Stealth limey!

[muckefuck]

I've always described my ethnic heritage as 7/8ths German and 1/8th Irish--a mess of sauerkraut with a bit of potato. That was before the bored housewives of my generation caught the genealogy bug. First, I found that there is apparently more Weisswurst in that kraut than I would've guessed. (Both my paternal grandparents have Low Saxon names, so I assumed they were North Germans all the way back. Now I find the family tree is apparently lousy with Bavarians!) The latest surprising discovery is that there's also a sliver of roast beef in the mix.

According to my cousin in Oxnard (whose research I don't necessarily have full faith in, since she is just a beginner), my great-great-great-grandfather [i.e. father's mother's father's father] was actually born in County Durham in 1840 and came to Maryland twelve years later. This makes me really curious what young Thomas Rixham was up to during the War Between the States, being of perfect conscription age in a slave state forcibly held inside the Union. Also, both his father and his son were named "William", so I wonder if this may be where my paternal grandfather's name ultimately stems from; I'd always assumed it went back to a Prussian "Wilhelm".

So what to do with this newfound knowledge? I've already made the pilgrimage to Durham Cathedral, ignorant at the time that I was treading ancestral sod, so there's no hurry to get that done. Should I begin learning how to fry bacon floddies and singin' hinnies? Should I begin to feel a twinge of conflict on Fourth of July? Do I need to get me a bowler hat and a portrait of Gordon Brown suitable for hanging in my wood-panelled library?

Comments

[keyne.livejournal.com]

This makes me really curious what young Thomas Rixham was up to during the War Between the States, being of perfect conscription age in a slave state forcibly held inside the Union.

Fighting with the 5th Regiment, Maryland infantry, Company D, as a private. Assuming there wasn't another "Thomas W. Rixham" in Maryland, of course.

(He's on film M388, roll 10; see http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm for more. Also see http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/civil-war/, among other sources.)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

You know you are awesome, but it's not like it ever hurts to say that. An ancestor of mine--at Appomattox! (Assuming dysentery didn't get him first, that is.)

[keyne.livejournal.com]

You know you are awesome, but it's not like it ever hurts to say that.

No, it's really not. :-)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

My cousin just wrote back to say she found his name on the Veterans Schedule for Baltimore, MD. It makes mention of his widow, Mary, so it's almost certainly the same person. He apparently died in service, although it's not clear when. Go me! I had an ancestor in the Civil War! (And on the right side--whew!)

[innerdoggie.livejournal.com]

Very cool! You could write NARA for his service record, if you are interested.

[richardthinks.livejournal.com]

Should I begin to feel a twinge of conflict on Fourth of July? Do I need to get me a bowler hat and a portrait of Gordon Brown suitable for hanging in my wood-panelled library?

Erm, no. Especially not the latter. Maybe a Maggie Thatcher egg cup, so you can smash her head in each morning (still, I think, available via Private Eye). That and an air of slight wariness whenever you meet other English folks should do it. You might consider getting a football team to support; Wolverhampton Wanderers have one of the best names, but Newcastle are more successful. Best to avoid Man 'nited.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Q: What three English football teams have swear words in their names?
A: Arsenal, Scunthorpe and Manchester fucking United!

I do love "Wolverhampton Wanderers". I once completely impressed a Wulfrunian by recalling that name. (I can't remember if I later confessed I knew it solely because of a Monty Python skit or not.) But shouldn't I be rooting for the local side? What would that be, Durham City? Do I need to pick a Premier League team to root for as well?

[richardthinks.livejournal.com]

;) I don't think being strictly local is as important in footie as in rugby, for instance, but I fear you've pretty much exhausted my wisdom on the subject. Durham City seems a perfectly respectable and inoffensive side, but Sunderland sounds tougher, if it's working class props you're after.

Digging around

[(Anonymous)]

All very interesting...this site popped up when I was looking for information on Thomas Rixham but the one born in Rotherham not Durham...its fascinating how the internet can ease ones research or send you off at a tangent.
Peter Rixham