Interesting old family "stories"?

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

These stories were told to me by my parents when they were alive, so I know they are true.  My parents were born in America, both with parents who emigrated from Italy.  It was on my dad's side.

His father, my grandfather, who died when I was 4, during prohibition, provided liquor to the mob in NJ.  The family, my grandfather, grandmother, father, and 3 sisters, lived in an apartment house in Newark, NJ.  The mob wanted him to join, but he declined.  I understand that you don't usually decline to join (because they kill you since you could identify them), but they let my grandfather not join because he provided such superior liquor.

Every Sunday, my grandmother would take the 4 children out after the Sunday afternoon dinner.  They had to stay out for 3 hours.  Of course, the children never knew why they were out that long.  It wasn't until my dad was a grownup that he found out what went on.  There would be several black cars that would circle the block a few times, then they'd go around back & load everything up, which I guess took quite a while, then leave, and at the appointed time, my grandmother would bring the children home.

My grandfather was an alcoholic, and he met his end when he was visiting his sister in Philadelphia.  It was summer, and the apartments were hot, so they had the windows open.  He was drunk and sitting on the windowsill on the second floor, fell out, and died.

Also, my father's aunt and uncle owned the farm that became the runways for Laguardia Airport in NYC.  My dad remembered going to visit them in the summer when he was a kid, and remembered when they sold the farm so the airport could begin construction.

My dad was an electrician in the Navy in WWII.  He was on a destroyer, which he always called a "tin can."  Once when they were in the Pacific, the gunners on one of the big guns got shot, there was nobody at the gun, and there was a Japanese plane flying right towards them, so my dad and another man ran over to the gun and shot the plane down before it could crash into the ship.  Did they get honored?  No, the two of them were thrown in the brig for deserting their posts during an attack.

[Welsh Wench]

That's a great story, Renee!

All of these stories...it makes history come alive.
I love reading them. They make us who we are today.

The drunk domine of mine? The farm he and his wife had in Manhattan is now Wall Street and Broadway.

[Sitara]

My great-grandmother and her entire family came to the U.S. on the Lusitania.The very next trip the ship took, she was sunk by a German U-boat.

[Merlin the Elder]

My cousin was a world-class economist and banker. While serving as president of the United California Bank in Basel, Switzerland, the bank went broke as the result of huge losses while speculating in the cocoa market. Paul and several others ended up in Swiss prison. As you know, Swiss banking laws are very strict.

While in prison awaiting trial, he wrote a book. He also decided that he'd prefer not being in the dungeon, so he had all of his property held as collateral for bail, and was released. Gathering his wife and two daughters, they fled to England with only those possessions they could carry. He got his novel into the right hands through a friend of his, and a new co-career was born. His first five books all reached the NY Times #1 position.  One of his books, The Swiss Account, has been mentioned by some as the catalyst that started the action for the repatriation of fortunes to Jewish survivors and descendents of the Holocaust.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Paul, although I knew his mom (my aunt) and his dad. Even though he was my first cousin, he was considerably older, and was hanging with people who were/are filthy rich. Stephen King is my favourite author, but cousin Paul Erdman is my second fave. He makes economics fun with his financial world thrillers.

One scary note about Paul's writing: he predicted much of the pain and woes in the banking industry.

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Thought of something for my mom's side.

After she died, I was going through her stuff & found passports and ship's tickets for my grandfather and grandmother.  I had thought they came to Ellis Island, but they actually landed in Boston from Italy.  My grandfather, whose name was James Deseno, had on his passport "Vincenzo DiSieno."

I asked my uncle (who named his son Vincent) why Poppy's name was wrong, it was supposed to be James, and I had 2 other cousins named after him.

My uncle replied that my grandfather hardly spoke English and was illiterate.  When he was trying to tell the U.S. Immigration man his name, evidently the man couldn't understand him, so the Immigration man told him, "You're in America now. Your name is James Deseno" and that's what he put down.  My grandfather figured this was America and the man must be correct, so he put his X on the document and thus became James Deseno.

[Mairte]

Renee, members of my family had something similiar when they came to Ellis (sp?) Island. Many of my ancestors had already been in the USA for a very long time but this particular branch's name is SUPPOSED to be O'Hegarty instead, the officials wrote it down as Haggerty.
I love everybodys stories!!!!  History brought to life is fascinating.

[Welsh Wench]

Adultery is alive and well in Rhode Island in 1685....in the story of my ancestress Ann Hill Tallman.

In May 1665, Peter Tallman filed for divorce from his wife Ann Hill Tallman, accusing her of adultery. In the Puritan colonies, adultery was a capital offense, though seldom punished to the full degree of the law. In Rhode Island, as well, adultery was a serious offense, but it was not punishable by death.

