Also on my Dad's paternal side comes some maternal pieces of the puzzle: Stephen's wife, my great grandmother, was Christine A. Nelson, of Denmark, of all places. I am not sure where Sarah, Melbourne's wife was from. I bet it was England or Canada. So I am English, Canadian, and Danish so far. . .
Then you have My grandfather's first wife, my Nana, Madeline. She kicked his ass and booted him from her life under threat of death, setting fire to her sister-in-law and punching out Christine A. Nelson, who was spreading rumors about Madeline. Tough ole gal, and probably certifiable --even back when she was young. But I digress . . .
Madeline came from John Buckley, who was born in Spain to an Irishman named William Buckley. Why they were in Spain can only be guessed, but I think it had something to do with the famine in Ireland. John later married Sarah Lockhart, who was Scottish. She was my great grandmother on that side. So I have Irish, Scottish, and even Spanish, sort of, in me as well.
Which brings me to my mother's side.
Her Dad was Thomas Carr Mattatall, and he alwasy said that Mattatall was a Scottish name. Bullshit. It isn't. It is French. I found the whole line, back down to 1349, in Montbeliard, France. Grampa either didn't know it or hid it for some reason. He, and by dint of him, I, was French. Then we have Egan, which is Thomas' mother, I believe. She was from Kilkenny, Ireland. So now we get French and Irish.
Then, on my mother's mother's side, we get Pa Francis, who was Portuguese. Nobody liked Portuguese people, so that was hushed up for a long time. So there we are with the Portuguese. And Then there is German in there as well. I think it was Pa Francis' wife, my great grandmother on that side, and she was a Ryman, I believe. So there is the German, and maybe even Jewish. I'm not at all sure.
So let's tally this up:
I am Irish from both sides, Scottish from my Dad's side, as well as English, Spanish, Canadian, and Danish. Then I am also French, Portuguese, and German.
The names so far I have come up with are:
Jones, Nelson, Lockhart, Buckley, Mattatall, Francis, Ryman, and Egan. There is also Carr and Flemming in there, and my Dad said we are related to the Woods family as well.
So basically, I am Western European.
I'd love to find all the roots going back through each line, and I try sometimes to learn more. Maybe someday I will get the whole thing done.
No one in my family seems to give a shit at all.