Genealogy Chat

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Auburn hair (when I was younger and in my prime!) green eyes and freckles from my Irish Brady side of the family. Small feet….again from the Brady’s…Gran’s shoe was size 1. Even my 2 children have small feet for their MUCH taller height than me.. 5’ 1” short…both Irish grandparents were short. Gran was 4’ 11”. Twin toes on each foot. (i.e. 2 toes joined together to just below the toe nails, a right b****r when cutting the toenails).….inherited from my Mum’s uncle Joe. Joseph Pollard, I think, as so far I haven’t found a Joseph Brady who could be related…..Unless you know different. Sense of humour and a Giggler. Once I start giggling I have a job to stop….inherited from the Irish. English side of the family were very prim and proper. Love of family gatherings, having one too many and having a really good time! The Irish score again! Crochet, sewing and Embroidery. Probably from my English Grandma…she was a milliner and made her hats and decorated them by hand. Several of her relatives were dressmakers too.

a witches laugh from my mum and her sisters and Nana 5 pointed molars from I dont know where Brown eyes like my sisters from our fathers side of the family And everyone apart from me, including my sisters and my daughter can twist their tongue over. I can roll mine, but not twist it :o(

My great grandfather was an artist and woodcarver. He mostly carved things like screens in churches but he is supposed to have carved decorations in the House of Parliament. I've yet to find out if that is true. I have always been interested in his life and I'm an artist too. But in my case I mainly engrave glass. He died in the 1920s but I have always had the feeling we might have been kindred spirits. Otherwise I am short like previous women in my family but my daughters are taller. Sue

Ah! I started doing my tree many years ago, because I was a square peg in a round hole, and wanted to know WHY I was so different from all my relations, in temperament and outlook. Absolutely no question that I am not the child of my parents - I look like them, for a start. So - where did the drama queen come from, the passionate nature, the arguing, the almost insane sense of injustice wherever I see it? The love of beautiful, expensive things in a family which had only serviceable items and wouldnt spend ten quid if a fiver would do. Going back in my tree, I discover a mouthy argumentative lot, who loved the finer things of life, were always sueing someone, or writing rude letters, and always championing the underdog - as far back as the 1500s. My Grandfather was a Professional Opera singer - so there lies the drama. (I can sing, but not to professional standard and I can over-act!) He was a flashy dresser too, and I have his signet ring which is inset with five diamonds. He wore a mink coat but I don't know where THAT went. They were all tall - so am I. (My umpty times GGF was buried with the note 'a very tall man' in 1601). The thick, bushy hair comes straight down from my Great grandmother. The pale skin comes from the Scottish side, as do the long legs. My grandmother was a professional artist and I have discovered six generations of map makers on my father's side (he was a draughtsman). Sadly, I cannot draw a straight line with a ruler, lol - but all three of my daughters are artistically gifted. OC

Green eyes and a funny blood group(thats why I give blood) Funny 2nd toe.bigger than big toe but not wider.. Singing voice..my dad sounded like Pavarotti..I sing anything from Celine Dion to Barbara Streisand..bottled out of Stars in your eyes way back..was scared I wasnt good enough..lived to regret it! Wicked sense of humour..mum says her brother Eddie and I are just alike..up to mischief if things get boring... My eldest is spits of me,I am spits of mum...and we all have a wonky left ear and we buy the same presents at xmas,etc for some reason.so decided to give money instead..and yes we give the same amount even though we change it and dont tell each other. Wanda.x

From my Dad, Uncle, Grandad and apparently my Great Grandad, gentleness and politeness (the men in the family are such gentlemen), we all resemble each other and my 10 month old grandson is carrying on the likeness. They were impatient and easily irritated and grumpy but never unpleasant. They had a love of family and an interest in where they came from. I always knew my grandparents names, maiden names etc. I am very much their descendant. Susan

Great thread Teresa....thanks to everyone. I am/was born illigit way back in 1949. Father was a Canadian. ( a result of the war) I found and met my half brothers n sisters when in my 40s. It was like looking in a mirror!....manorisms....looks....hairstyles.....dress sense....same style glasses......hair colour.....it goes on..... My youngest half sisters son is a mirror image of MY son! When I looked at him, it was MY SON but with a Canadian accent!.....very spooky. None of us had ever met before but where did all these likenesses come from?....GENES? Gerri x

I was always the cuckoo in the thrushes nest in my family - my sister is only 5 ft 1 Im 5 ft 5 - mum and dad were both small - my aunt who I resemble more than my own mum is tall and auburn haired like me. I have found that the Hansons/Hansens were all six footers with auburn hair and piercing blue eyes - my sister has the eyes - I have the build - LOL. From the Hansons I now know from death certs and the like they were prone to anxiety even though all very successful businessmen and I too have unfortunately inherited that trait. I have also inherited the physical sign of the Hansons - in a flattened right thumb - my mother and grandmother had it too. My sister I can see is my mothers nature - from the Horsteads side - and I have also discovered a great aunt who was totally my sisters nature - she was a music hall artist, a 'hostess' in a gentlemans club in the early 1900s and married a very rich old man! Obviously a very confident girl who believed she could achieve anything and went for what she wanted (oh, why couldnt I have been like her!). I can also see in myself (as many many people have commented) my fathers love of nature, awe in the natural world and the belief in total honesty (which has caused many a problem). I also have my dads sense of humour - a sense of the ridiculous.

