Found out my great-grandfather was a psychopath.

[Butzbach]

A couple of family stories were passed down about my Great Grandfather Otto. He had a take down rifle and used to poach deer in the Black Forest in Germany. He finally emigrated to avoid conscription in “the Czar’s army.” I have no idea what “army” when or where. I know he met my Great Grandmother on the boat coming over. Her name and her mother’s were on the manifest. Otto’s was not!

[bakerjw]

A dozen or so years ago, my wife and I were watching a movie about Melvin Purvis. He was the guy who shot Dillinger. In this movie, they were moving in on a suspect in Belville Illinois known as Handsome Jack Klues. Now mind you, Klues is a rather unique name. Now, my mother is a Klues from Quincy Illinois which isn't too far from Belville.
So, after watching this, a few days later, we went over to visit and I brought up "Handsome" Jack Klues and how he had been killed by Purvis. She HAD A FIT! It certainly could not be someone from OUR family. She got really angry about it.
A month or so later, she went to visit my Aunt Gena, One of God's angels, in Quincy. Mom went on to talk about the Handsome fellow and how we had told her about it and made a big deal out of it. She said, "That wasn't one of our family."
Aunt Gena replied, "Ooohhh... Yes. That was Johns boy." John was an uncle. To my mom's credit, she told us all of this long after we'd dropped it. But she didn't like how we made such a big deal about it.
So, yep... Gangsta in the family.

[Idaho45guy]

The OP needs help.

In what way?

[farmbif]

previous generations were pretty much good hardworking souls in my family but have a brother that's a sociopathic narcissistic pathological liar an expert at cons, grift and a thief too. he will surely get his one day, the lord works in mysterious ways.

[DocSavage]

To the OP don't dwell on your distant family's past you are here now and hopefully the blood line after your distant relative have done enough to atone for the terrible things he did.

[contender1]

I think, due to human nature, and the family trees being rather broad,,,, everybody could most likely locate a "bad" person or two as ancestors.
I have a first cousin,, all bad. My wife, her brother AND his sons,, all bad.

Yet,,, I can also point to the fact that there are also a lot of good people in every family as well.

[Harter66]

Dad's side by Surname only crime was being Irish about 1840 but I guess it wasn't as big a deal in Ohio as New York . His mother's side was full of treasoners from at least 1740 to 1789 in the Carolina's ........that's what King George called them anyway .

My 3rd great grandmothers 1st cousin likely sent a fair number of CSA infantry to POW camps , all things being as they are much like James Black above the title of hero or not lays in who's side is telling the story . The Spanish didn't care to much for him either , Teddy Roosevelt liked him well enough to be his 1900 running mate after he settled up that Spanish/American set to .

Mom's side is also filled with architects , aviators , engineers , and 1 horse thief that was caught red handed on his way to enlist in the CSAA . His Daddy caught him and as I understood it 4th generation telling switched his 14 year old hide about every mile all 22 miles back to Nashville .

Owen Hughes circa 1923-26 photo can be found on the legacy wall of a downtown Nashville law office wall where by pure happenstance his GGgrand daughter is employed also as a lawyer .

X1s family while only recently were called criminals engaged in morally repugnant activities politely referred to as line breeding . At least 2 generations 1895-1944 .

X2 had a clean slate

Ms is from Oklahoma and Arkansas . Apparently Frank and James Younger were direct family .

My Dad's Mom always said you can dig up your roots for $500 as deep as you want to go but it'll cost $50,000 to cover them up again .

I suspect there were a lot of questionable folks in the family tree pushed to do many questionable things coming from southern Europe all of the UK to the Virginia Colonies . Several wars , Owen was Artillery in France WWI , Dad's older brother was on a destroyer most noted for sinking one of our own so it wouldn't be captured in the Pacific in WWII .

[wv109323]

My great,great,great grandfather killed his employee for mistreating a horse. He moved about 100 miles and continued his logging business. Family research showed he had three families. In in Missouri, one in Kentucky and one in WV. He never divorced any of them. He apparently died in Missouri under mysterious circumstances.

[Thumbcocker]

To the OP. If you are researching for a novel you might be able to find records of a coroner's inquest, assuming there was one. If you get really lucky there might be a transcript.

[bedbugbilly]

Jus remember that every person has two grandfathers and two grandmothers - from then on, as you go back each generation, the great, great-great, etc. grandparents double each generation you go back.

People are people - always have been, always will be - and there are very few who don't have :skeletons" in their closet. One of mine is Benedict Arnold. One of my great-grandfathers - never knew him - was an abusive drunk - he and my great-grandmother, who was a kind and wonderful woman, divorced in 1898. My grandmother, the youngest of the children, was 14 at the time and had to give testimony against her father at the time - I have the transcript of the hearing and it isn't enjoyable to read.

Sometimes a bit of a shock to learn of such things, but YOU are not your g-grandfather - so don't waste precious time worrying about something that you have no control over and can't change. As a writer, fle it away in your memory as another "circumstance" that you might be able to weave into one of your books that others would find interesting.

[JRD]

bedbugbilly,
That's some great wisdom you shared. Well said.

[Martin Luber]

One was a western NY Sheriff, with a brother, the local bootlegger.

