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Do you have a skeleton in the closet??

Just one more... these are above one of the doors to the dining room
I built the shelf several years ago and I can't remember what was up there before, but now it houses these pics of mom and dad, and my unknown grandparents.

Makes me want to get back to all of the "stuff" again...

Doortop.jpg



Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
That's so great that your family kept all these letters and trinkets. I can only imagine the stuff we could or should have. My great-grandfather was in Czar Nicholas' army, though working at the embassy in Japan during the Bolshevik revolution. He sent his family over to California when the revolution started. He was never heard from again. Here's what happened to his family:

Son no. 1, Vladimir (Uncle Val) became a successful and famous architect in Hawaii.

Son no. 2, Nicholas (my grandfather) was in the FBI and CIA and did some covert work, though I believe they considered it too dangerous to try to send him into Russia. I wish I had the foresight to interview him before he died.

Daughter married and lived a wonderful live in the northeast.

Nicholas married a girl who is, as I am, a direct descendant of Daniel Boone.

We have an icon of Mary and baby Jesus that was my great-grandmothers, the one from Russia. It's a couple hundred years old, but probably not real valuable. It's a great piece though.

On my dad's side, not much real interesting. His great-grandparents came over from Ireland I think. There are some old cemetaries north of here in Alabama I need to research. We used to find old moonshine jugs in some of my relatives' property but they would never admit to anything. My mother got some and took them home but people stole them from the front yard over the years.

If you want some skeletons: alcohol, depression, schitzophrenia (sic). My dad's pretty messed up, but it's all in his head and he continues to play it up, making my mom's life miserable. I fight some of the same issues, but am getting help and trying to be a good husband/father. I don't drink anymore, not that it was ever a problem, but I am fighting depression. OK that's more than you wanted to know.

Everyone's got something in their closet!!! :eek:
 
Great stuff iSaint!
That's a very interesting legacy you have there!

Just found out yesterday that my Uncle, my mom's older brother has lung cancer (that is what she died with at age 58). He is 78 I think, Mom would have been about 76. She's been gone a while :(

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
whoa dawg, that is quite a story! is that strange to find out? i would imagine you have a totally different feel about your "roots" now.
i will look through this thread more closely later too, for now time is somewhat limited.
 
The only ancestor I had who was on the Mayflower, became America's very first axe murder! John Billington was the chaps name. Not exactly what I was hoping, but hey its one way to make your mark!
 
undercover agent for the FBI

I had an uncle who was an undercover agent for the FBI- only after he passed away did I hear some of the stories. They were very dark. He put some very heavey guys behind bars, and I was told not to share too much - apparently some folks are still looking for him !
 
i think this is one of the more fascinating threads ive read on here in quite awhile. its really interesting to hear the things that have been uncovered or are in the process of being.

ive always thought about how much of an impact peoples lives and legacy's leave on the people that they have left behind.

its like there should be an unwritten law that you have to reveal secrets in your will and you wont have to be punished for them or have them told when you put them in there.
 
This is a great thread. I have only begun to do some research on my family history. We do have documentation available from my Grandfather. He has done extensive research, and as I have grown older (30 now), I have developed an interest in these things.

I have had the blessing of knowing my great grandparents on my grandmothers side most of my life. They have passed in just the last few years. Both sets of grandparents are still alive and I see them often. This is great because my wife only has her parents, and has not had grandparents around since she was young. Before my great grandfather passed at the age of 99 (in 2001), I sat down with him and he told me about his entire life. He was born in 1902. He told me about his schooling and career, building highways around the state of Texas. He told me of his love for politics and the days of Herbert Hoover. He told me about the depression. Pappy and Granny were amazing people, and I miss them dearly.

I am planning to sit down with both sets of grandparents and have this same conversation, but this time video it. Thanks for the inspiration to do it MacDawg. My grandfather on my Mom's side just turned 90. We had a huge party, and he and some of his younger brothers played their guitars and sang. It was great. His Dad died when he was 19 years old, and being the oldest, he helped his mother raise his 12 younger siblings.

Also, another thing I thought was pretty neat was the fact that I have researched extensively throughout my family to look for any divorces. I have not been able to find any in mine or my wife's direct lines. I was able to count at least 361 years of marriage, but want to research it more in depth. I do count it as a blessing, and know that that doesn't always happen.

