We don't talk about Uncle Ned: we're afraid the police are listening.

Brag on 'em or try to live 'em down, everybody's got ancestors. Their stories can be fascinating, once the statute of limitations has run out. Who doesn't want to tell the one about the rogue outlawry of one's great-grandfather? Or better yet, the troublemaking great-uncle.

Here are the answers to the quiz. What did/do these famous people have to live up/down to?.

1. What was Pliny the Younger's uncle's name? And how did this uncle die?
   Pliny the Elder, who died during the eruption of Vesuvius.
2. What sexy goddess did Julius Caesar claim to be descended from?
   Venus. (A likely story.)
3. Antoine Desasure Perronette de Crocketagne, was born in 1643 in Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées, France. He died in Drumnacannon, Northern Ireland, in 1735. Who was this former musketeer's most famous descendant?
   Davy Crockett, 'King of the Wild Frontier'.
4. Alert the Royal Genealogists: What renowned Romanian does Prince Charles claim as an ancestor?
   Vlad Tepes, aka Dracula.
5. Actor and world traveller Peter Ustinov had many interesting ancestors: Russian, Armenian, German, Jewish, and Polish. What surprising nationality did he also number among his forebears?
   Ethiopian.
6. Former US President Jimmy Carter has ancestors going back to the US War of Independence – but his familial connections do not stop there. What legendary musician was among his distant cousins?
   Elvis Presley. (Both descended from a migratory German.)
7. It is a well-known fact that US President Barack Obama has ancestors in Kenya. But what Irish village also lays ancestral claim to him?
   Moneygall, County Offaly.
8. The village of Bricco Marmorito, Italy, is at the foot of the Alps. What favourite son do these winegrowers celebrate?
   Pope Francis.
9. Deep Space Nine fans are used to lots of illustrious types: class-conscious Cardassians, Bajoran Vedeks, even visiting Daughters of the Fifth House¹. But forget The Emissary: what real-life royalty lurked among the cast?
   Take your pick: Rene Auberjonois, descended from the Napoleonic King of Naples, or Alexander Siddig, descendant of Muhammed Ahmed al Mahdi of Sudan. Wow. Move it to another planet, and you've got a scifi plot.
10. What observant writer said, 'Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner'?
    Douglas Noel Adams, of course.

Kind of puts the embarrassing tale of Great-Aunt Irma and the postman in perspective, doesn't it? Think about it while you're writing your answer to the Create Challenge. We all come from somewhere – and isn't it fun to share the tales? Change the names to aliases, just in case Interpol's still looking.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

02.02.15 Front Page

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