According to the testimony in court, Ann Tallman wrote a letter to Peter Tallman informing him that her youngest daughter was not his. After hearing the letter read to her, Ann confessed to adultery. The court sentenced her to a fine of ten pounds and ordered that she be whipped. She was to receive fifteen lashes in Portsmouth, and the following week, fifteen lashes in Newport. She requested mercy of the court. In considering her petition, the Assembly asked if she was willing to reconcile with her husband, "to which her answer was, that she would rather cast herselfe on the mercy of God if he take away her life, than to returne".

That certainly makes Tallman sound as though he were hard to live with. With Tallman's frequent travel to New Amsterdam for business and the other host cities of colonial government, Newport, Warwick and Providence; it is clear that Ann Tallman was home alone a good portion of the year. This may have loosened her marriage bonds enough to risk the significant dangers of adultery.

Ann Tallman was sent to jail to await the carrying out of her sentence, but she escaped and fled to her brother in Virginia. In 1667, she returned to the colony and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Rather than being punished for her escape, she was rewarded. Her fine was forgiven and her sentence was cut in half. Instead of fifteen lashes in Portsmouth and Newport, she would only be whipped in Newport. This must have reduced her humiliation. The people of Portsmouth had been her friends and neighbors for the seven years before her divorce. Although she had lived in Newport for eight years, time had passed. It had to be better to receive her punishment in front of relative strangers. The decision of the Assembly may have been made out of consideration for Peter Tallman. It is unlikely that he wanted a public reminder of his unhappy marriage.

So...can I get a big scarlet A for the little lady? Why she put it on writing I will never understand unless it was the ultimate, 'Oh yeah? By the way..youngest kid? NOT YOURS!'
Seeing that I am descended from the daughter in question, I can be pretty well sure that Peter Tallman is not my ancestor.

But whose boots were under her bed?  

[Mairte]

Welsh Wench, did she never leave even the slightest hint who might be the father of the youngest?
Mystery, I love it!

[Welsh Wench]

From research I have seen, there was an indentured servant named Thomas Durfree, age 17, in the employment of the Tallman household.

From the Court of Records of May 11, 1668--

A year later, Ann and Thomas were brought to court again. Court of Trials records of 11 May 1668 stated:

Upon and Indictment against Thomas Dorfie for Fornication, he being mandamassed [i.e. served with a writ of mandamus] and in Court called, did not apeere yet after apeering and under his hand owneinge Guilty the Court doe sentence him to be whipt with 15 stripes in the Town of Portsm or pay a fine of forty shills to the Genrl Treasury, and pay court fees".

The very next entry reads:

Ann late wife of peter Talman being Indicted for Fornication and beinge in Court Cald did not apeere the Court doe juge her Guilty of the Charge. The Court doe sentence her this beinge her second offence to be twice whipt according to law or pay a fine of Fower pounds and pay Court fees.

OMG SHE WAS CONSORTING WITH THE HIRED HELP!

She was 33....hello, Mrs. Robinson!

[Mairte]

LOL, she was well ahead of her time!

[Mairte]

My dad, one of my sisters and I were talking about heritage and how one of the far back "greats" grandmothers, last name of Bailey came from an estate in Ireland.
This is on my fathers side (have Irish on both parents sides). Turns out Bailey was her married name and she was originally from Scotland and her maiden name was Stuart. I was totally unaware of having any Scottish ancestory so it was interesting to find out! 

[Taffy Saltwater]

My family came from Spain via Mexico and settled northern New Mexico with the Onate party in 1598, having celebrated the first European Thanksgiving in North America in April (I believe) of the same year.  Take that, Pilgrims!  Asencio de Archuleta fought at the Battle of Acoma, where he accidentally shot a fellow soldier and the native Acomans came off very badly indeed, losing something like 800 men.  He was also one of the founders of the city of Santa Fe, NM. Our family were also early settlers in Colorado.  One who married into the family (but not a direct progenitor) was one of the assassins of French explorer La Salle and another, Tom Tobin, (again not a direct progenitor) who was a scout for Kit Carson.

Part of the reward from the Spanish Crown for the Onate settlers is that they were to be named "Hidalgo" (minor nobility).  The papers setting the title in place has never been located and it is unknown if the title would be for only the first couple of generations (i.e., to the grandchildren) or hold in perpetuity for all following descendants.

My favorite story was of one of my grandmothers (and w/o looking at my records I don't recall which one) during the time after the Mexican American War and Tejanos were invading New Mexico, stealing land from the Spanish landholders.  They would fence off an area and claim it as their own.  She would squat over the fence hole, thus making it impossible to fence off the family land.  They're still not too crazy about Tejanos in New Mexico.