told me that I was related to the royal family because I carry some Bowes-Lyon blood, and of course Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. I later discovered that my father had slightly misled me and that I actually descend from the Lyon family. I have no Bowes blood that I know of, but it's an easy mistake to make. My ancestry is not something I concerned myself with at the time and I did not pursue the matter either with him or via other sources. One morning in August 1997, I awoke and turned on the radio to hear the national anthem playing, and I thought that one of my distant relatives had died. That may have been the first time that I'd thought about what I'd been told five or six years earlier. It turned out that Princess Diana was the victim. She is a more distant relative (four generations further back to a common ancestral couple) than the main royal family, but I only really started to become curious about my royal links in 2010, at which point I mentioned it to some of my cyber-friends and also dropped a hint on an internet forum that was easily spotted and picked up on.
My father's research
Genealogy is not just about collecting names, but that is a necessary part of it. Once you have some names, there are options for you to choose from. You can continue to collect names for as long as it is possible to add more names, but my father was mostly concerned with finding out about his ancestors from the 18th and 19th century, including what they did for a living and any other bits and pieces that he was able to pick up, sometimes handed down by family hearsay or newspaper clippings. Those humble ancestors lived and mostly died in North East Scotland, particularly within the area bounded by Strachan village, Montrose and Stonehaven, but also in the wider North East Scotland region. Some relatives still live there and my father used to visit schools, libraries, graveyards and other relevant places to gather information during his visits to those relatives, long before he had heard about the internet. I can see that as an interesting subject in itself, especially given the notes he passed on to me.
My father identified one other celebrity connection apart from the royal family, the poet Robert Burns. I descend from his paternal grandparents, making me his first cousin six times removed. Unfortunately, little is known about his own ancestry, and I have been unable to add anything to what my father learned so far, although this may change, because I have seen a plausible suggestion regarding his maternal grandmother (and also my ancestor) that she descended from royalty.
I can't follow my father's example
For me to build on his research in the way that he did it, I would have to spend a lot of time in North East Scotland. The only practical way I could do that would be to go and live there, but even then I'd be restricted by transport limitations (because I can't drive) in an area where a car is the only practical way to get around. Most of the railways were closed long before Richard Beeching could wield his deadly axe, but he killed off the rest except the main line from Aberdeen to the south and the line from Aberdeen to Inverness. Everything else is gone, although there are some heritage lines, which have their value but not as a practical means of getting from A to B. So that leaves the buses, which are not exactly frequent in most of the region, even where they exist.
Despite having relatives in Montrose, I expect to stay where I am. Although I hope to visit them sometimes, I don't expect to do any serious research on those visits. However, it is possible that I will combine those visits with mini-holidays elsewhere in the region in places that are themselves on bus routes, but which I can use as a base for walking to otherwise inaccessible places when the weather is good. Therein lies another problem; the British weather is generally unreliable, even in summer. Even if I visit some of these places, I'm not sure how much research I would do. I am more interested in getting a feel for the region in which so many of my ancestors lived, worked and ultimately died. While the industrial revolution changed much of England and some parts of Scotland beyond recognition, I suspect that much of North East Scotland would still be fairly recognizable to my ancestors of the 18th and 19th centuries, although they would notice obvious changes even in remote areas. Many farms are no longer farms, but have been put to a variety of uses. Some have become housing estates but others are now used for conservation in one form or another.
So I rely on the internet
When I decided to look at my ancestry, I chose the easier option of identifying my more distant ancestors based on whatever I could find on the internet without spending any money. Where possible, I also identify other significant names who link into my ancestry. Prior to the 19th century, and especially prior to the 18th century, historical data for ordinary people is not so easily available, as I could see from my father's data. However, the royal family tree gives me plenty to look at, sustaining my interest in between mainly fruitless searches for more clues about humble ancestors. I know that I am luckier than a lot of people in having so much to build on, so while I feel some frustration, I know that others feel a lot more frustration than I do.
I have made contact with other people who are my distant relatives. So far, I think I have been able to help them more than they have been able to help me, but that's OK as it at least shows that I am doing something useful, and in any case, I do appreciate any help that I receive.
Royalty
I believe that everybody of European descent alive today has European royal ancestors, but because historical data is far from complete, by no means everybody can find a line of descent to prove it. My father found one line that descends from medieval royalty via John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, who is not only my ancestor but is also the ancestor of the current royal family. As I surfed the net for further information about my ancestors, I discovered that his wife, his son-in-law (Thomas Forbes) and his grandson-in-law (John Guise) all descend from royalty via other lines.
My belief that everybody of European descent alive today has royal ancestors is strengthened by close study of my known ancestors, as they include people with surnames that appear in the royal family tree. This suggests that all four of my grandparents may have had royal ancestors, although I doubt if I could ever ever prove all four cases. As things stand, all my confirmed royal ancestors are ancestors of Abraham Guise, son of John Guise and grandson of Thomas Forbes. Even if I find lines of descent from other kings and queens, I expect them to be mostly the same ones who I already know to be my ancestors.
I have never been a fan of the royal family, though I don't like the idea of a presidency either, but I have at last found a use for them. Because more data was recorded about them than anybody else, and because (to a lesser extent) more data was recorded about aristocratic families, who were often their closest relatives, than the common people, identifying a royal or aristocratic ancestor makes the identification of ancestors much easier. It also allows a quest for celebrity relatives who also descend from European royalty.
What I've found
Using my father's data as a basis, I have been able to identify plenty of royal and aristocratic ancestors, tracing royalty back to biblical times. Because other people have posted information about the ancestry of famous people, I am able to identify common ancestors with some of those people. If the information is correct, I can name a common ancestor with every American president up to and including Barack Obama.
What I've not found
I have been unable to add much to my father's data beyond the aristocratic and royal connections, although I am grateful to those who have supplied me with such information as they have been able to; every little helps. Maybe I'll have to pay if I want more information, but I'm in no hurry to do that.
Copyright issues
Although plenty of information is publicly available to read on the net, much of it is copyright material. I have decided to keep my own version of that information private, and to limit the contents of this blog. While I would prefer to make everything public, I include comments about those early ancestors in this blog, which may be more interesting for being more concise.
Contents of other pages
- Those humble ancestors identified by my father and not publicly available elsewhere on the net, plus a very few people that he identified and which are publicly available on the net.
- Royal connections, which illustrate lines of descent that can mostly be found in lots of different places (so it would be hard for anybody to claim copyright), as well as common ancestors with distant royal relatives who are not my ancestors. They include five women who married into the current royal family and several famous Tudor women, plus some contemporary monarchs from other countries.
- Common ancestors who I share with American politicians including all presidents.
- Common ancestors who I share with British politicians including a majority of prime ministers.
- Common ancestors who I share with other famous people. There is a seemingly limitless selection to choose from, with several websites devoted to celebrities who have traceable European royal ancestors. I am distantly related to all of them, but my page here only presents a small selection.
- Trivia about some of my ancestors, some of my distant relatives and some places where my ancestors lived. When discussing people, I sometimes focus on genealogy but sometimes I look at other aspects of their lives.
- Questions about genealogy.
- Concluding thoughts.
