Jobs of your ancestors
- Thread starter goldfish65
- Start date
-
Ddaddy
Just doing what I do
Lots of interesting stuff in my family history, not the least of which was half of them came over on the Mayflower...and the other half were here already to meet it.
My grandfather on my father's side was an electrician, but too old to serve in WWII. He worked instead in the Portsmouth Navy Yard wiring submarines for WWII. Here is one of the boats he wired...
My Grandfather on my mother's side was also too old for WWII but he ran a Jenney gas station in Derry NH during and after the war. He was a true Mopar man and responsible for instilling the love of them in me. Here is a photo of his service station from back in the day...
My Wife's ancestry includes bringing a wagon load of corn to feed Washington's troops at Valley Forge in exchange for some dining room furniture from Washington's headquarters...which we still have and are signed in chalk by George Washington himself underneath. They are registered in the Valley Forge Quarter Master record and confirmed to be authentic.
My grandfather on my father's side was an electrician, but too old to serve in WWII. He worked instead in the Portsmouth Navy Yard wiring submarines for WWII. Here is one of the boats he wired...
My Grandfather on my mother's side was also too old for WWII but he ran a Jenney gas station in Derry NH during and after the war. He was a true Mopar man and responsible for instilling the love of them in me. Here is a photo of his service station from back in the day...
My Wife's ancestry includes bringing a wagon load of corn to feed Washington's troops at Valley Forge in exchange for some dining room furniture from Washington's headquarters...which we still have and are signed in chalk by George Washington himself underneath. They are registered in the Valley Forge Quarter Master record and confirmed to be authentic.
My great grandfather and great uncle on my father's side were both carriage makers and blacksmiths in central Georgia at the turn of and into the early 20th century.
gunbunny
Well-Known Member
My fathers side was a bunch of shifty people. My grandmothers brothers made and ran whiskey to Newport KY during prohibition. Grandpa wasn't above cooking a little mash.
My moms side was more respectable, depending on your point of view. My mothers dad's people, the Batts, were huge slaveholders in North Carolina. They grew and sold tobacco to the English and Irish. From what I understand, they managed to keep slaves for a week or so after Lee surrendered. Apparently they were isolated enough that word didn't reach them until a Union patrol came across the plantation. The loss of slaves decimated the family farm. I was watching an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" that featured Paula Dean. Turns out she is family, she comes from the Batts family. she acted surprised to learn about the slaves.
Mom's mother's people were sent here by King William to survey the area now known as Wayne, Cabell, Mason and Mingo counties in West Virginia. For their trouble, they were to be deeded land in what would become Ohio. Of course they never actually received the deeds from the good King. From what I understand a lot of fraud took place that prevented that from happening.
My moms side was more respectable, depending on your point of view. My mothers dad's people, the Batts, were huge slaveholders in North Carolina. They grew and sold tobacco to the English and Irish. From what I understand, they managed to keep slaves for a week or so after Lee surrendered. Apparently they were isolated enough that word didn't reach them until a Union patrol came across the plantation. The loss of slaves decimated the family farm. I was watching an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" that featured Paula Dean. Turns out she is family, she comes from the Batts family. she acted surprised to learn about the slaves.
Mom's mother's people were sent here by King William to survey the area now known as Wayne, Cabell, Mason and Mingo counties in West Virginia. For their trouble, they were to be deeded land in what would become Ohio. Of course they never actually received the deeds from the good King. From what I understand a lot of fraud took place that prevented that from happening.
69_340_GTS
Well-Known Member
My Dad was in the Army Air Force during WWII, then became a manufacturing engineer after the war. Eventually became president of Colt's Military Firearms.
His father was a traveling salesman.
My Mom was a stenographer/secretary.
Her Mom was a switchboard operator in a big hospital.
Her Dad was a real-life bookie and speakeasy operator during 'Prohibition'.
His father was a traveling salesman.
My Mom was a stenographer/secretary.
Her Mom was a switchboard operator in a big hospital.
Her Dad was a real-life bookie and speakeasy operator during 'Prohibition'.
69_340_GTS
Well-Known Member
My god, Linda was sooooo hot!
Very cool! any relation to Ralph Smythe, changed name to Smith? Later were Smiths of Cape Cod.
My great great grandfather was a gold miner in California back in the 1870's...
He single handedly had to kill two of three Mexicans that tried to jump his claim when his partner was not able to work that day... They all came with knives, he just had his mining pick... He killed the first one by putting his pick in his head... Then had to fight the other two with his bare hands... After getting cut up a bit, decided to run and try to split them up... Then hid behind a rock for a bit... If a woman hadn't come over the hill and hand him a revolver I wouldn't be here...
She had a voice in her head tell her to go over the hill with a gun and turned back twice... Then the third time went over the hill, found my grandpa, handed him the gun and he shot the 2nd Mexican... The third one ran away after that... (And some people don't believe in ESP...)
After that incident, he always carried a gun to the mine...
My grandpa married that woman....
**********************************************************
My great uncle is considered to be one of the worlds leading geologists... People came from as far as Europe to take his geology classes... One of his students discovered a new mineral and named it after my uncle... He's now retired....
**********************************************************
I may also be related to Zachary Taylor, but that has not been confirmed...
