Your family involvement in history

**Dr. Oza** · October 26, 2009, 09:42 PM

just curious how many people are aware of their family's involvement in history

il go first

my great grandfather was a army doctor in ww1 and member of the young turks whose revolution he supported, he was godo friends with Jemal and Talaat pashas and they exhchanged letters... he was stationed in yemen and fought throughout ww1, dying of the spanish flu in 1918 just as he was returning home

my great grandfather on the other side lost all of his brothers in the war as well and all his sons except my grandfather...

my grandfather's 7 brothers all died in the turkish war of liberation and ww1

thr titles were sipahizade... which is son of a sipahi so im guessing they were sipahis in ottoman army.. (not sure)

i have a old mecdiye medal from the crimean war.. so someone probably served thr as well

part of my family were islamic judges on cyprus but they escaped when brits took over

other part of my family were tatar businessmen

i think im turkish going far back , as my aunts look asian... but i dont lol... but one can never be sure.. and it matters little if im actually greek or lydian or w.e lol

records arent as well kept in turkey as in the west so finding something before 1800s is near impossible

**bushbush** · October 26, 2009, 09:51 PM

.

**Dr. Oza** · October 26, 2009, 10:00 PM

reallly???

u trace that far back???
lol

**bushbush** · October 26, 2009, 10:38 PM

,

**Del Valle** · October 26, 2009, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by bushbush

yes, history of chai family started with Gao Chai, the student of Confucius. Most chinese last names can be traced pretty far back.

Confucius? Wow, that must be a little over 2500 years of lineage.

**bushbush** · October 26, 2009, 10:43 PM

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**Del Valle** · October 26, 2009, 10:06 PM

My grandfather and great-grandfather first fought for Fidel in the Cuban Revolution, then fought against him when they realized he was a communist. My grandfather was locked up for spreading leaflets and having illegal possesion of a gun from his guerilla days. My great-grandfather was a supplier for the guerillas during the fight against Fidel, storing ammunition and other supplies in his barn, with the fighters coming in the middle of the night to take the supplies into the hills. After he was found out by his dirty snitch of a neighbor, he was imprisoned and tortured for several months, then released to do labour in some prison far away. His family found him and they lived together for a time. When the Mariel Boat Lift came around, his family was among the first to leave for Miami.

They weren't exactly great leaders or anything, but that's probably the most significant contribution to history my family has ever made.

Also, I'm not too sure about this, but my great-great-great grandfather may fought as a guerilla against the Spanish in the Spanish-American War.

**Dr. Oza** · October 26, 2009, 10:11 PM

thats very interesting... so he wasnt a communist but he fought for castro?
or was he one of the freedom fighters that fought batista regardless of affiliation?

**Del Valle** · October 26, 2009, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by Sipahizade

thats very interesting... so he wasnt a communist but he fought for castro?
or was he one of the freedom fighters that fought batista regardless of affiliation?

The latter. They fought against Batista, not for Fidel.

**Salem1** · October 26, 2009, 10:13 PM

I don't know, but I would guess that my Swedish half would simply be peasants going back all the way. My mom's father's side (I dislike how English doesn't separate mom/dad's father and mother) came from northern Uppland (one of two provinces that Stockholm - which is both the capital and a province in itself - lies in) before moving to Stockholm in the 20th century. My mom's mother's side has always been living in Stockholm and were better off than my poor mom's father's side, which leads me to believe that they were probably burghers a while back. As for my Gambian side I don't know and don't care, my past, present and future is in and with Sweden.

Just like everyone with Swedish roots I most certainly have had relatives participating in the various wars of Sweden. My mom's father used to say that we were ''descended from crimean tatars that crossed Poland into Sweden'', just one of his stories I think

.

I confess that I don't know anything about my Swedish lineage, which I want to learn much, much more about.

**Dr. Oza** · October 26, 2009, 10:17 PM

lol if ur a crimean tatar then were practically brothers

...
im actually very interested in early swedish history...
like the eriksattens ... knut, erik, those good guys from crusader kings lol haha

**Salem1** · October 26, 2009, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by Sipahizade

lol if ur a crimean tatar then were practically brothers

...
im actually very interested in early swedish history...
like the eriksattens ... knut, erik, those good guys from crusader kings lol haha

Hehe, I very much doubt it but that'd be pretty cool

You probably know more than me about early Swedish history in that case hehe, I know the basics ie. some stuff about Novgorodian-Swedish wars, Vikings, Crusades etc. but that's about it. I'm still an atheist but for some reason Swedish history turns more exciting during pagan times, probably because christendom also put an end to the Viking age and reformed society (mostly for the worse since aspects of feudalism were also imported and people were soon indoctrinated with christianity, despite the best efforts of people like Nils Dacke).

Sad that you seem unable to trace your history farther back than that though. I think Turkey's, or rather the Ottoman empire's history is pretty damn interesting.

**Axeman** · October 27, 2009, 12:12 AM

Both of my brothers died serving in the South African Military fighting in Angola against the MPLA.

My great grandfather was a head German adviser to Paul von Lettow Vorbeck, commander of German Forces in East Africa in WW1

**HIC SVNT LEONES** · October 27, 2009, 12:30 AM

My family were Anglo-Saxon peasants on my father's side who settled by a Roman Road. After time when on, they were known for settling by this road and moved about England.... Stuff gets fuzzy here until their ancestors move to the Americas as part of the Quaker movement. They end up getting caught in the War against Britain and serve as scouts/spies for the Americans, as they were pacifists.. they get territory in the Northwest Territories (The Ohio Part) and end up being killed by natives because they no like-um pale face. One male survives, renounces a the Quaker way and lives for several generations are local farmers until the family turns into lower-middle class suburban dwellers.

My mother's side? Scots, Irish and Scots-Irish immigrants to Virginia, but now in modern day West Virginia who did nothing but make Whiskey, Moonshine, and shoot each other.

**Dr. Oza** · October 27, 2009, 12:36 AM

My mother's side? Scots, Irish and Scots-Irish immigrants to Virginia, but now in modern day West Virginia who did nothing but make Whiskey, Moonshine, and shoot each other.

hahahaah,, +rep

btw ...

i feel i have to just get this out as im american too...

[Removed]

**Stavroforos** · October 27, 2009, 12:49 AM

My family's surname is somewhat rare, so when I found mention of the name in a 1461 Ottoman census, I'm quite sure the person recorded is a distant relative of some sort, and he was an Arvanite.

**Mig el Pig** · October 27, 2009, 04:40 AM

Their is a possibility that i'm 'family' of the first crusader that entered Jerusalem. (he was a knight in the army of Godfried)

**Niles Crane** · October 27, 2009, 04:43 AM

My maternal great-grandfather founded the first public library in West Hampstead (1901) but it was destroyed by a fire bomb in 1940. He killed himself a year later so that might have had something to do with it. He also published a couple of books which are in some national archive, but whatever. My family is pretty ordinary, though doubtless if you go back far enough as everyone else has, there's bound to be something.

**Sulfurion Blackfyre** · October 27, 2009, 08:16 AM

I never really found anything about my family's past history. There isn't that many information. I live in Portugal.

What I know from my mother's side is that my family was one of minor nobles, with some lands. Apparently they originated from Barcelona region during pre-roman times.

My father's side, I even know less, only that we had a Templar Knight in the family, so it's probable in the middle ages my family was one of nobles too. And they apparently came from the central area of spain, again in pre-roman times.

Now I'm curious, perhaps I'll try to discover more about my forefather's lives.