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

For much of my life I've known the family fable that Robert the Bruce is my generation's 19th greatgrandfather. My uncle ferreted into the family tree back in the 60s and somehow came up with the illustrious ancestor. Allegedly.

Over Xmas I was slightly incapacitated with a leg injury and instead of spending happy days hiking in the high country, I signed up to a genealogy website and did some ferreting of my own.

To my astonishment and delight King Robert the Bruce is indeed my 19th greatgrandfather

And when I did further digging, I got back to the Earls of Orkney - his ancestors.

So my family line goes back to Orkney on both sides. I only have to go back three generations on Dad's side to get there and can trace them to 1601 before we seem to run out of records (so far anyway). And on Mum's side, 24 generations back I start finding Earls and we're into the Norse Sagas

I had no great expectations when I began this investigation a month ago. And now I'm totally hooked.

Once I get fed up with going back and back and back I shall start looking at more detailed records about some more recent rellies: a few wee mysteries have already popped up

I hope everybody will now treat me with the respect which I am due



Fb

Wow. Maybe you should change your signature smiley!

I always knew you were regal

I never associate with females that are lower than Princesses

Hooray! We must be nineteenth cousins, as one of my ancestors was Cluny MacPherson, who was a close associate of Robert and married one of his daughters, if I'm not garbling things horribly.

Hi cuz!


Still, going back nineteen generations, there must be hardly anyone not descended from royalty, since the genes do spread around mightily . . .

Eek, there seem to be many people called Cluny MacPherson, the most famous one being in the 18th century. Some MacPherson was a helper of Robert, and the families intermarried at some stage, though I don't see a MacPherson listed as marrying a daughter of Robert. My aunt collected all the lore, but she was hard to follow as she tended to jumble generations together.

My latest intriguing ancestor is Thorfinn Skull-Splitter

Friends at work are treating me with extra-added caution upon that news

Hi Cuz / Recumbentman I think we each have half a million 19th greatgrandfathers, so chances are he's your's too.

I'm deep in the Kings of ancient Scotland.. Malcolms I and II Duncan Kenneth MacAlpin and finally / first Fergus MorMacErc who died in 501AD

Astonishing.

Fb

Lay on, MacDuff