He single handedly had to kill two of three Mexicans that tried to jump his claim when his partner was not able to work that day... They all came with knives, he just had his mining pick... He killed the first one by putting his pick in his head... Then had to fight the other two with his bare hands... After getting cut up a bit, decided to run and try to split them up... Then hid behind a rock for a bit... If a woman hadn't come over the hill and hand him a revolver I wouldn't be here...
She had a voice in her head tell her to go over the hill with a gun and turned back twice... Then the third time went over the hill, found my grandpa, handed him the gun and he shot the 2nd Mexican... The third one ran away after that... (And some people don't believe in ESP...)
After that incident, he always carried a gun to the mine...
My grandpa married that woman....
**********************************************************
My great uncle is considered to be one of the worlds leading geologists... People came from as far as Europe to take his geology classes... One of his students discovered a new mineral and named it after my uncle... He's now retired....
**********************************************************
I may also be related to Zachary Taylor, but that has not been confirmed...
Last edited:
My biological family always has been and still are Mango and coconut farmers in south central India.
I only know the history of three generations back but I know it goes way farther than that ...as of three generations ago they had 40 acres and a store front and about 10 mobile fruit carts moving around the city selling fruit.
now they have gone more corporate and sell to big companies that make mango juice and products so they have expanded to a few hundred acres and two BIG store fronts and who only knows how many hundreds of mobile carts roving the city, usually manned by teenage boys or men needing a labor job.
I only know the history of three generations back but I know it goes way farther than that ...as of three generations ago they had 40 acres and a store front and about 10 mobile fruit carts moving around the city selling fruit.
now they have gone more corporate and sell to big companies that make mango juice and products so they have expanded to a few hundred acres and two BIG store fronts and who only knows how many hundreds of mobile carts roving the city, usually manned by teenage boys or men needing a labor job.
Last edited:
thesiren74
Well-Known Member
My great grandfather,grandfather and all of of his brothers worked at Amc/chrysler.
famous bob
mopar misfit
need more like this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BigBlockMopar28
Well-Known Member
My grandpa was an air force mechanic, and later worked for caterpillar. Grandma was a stay at home mom. My great grandparents on both sides were farmers
famous bob
mopar misfit
The story goes, that my great grandfather and two younger brothers came thru Ellis island from Ireland, where the youngest brother got separated or lost. He was taken in by a man named Bonney, where William McCarty, then took the name of William Bonney, who later became (famous?) as Billy the kid. My grand paw and him looked like twins, -literally . A weired side note, everyone in my family has or are very good w/ guns ! ????????? The rest of the family were glass workers, and farmers, w/ exception of a trucker.
One of my great greats was a translator on Ellis Island spoke seven languages. Migrated from Russia ( Cusaks) then Poland then across Europe. Other side of family were all train workers during 1800s engineers, brakemen and machinists. They came over from jolly old England and go back to wonderful Henry the VIII not sure which side of the sheets we came from.
diymirage
HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
there's a little bit of what we would call incest in my family
if you go far enough back, both my father AND my mother were descendants of Adam and Eve
(i guess that means my ancestors were gardeners)
if you go far enough back, both my father AND my mother were descendants of Adam and Eve
(i guess that means my ancestors were gardeners)
ramenth
Gratis persona
My great grandfather Carr was a carpenter who built barns the old fashioned way: dowels. Most of those barns still stand today.
Granddad was a machinist by trade. Got his education through corrospendence school. Moved the family to the Tampa area with gas rations bought on the black market during WWII. He couldn't fight, he was 4F with a double hernia.
Momma's dad was a tobacco farmer in Kentucky before moving the family to Florida in the '50's. Then he did Whatever.
Pop spent 25 years driving truck. Three million miles on the wheel of a tractor trailer. Before that he worked for the town DOT as a mechanic while owning our pig farm. Before that he owned a scrapyard and did dozer work. Before that he was a commercial fisherman who owned his own boat in the Gulf of Mexico, harbored in Tampa. Before that he was a tree trimmer. Before that he was a mechanic and body man. Somewhere in all that he found the time to co-own our restoration shop.
Granddad was a machinist by trade. Got his education through corrospendence school. Moved the family to the Tampa area with gas rations bought on the black market during WWII. He couldn't fight, he was 4F with a double hernia.
Momma's dad was a tobacco farmer in Kentucky before moving the family to Florida in the '50's. Then he did Whatever.
Pop spent 25 years driving truck. Three million miles on the wheel of a tractor trailer. Before that he worked for the town DOT as a mechanic while owning our pig farm. Before that he owned a scrapyard and did dozer work. Before that he was a commercial fisherman who owned his own boat in the Gulf of Mexico, harbored in Tampa. Before that he was a tree trimmer. Before that he was a mechanic and body man. Somewhere in all that he found the time to co-own our restoration shop.
my dad 's dad was a farmer is s w Ga and a circuit preacher, with 4 different churches.
my mom's dad owned a large cotton farm. developed his variety of c otton. had 10 children. the kids had to fill their shoes with cotton seed before bed every night! his mother fired from the backporch, at Sherman's trip on the march thru Ga. they we trying to steal chickens. they just left.
my mom's dad owned a large cotton farm. developed his variety of c otton. had 10 children. the kids had to fill their shoes with cotton seed before bed every night! his mother fired from the backporch, at Sherman's trip on the march thru Ga. they we trying to steal chickens. they just left.
-