From my father.......grey eyes, and a high forehead. From my mother.....thin arms, chunky lower legs. From my father.......a love of crosswords, puzzles etc., and of good music. And a love of learning. Don't know what characteristics I inherited from my mother........she died when I was 7, and no-one has enlightened me! Reg

hi teresa - interesting my son has twin toes we have yet fo find out where he inherited them from. my Nana's nickname was Ginger, the red hair gene has now missed out on 2 generations.

I forgot to add ..........that I've always loved gardening. Even as a child I had my own patch of garden and was a dab hand at taking cuttings of plants (the flowering kind) which always grew. Mum always said I had green fingers and didn't know where I got THAT from. Well I do know now......I received a copy of my Gt Grandfather's Marriage certificate, 1872 Rathmines, Co. Dublin.... and what a lovely surprise! Michael Brady's occupation was 'Gardener' as was his father Daniel! Keep the messages comming...they make very interesting reading!

The strangest family trait that I've discovered is a shared dream. When I'm dehydrated but asleep I dream that there's a heavy weight pushing down on me, like a big truck tire or something, this is coupled with the anxiety of holding a very delicate flower in my hand and trying to protect it from the heavy object. I then get the feeling that my mouth is made of rock and it feels incredibly bumpy under my tongue. I was casually mentioning this one day with my grandma and she was gob-smacked because she gets exactly the same dream, then it turns out my dad gets this dream too. Very strange! I should ask the rest of the family about that one.

Bunions. Myself, my mother and all her sisters inherited them from my grandmother. Hers were so big that when she came to stay with us we called them her doorknobs as they looked exactly like doorknobs as they stuck up so much. She always wore those slippers like little boots, usually with a cream and brown check pattern with a pom pom on the front and she had to cut a hole in the front for the bunoins as they were so big. Something to look forward too. Julie

What a lovely thread this is! I do not play any sport at all - but once, several years ago now, in a hotel where they lay on activities - I picked up an air rifle and had a go at target shooting. I was very good at this which surprised me. I'm also pretty good with an air rifle and the one time that I had a go at clay pigeon shooting was good at that too. Then, a year or so later - I found out I was descended from a whole bunch of East End gunsmiths! Must be something going on there! My father was a chef at some point in his life - I have absolutely no interest in cooking - but my son has a natural aptitude for it so a skipped generational thing there. There are a lot of artistic people in the family - seem to come down both sides of the family. As far as I know, none of us can sing in tune! I expect that's hereditary! Recently got hold of a will of my gr gr gr grandfather in which he leaves his 'brewing equipment, supply of wine, beers and liquors to his wife - for her own use absolutely' and I thought 'Yes, that's my woman!' It's now my latest excuse for having that second glass - 'It runs in the family!' Jill

It's strange how physical resemblances can be passed down or exist between quite distant relations. My friend and close neighbour turned out to be my half-third cousin (a pretty distant relation and I don't think we can share many genes!). My daughters used to play a lot with her children. One weekend my friend's elderly father was visiting when my younger daughter came bouncing down the stairs. The poor man hadn't realised she was playing upstairs with his granddaughter and was really startled because he said that my daughter was the spitting image of his own long dead sister as a child. So there must be some persistant family resemblance. Sue

On a slightly more serious note-- I never knew my maternal grandmother, she was a total mystery until I started researching the family, I never even knew her name. But when I later found and read a diary she wrote in 1913 I recognised myself in her words. Quite a creepy sensation. She sounded just like me, just the sort of things I would have written, she came alive. I recognised bits in her that I don't like about myself, and felt for her, knowing she didn't mean to sound so bossy! And yet she was also so vulnerable at times and wrote poems that break my heart even now. I am cells of her I know.

I have a prehensile tongue. (Don't laugh) Its great being able to lick rain off the end of your nose (especially in this weather) I inherited this from my maternal grandmothers side. My mum can lick her nose and wiggle her ears. The ear bit must've come from her fathers side. I inherited a bent big toe and smelly feet from this side as well. I've got my fathers curls and his eyes.

I forgot, my biggest trait, inherited from my french side, I love Pernod. I have to balance that with my scots side and my love of Edingburgh rock.

What a mixed bunch of peeps we are!