h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You got to like your Reasercher number. Just lucky I guess. Or did you bribe someone for it. *just Kiddin* Thanks for the E'dress the the EnGland website. It's one of my favourite's. Although I have Irish ansestry. I feel a kinship and overall liking for the English. So thank's again Paul. PS By the By My Last Name is FitzGerald.

I don't think there are any pure nationalities anymore anyway. England (or parts of it) has been invaded by the Romans, the Danes (hence "Beowulf" as an *English* saga even thought the events in it happened in Denmark/Sweden), the French (William the Conqueror was technically French), and the Germans (in the Royal Family anyway, from George I on).

My last name is Harvey, ostensibly an English name. However, the earliest record of it is that of a Frenchman named Robert Herve (later anglicized to Harvey), who was a captain in William the Conqueror's army at the Battle of Hastings. In the 11th century, the Harveys all went North to Scotland, where they broke into several clans, among them the Keith clan. Later, they returned to England again, and thence to the New World. A lot of them were mariners (as were many of my ancestors), so they saw the world. I wouldn't be surprised if they had girlfriends in various ports, and planted Harveys just about everywhere.

In My Family Tree I have a possible link to Mary Queen of Scot's. So I may have ties to British Royalty. The name FitzGerald itself means "Illegetament Child of a King" My Ansester Thomas FitzGerald did'nt leave Ireland until 1851. On my Mothes Side of my family it is mostly American Indian. My Grandmother had so mugh Indian blood in her maybe all she did'nt have a last name most Indians dont have one really the had to make one up for the American Gov. My Grandfather on that side came from Arizona His last name was Box like the canyons Cochese ran the US Calvary around whislt killing some until the Gov. begged him to give up. My Grandfather was born about the same time Cochese got out of prison. He went to prison for 3 yr's but it got exstended to 7 yr's b so the Apache's would'nt go to a reservation. So he could have been fathered by Cochese. I myself look like a reddish blondheaded Indian. So that side is pretty pure blooded. Ho ho ho ho

My cousin Craig is an Indian. He believes that we have a common ancestor (Prudence Swan)who was an Indian. Another cousin has spent a lot of money tracing that ancestor, and insist that the facts point toward Swan having been descended from a Mayflower arrival. .
I doubt that dear Prudence was both a Mayflower descendant and a descendant of Native Americans. It might have happened, though. Anyway, it all happened so long ago that her descendants probably number in the hundreds of thousands by now.

Another old family story has it that Prudence Swan's daughter (the sister of my great-great-great-great-grandfather) was a centennarian. Her name was Sally, and her married name was Sally Beebe. Aunt Sally Beebe lived from 1801 to 1904.

As you said I doubt that someone could be a Native American and arrived on the Mayflower. Do you reside in EnGland. If so there must be some FitzGeralds living there. You know that a FitzGerald was PM of Ireland in the mid 80's his name was Edward I believe. Also there was a Physisist By the Name of George FitzGerald who lived in the late 1800's that had a theory that Einstien used to formulate his Special theory of relivtivity. So my Family has got some interesting people in it. A fact that makes me kind of proud. Me I've done nothing to help the family name.

If my ancestors came to North America on the Mayflower, *or* were already living there in tents, it's not very likely that I would now be living in England.

Are you related to Edward Fitzgerald, who translated the "Rubayyat" of Omar Khayyam?

Well I've been told that all FitzGerald's are related. Ive spoke with two other FitzGerald's and they were in the same line as I but I had no close relationship with them. When Thomas came to America he had a sister and a brother that came with him. One of the other Fitzgerald's I spoke with new of this fact he came from Boston so he must have been in Thomas's brother's line. I can be sure of that relation. the reason that we are all related is the last of the FitzGerald" in Ireland The Barron FitzGerald. Barron was a title for childless men I think. Well he change that after a Castle fire in which his pet Orangatangss he had two save him from the fire that is why there are two Orangatangs on the FitzGerald Family Crest. This info came from a family name thingy that use to be in the local news paper in Memphis when I was a Lad. My 5th Grade teacher cut it from the paper and gave it to me for the obvious reason. I still remember her name Mrs. Barnes a great teacher she was Man She could swing a Mean Paddle. I myself got more than a few swats on the bum from her.