[mexicanjoe]

in our family we've had bootleggers and smugglers along the mexico border. There have been some property disputes settled with gunfire and fist fights. One of my very close relatives outran Texas rangers on horseback when he brought sugar and other commodities across the Glass mountains in the Big Bend area into Texas during WWII. Supposedly this big black stud had one blue eye and could run like the wind at night . For the entirety of the prohibition and WWII, he considered himself a commodities broker and delivered sugar, flour, lard, and other items from mexico to Texas , when rationing was in effect. According to him" Mexico did not have rationing."!

Alcohol was smuggled across the Rio Grande on mules, taking a circuitous route through rugged mountain passes, at night. The transactions were conducted on cattle ranches and then on to the consumers later. So here , I am a 32 year veteran of law enforcement with plenty of history in my family background.... Needles to say, no one has an empty closet.

[JoeJames]

In the part of NE Arkansas where both sides of my family settled before and after the War; there was no law enforcement to speak of. Folks might happen to see the sheriff right before the election and that was it. Whatever happened the rest of the time depended on the parties involved. Most folks were fairly peaceable and avoided trouble. On the second trip to Arkansas there were some 60 people in the wagon train from Georgia. They got to their homeplace just before Christmas of 1868. They'd built the house on the first trip. My great-grandfather, who'd been in a sergeant in the 3rd Confederate Cavalry throughout the War, led the wagon train. Some folks were squatting in the house when they got there. According to my great-uncle, they left pretty hurriedly without much discussion. And all was quiet.

[waksupi]

Jus remember that every person has two grandfathers and two grandmothers - from then on, as you go back each generation, the great, great-great, etc. grandparents double each generation you go back.

People are people - always have been, always will be - and there are very few who don't have :skeletons" in their closet. One of mine is Benedict Arnold. One of my great-grandfathers - never knew him - was an abusive drunk - he and my great-grandmother, who was a kind and wonderful woman, divorced in 1898. My grandmother, the youngest of the children, was 14 at the time and had to give testimony against her father at the time - I have the transcript of the hearing and it isn't enjoyable to read.

Sometimes a bit of a shock to learn of such things, but YOU are not your g-grandfather - so don't waste precious time worrying about something that you have no control over and can't change. As a writer, fle it away in your memory as another "circumstance" that you might be able to weave into one of your books that others would find interesting.

Being a history buff, I read quite a bit about Benedict Arnold. Considering how he was lied to by the government and how he was treated, I don't see him as bad as he was painted.


As far as my family, the most embarrassing person in my family is my sister. She's a liberal.

[gwpercle]

Yes ... and it's an awesome reason not to dig too deeply into your family tree .

People keep turning up that you would rather not be associated with .

Murders , Klansmen , Plantation Owners , Slave Owners , Confederate War Veterans , Bootleggers , Bookies , Mafia Members, Ex-Cons .... one Uncle had a wife and child none of us even knew about ...

No ... you just might find out some stuff best left in the closet .
I went there and didn't like all the bad stuff I found .
Kind of sorry I know what I now know .

No ... you don't want to go poking around ... you gotta take the good with the bad .
Gary

[rockrat]

Having a Sister as a liberal!!!!!?????

I can commiserate, I know how you feel!!!! When mine was mentally able to, we had some quite spirited (loud) political discussions

[farmbif]

i'l trade you, one lying, cheating thieving brother for a liberal sister any day of the week. They both want to take your guns. and to sweeten the trade I'll throw in a subscription to the Washington Times to boot.

[fixit]

I understand.... In my family, my generation is the first in at least three generations in which any man has lived past the age of 60. It seems they drank themselves to death if they hadn't died of something else before then. Between better health care and self care, alcoholism hasn't had the same devastation in this group. Other than that, I don't know what kind of outlaws we've had in my family, other than the fact that my mom's lineage is difficult to find before 1900........

[444ttd]

on my dad's side of the family, we don't talk much about but there are a few. my great grandfather/mother from Poland came over on the boat in 1900. they had 3 boys. i don't know the other two and they are not discussed. in the 1930's my great grandpap had an accident with the train that cut his legs off. he was depressed and then suicide followed. unfortunately, he hung himself in the basement and my grandfather was the first to see him. years go by, my grandpap enlisted in Army during WW2. he was one of the ones who went in the first wave at omaha beech. he told me some tales about the war, but they were funny. he came home, married my grandmother, was a foreman on bethlehem steel until 1980 when he and my dad started construction company(water and sewer lines). but he had a darker side. he cheated on my grandmother(i have a step aunt somewhere) many times, he was all for me, none for you, until he got 85 yo. he was a miserable SOB, but once in a while he was alright. i think his dad had alot to do with it and then WW2 finished him off. i had a uncle but he died young and an aunt that is just like my grandpap.

my mom's side, however, is the complete opposite. i don't know my grandfather's parents and siblings because they all died in a house fire. i do know my grandmothers side of family. there was my great grandfather who died a few months before i was born and my grandmother who had 14 children(one of them died while he was only months old). my grandparents were great!!! my grandpap and i spent summers camping. only one time did my grandma get mad at me(i deserved it). i'll never forget them summers at raystown lake.