Anyway, thanks for the thread, and motivation. And thank you for sharing these treasures with us, I am excited to see what I will uncover in my quest.

(sorry this post is a couple of months late, but I just read through it.)
 
Mr. Vinson/MacDog...enjoyed reading about you and

your family....I have an aunt who married a Vinson in NCarolina in the early 1900's....maybe we are related.

My Dad also worked at Lockheed Marietta from 1964 thru 1971...on the C-130, C-141 and C-5. Perhaps they knew each other...I bet they did....

If you'd like to email me..it's bobbyp28@hotmail.com

Have a great day...I know this is years after you posted this tread...

rob
 
MacDawg said:
So, I'm wondering... what's your family's deep dark secret?
Any murderers in your family?
Other skeletons?
What's the dark side of your family?
Who is the black sheep?

Woof, Woof - Dawg
*don't even think about chaining me up*
Click to expand...

Maybe, in my liberal to moderate family, one member is going out with very high profile conservative commentator. Not bad, just different. Once a Berkeley liberal, this person in family is now like Michael Savage due to relationship or changed views. Now if we were Sarah Palin's family, that wouldn't be so bad. Actually, scratch that, it would even be bad for her family or any GOP in good standing.

Once this person was all for racial equality and human rights, and now he sounds like the Klan and he's only half white! I am fully minority (Asian) so it does come as a shock to me. It will make things strange at the next family reunion. We have had a lot of people in our family, but no fascists yet. :) But honestly, I have met more than my share of former Berkeley hippies turned fascist skinhead or Klan sympathizers. Mike Savage was once very liberal and now he is ultra conservative, and maybe extremes on liberal and conservative poles are actually the same thing in a lot of ways since it's the center/moderates who they hate.
 
rdowns said:
Holy thread resurrection.
Click to expand...

Indeed. But I am very glad it was resurrected as it has been a fascinating read! MacDawg thanks so much for sharing your history - the pictures and letters were wonderful, and I love the shadowboxes your wife put together - what an amazing piece of your family legacy to keep with you!
 
I think I might have posted this very thing before but here goes again,

About 150-200 years ago a few relatives of mine either accidentally killed or just injured their fathers new wife by either pushing her down some stairs or drowning her. But the point is they all fled the scene. One of them fled to America and we believe may also be a distant relation to a popular actor/writer/producer bloke. They share the same very unique surname. I really can't stress how rare this surname is. :eek:
I guess its something to look into...
 
This topic is glorious in all of its 7 page history.

Keep 'em coming! Definitely deserved a much-needed bump.
 
I guess that I resurected this very old thread

by the simple fact that I was googling some information on Lockheed in Marrietta Georgia....doing an image search....and MacDog's images of his dad at Lockheed showed up in my google search....

So I started reading about his family and though it had nothing to do with my original search mission...I found it facinating...and his pictures (especially the colorized one of his mom and dad) facinating too....

But I guess after all these years...MacDog may not be looking at this thread anymore....hopefully he will...and hopefully he will add some more stuff

Rob
 
Great thread and I'm delighted to see that it has been resurrected. If it hadn't been resurrected a whole new generation of MR members - such as myself - would never have known of its existence and it is a fascinating tale beautifully told. In fact, I have just spent most of the past hour reading it from start to finish. I for one would welcome an update.

Re my own family skeletons, nothing gory to report on either side of the family, rather a stable, secure and loving environment, but there is lots of lore which is also interesting.

Cheers
 
:eek: :eek: :eek: That's quite the resurrection.

I must've stopped just shy of seeing the date change.
 
bobbyp28 said:
by the simple fact that I was googling some information on Lockheed in Marrietta Georgia....doing an image search....and MacDog's images of his dad at Lockheed showed up in my google search....

So I started reading about his family and though it had nothing to do with my original search mission...I found it facinating...and his pictures (especially the colorized one of his mom and dad) facinating too....

But I guess after all these years...MacDog may not be looking at this thread anymore....hopefully he will...and hopefully he will add some more stuff

Rob
Click to expand...

Yes, actually, MacDawg is still very active on these forums.

And yes, thank you MD for posting your person secrets. It was a very interesting read that kept me awake during me last 3 days of sickness. Yes, if it wasn't for this thread, I would've been asleep and getting rest on my bed.
 
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