Are you saying that Barron Fitzgerald went on to have children after all, once the orangutans had rescued him from the fire?

Yes he was the last of the FitzGerald Clan had he not probacated their would be no FitzGerald at all. That is the way I remember it that is why all FitzGerald are related. Except for there are a group in the US. Like Ella FitzGerald The reason for her being is well a sad fact it's a slave name. See went the slave's were set free they like the Indian's did'nt have last names some took names like Smith and Jones, while others took their former owner's names which was a sign that they liked their former owners. I met a FitzGerald of this type he was a nice sort. I did'nt bring up the slave name thing. Though I think he knew already.

There are blacks with the Harvey surname as well.

Well the the African's and the Indians were concidered quote unquote uncivilized. A condition I think that was wildy misdianosed. But they could have had them, And the "civilized" people of the time did'nt reconize them. So who knows It's kinda hard to second guess history.

Civilization is great when you can recognize it, but some Westerners
didn't think anyone outside their group was really civilized. So, when England first began trading with India, there was a highly advanced civilization along the Northeastern coast of India. The English tended to want their own kind of food instead of the richly flavored local foods. They brought in canned English food . When they did break down and discover some of the pleasures of authentic Indian food, they misunderstood the cuisine and assumed that there was a single mix of spices (which they called curry) which could be used in a lot of dishes.

Having had Indian food I thet they finaly wised up. As a child my Dad Gave us Mexican and Chinese food. I love hot food until the next morning. Yikes! I always try to make contact with those of other cultures. To say other cultures Would imply that America has a culture. Which by definition, I Don't think America fits in it.

America has a culture. Trust me. Hundreds of books have been written about this. One of the more intriguing ones argued that you can't understand American culture without understanding Native American and Black American culture, as they are indelibly woven into the mix.

We aren't a spurious version of European culture any more. As the popularity of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show on its European tours demonstrated, Europeans envied the fact that America had wide open spaces where Indians could at one time have roamed free. Even modern-day Americans still have a subconscious idea that there is somewhere in our West where they could, if need be, get away and return to nature. Montana and Idaho are particularly popular places for survivalists and rugged individualists. This is a deeply-rooted cultural assumption here.

As for the Black American influence, look at the entertainment industry--or, rather, listen to it. As early as the late 19th century, American music was diverging sharply from most European
music traditions, as the ragtime and jazz movements started. There may be European jazz musicians now, but I don't see how jazz could have started anywhere but in America. There were unique social barriers to American blacks, leaving some occupations pretty off-limits to them. Pullman porters and musicians were among the few prestigious jobs they could get, and there were many blacks who had the talent to succeed in these careers. In Southern segregated society, they initially played jazz for the benefit of other black people, but whites found out about the amazing things they were doing.

Sorry for my delay in posting. It was to to a lack of intelligble response. Perhaps my definition is aswew. Oh lat night I was looking at a website on Ireland. It had info on geneolgy and family names. I found out the FitzGerald's were in the Crusades. The info was somewhat ambiguous, and limited due to the fact that you had to pay to be a member. While it would be worth it. I have'nt a credit card

A credit card?

Credit cards are the work of the I am going broke because of them.

They do have a way to make a person a slave to the credit people. I'm going to check into a debit card. That way I can control the situation and there's no interest much like I feel about credit cards "no interest"

I did'nt mean to leave you myth. Well the credit thing. A friend of mine recently purchased a house. Asking price 90,000 Dollars. Atual Money paid for said house after paying for it for 30 yrs. Over 300'00. A rediculous sum would you not agree?