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Here it is - Politicians!
Quite a few of my ancestors were politicians.
Some were also pirates!
Here's the biography of one, John Michell.
Just like to say, most politicians (from Parliament Online), have a long list of the offices they held. This one had one - Mayor of Truro in 1584!
Biography
"Michell, who came of an old Cornish family, with branches at Truro, Liskeard, Harlyn, St. Neot and Bodmin, was a merchant who combined trade with piracy, like his relatives the Killigrews. The first known reference found to him is as captain of the Maudlyn of Truro in May 1537. The deputy searcher of the port reported to the Council that he had boarded the ship, which was bound for Lantregar in Brittany with ‘a company of riotous persons feigning a pope holy pilgrimage’. Michell and his crew first knocked him overboard and then carried him off to Brittany, where he was shouldered and buffeted by the inhabitants, egged on by his captors, ‘as though he had been a Turk or a Saracen’. It took him three weeks to find a ship to carry him back to England.3
By the early part of Elizabeth’s reign Michell was wealthy enough to have obtained the manor of Killigrew, in St. Erme, the ancestral estate of the Killigrews, but about 1568 he suffered heavy losses at sea. In 1587 several members of his family were involved in a lawsuit brought by Stephen Nicholas or Nantsmere, who alleged that he had been wrongfully evicted from his farm, imprisoned and put in the stocks at Truro by ‘Hugh and John Michell, gentlemen’, probably the MP’s sons, and one William Roberts. The Council asked Peter Edgecombe to inquire into the matter. This younger John was the capital burgess and first steward of the town appointed by the charter of 1589. Another son, Peter, was a sea captain who sailed round the world with Drake."
John was married to Jane Killigrew. (my something like 25 x g grandparents)
John's son, John, was married to a Christabel Roberts. (my 24 x g grandparents)
Nice to see, even when attacking a man, and putting him in the stocks, it was a 'family' affair!! :-D :-D :-D
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Much more interesting than Ag labs and oyster dredgers that I have in my tree
Mind you I have one claim to fame !!!!
Joseph Wood born c1801 in Essex was the sail maker on HMS Enterprise that went searching for sir John Franklin who was lost looking for the North West passage
The ship made several treacherous trips and came back in 1855 when Joseph now in his 50,s died from lung problems due to the intense cold
He spent long months and years at sea at the expense of his marriage to Harriet Chaney who took up and had more chiiden with a Daniel Montague who conveniently describes her as his housekeeper on census,s !!!!
I am descended from one of joseph legitimate children with Harriet
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There's probably more detailed documentation about your ancestor, though, Shirley.
As for ag labs etc, my lot were tin/copper miners in the mines previously owned by their ancestors :-(
As you can see, he wasn't good with money - it appears to be a family trait :-S
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He is in print
I have a copy of a book called Hell Ship
Joseph is mentioned in there as a witness to a fight between an officer and crew member and they were on discipline charges before the captain
Seems from the book there was often tension amongst the crew purely from frustrations of the voyages and food rationing at times
It is an interesting read especially as it's connected to family
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There you go! :-D
I'm sure if you could go further back there are other interesting people.
I only managed to get so far back (about 1180) on the Cornish side, because all heir records are free - and online.
I haven't got very far back on the Suffolk lot, because every Suffolk record appears to cost!
There are a couple of 'faction' books about my medieval lot.
One is by Winsoton Graham - he of 'Poldark' fame, it's called 'A Grove of Eagles', is set in the 16th century, and is about a 'base' born son living in Pendennis Castle with his father, John Killigrew (my 29th - ish g grandfather).
The other one I only found out about recently, is by Elsie Balme. It's set in the 13th Century, and is called Carminow.
It's about the life of Roger de Carminow - probably the one in my avatar!
It has wonderful reviews.
I haven't got either of these books yet - but am aiming to get them for my birthday! :-D
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I have shoemakers, farmers, police officers and sundry trades. Nobody seems to have served their community apart from one beer house keeper ;-) ;-)
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I'm of the strong opinion, that if you're alive now, you had 'wealthy' ancestors in medieval times. I can't see how the poor survived :-S
My G x 16th grandfather has thousands of descendants.
It doesn't take long for a family to multiply.
My grandparents had 3 children.
Those 3 children had 13 children between them.
If those 13 children had 2 children each, that makes 26 (plus the original 3 = 29)
Say those 26 had 2 children each - that makes 55 descendants in less than 100 years.
Grandad had 1 brother - but granny had 8 living siblings.
Average it out at 2 children each = 18 (plus the original 8 = 26)
Those 18 had 2 children each = 36
Those 36 at 2 children each = 72 plus the original 8 = 80.
Add those 80 to gran's 55 - that means my g grandparents had an average of 135 descendants.
My Cornish lot, from the 1841 census and before, were mainly tin or copper miners.
I found my g x 5 grandparents (both baptised in 1763) in the 1841 census - both aged 95!
Their g grandparents, and back from there, were wealthy - they owned the mines.
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