As in many families there are a number of stories about the families past that have been past from generation to generation and each time they are told they are embellished upon and improved to make them more interesting. Some stories are complete lies told to cover up the truth of an embarrassing event that would be preferred to be forgotten.

Just like Chinese Whispers, the end result is often unlike the original and any remaining truth is so shrouded in lies and embellishment it is lost.  This does not make a story any less fun when told, but should perhaps be taken as entertainment rather than what really happened.  I thought that it would be interesting to share a couple of such stories from my own families past.
 

The Story

The first such story is what my mother was told about her father.  Since he died when she was 6 years old she has few memories of him, so what she was told about him was perhaps to help her cope with growing up without a father.  My mother was told that he was a celebrated and decorated war hero of World War II and was made an officer of high rank during his service in India, before the war.  It is also said that he was a soldier of amazing quality.

The Reality

This was a comforting story, I am sure.  However looking at his military history , he was not an entirely exemplary soldier, found guilty of desertion in the early 1920's and was court marshalled for the same offence again in 1941.  Having said that, the rest of his career was marked with praise and he left the Army with an Honourable Discharge with good references from his commanding officer. He was certainly given a medal for bravery in W.W.II,  the Belgium Croix de Guerre, but research shows that this was a medal given to the regiment as apposed to him as an individual, for actions taken to just prior to Dunkirik for assisting Dutch and Flemmish troops retreat from the advancing German Army.. He joined the Army at the rank of Private, but shortly before going out to serve in India he was granted the rank of Bombardier, which is equivalent to a Corporal, so not an officer.  During his service in India he did serve as an N. C. O. (Non Commissioned Officer), but he retained the rank of Bombardier.  At the end of 1939 for two months he was given the rank of Sergeant, but he was returned to the rank of Bombardier for what his records describe as neglect to the regiment.  This all means he was given responsibilities over other soldiers, but was never a real officer.

The Story

This is a story passed from father to son through the generations of the Lancaster line of the family.  Since the times of the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York, for the crown of England, the monarch has been of direct relation to the last, starting with Henry Tudor, Henry VII, who was a cousin of Henry VI of the House of Lancaster. The story goes that as Lancaster's, we are descendants of the House of Lancaster and are therefore related to, all be it distant, Queen Elizabeth II and her family.

The Reality

To be honest, that is what this research is all about, to prove or dis-prove once and for all that this is true.  We certainly share the same name, Lancaster, but then many people took there surname from the place they were from so it could also be that we are just ancestors of someone from that part of England.  William the conqueror was the first King the install a Duke of Lancaster in 1066, though it was some of his descendants that were to be involved with the Wars of the Roses, many of them just disappear into obscurity, leaving a third possibility. We remain open minded over this subject, but with such a thought of possible power in our minds, we remain hopeful that this is a story with great truth to it.

The third story, like the last is another of wishful thinking.

The Story

James Lancaster is known to have married a Mary Hogarth in 1845.  Legend has it that Mary was the daughter of the famous painter William Hogarth.

The Reality

There are two main problems with this story, the first being that Mary was born about 100 years after William Hogarth died and on James and Mary's marriage certificate, her father is listed as George Hogarth.  Everyone would like to think they have some sort of association with someone famous, most do not, the possibility is there that there is some sort of family link which we are still looking for, however we have proved with out a doubt that he was not her father.