Murders,Prostitutes and Theives OH MY!...... Coming to terms with the dark side of your family tree.....

If you dig deep enough in your family history you may find that not all of your ancestors have been good people.  They most likely are not all Knights in Shining armor rescuing damsels in distress.
At some point you are going to find the skeletons of your family tree.  Those people who for whatever reason chose to do things that were not considered good.

Many people would like to be related to Royalty.  Here is King Charles the Second of England, Scotland, and Ireland.  And being related to him to some might be wonderful, but King Charles the Second had many mistresses, and so many who are related to him were actually related by being from the wrong side of the sheets so to speak.  And that is where I've found some very interesting family  history the past few weeks. One of my husbands ancestors was related to King Charles the Second through his son from a mistress.  In fact I have recently found a whole line of women who were the mistresses of nobility.

Here is a picture his illegitimate son the Duke of Lennox.  He also had mistresses.  I think it was very common back in their time for the royalty to have affairs. A good friend said its very much like the rich and famous of our time.  I used to like to read regency romance novels, and it seems that time period was full of men with more than one woman. I always wonder why it's OK for the men, but not for the women. There are a lot of interesting articles about The Duke of Lennox. .With all my romance novel reading, I've always wanted to meet a duke or be related to one so this find in our family history has been fun. For me it's like reading a romance novel that has gone wild.

Here is the notorious mistress Renee de  Penacort de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. I have found many articles about these women.  And one interesting thing is that their daughters would also take up the trade of being a mistress. Some of them were opera singers too... (So like the romance novels, all the mistresses were opera singers.)  I think being a woman back in her time would have been hard.  There wasn't much women were allowed to do so you either got married, worked as a servant, or like these women used their bodies to obtain money and security.
As you trace your family history you may also find that someone in your family has murdered someone else.  I have found a few in my line.  I found out about one such murder because the persons grandchildren were living with them while their mother served time for killing their father.
You may also find a few thieves in your family tree too. While it has never been proved, or even speculated by others, I believe my husbands ancestor "Thomas Bowlby" who was the first known Bowlby to come to America took the lands of his deceased father in law.  It ended up good for him, but not so good for the niece who was supposed to be in control of the land.  Again woman didn't have as many rights back in the 1700's.
So should you be embarrassed by these skeletons in your family tree?  Should you do their temple work?  That was the question I had when I found this line of ancestors.  My new friend who is serving a mission at the Family History library helped me out.  She said that we should not judge our ancestors.  We do not know all the situations that led up to their short comings.  She said that as long as we know that the information on them is accurate we should submit their names.  Leave the judgment up to Heavenly Father.  I have to say that all the Murders, Prostitution, and theft found in my family tree makes it interesting, allows me to learn about others and their lives and makes me grateful that despite it all I'm here and choosing a good path.

" I am satisfied that when persons go into these temples, they do not [leave] without feeling better and with a determination in their minds to do a little better than they have done.  That is the feeling we want the Saints to get..." Lorenzo Snow.
My family is doing well.  My daughter is off to camp for the week, my hours have been cut at the garden center to two days a week.  Which is good.  It was getting to be a bit too much.  And I was lamenting the fact that I wanted to spend more time with my children.  So I still get my garden center fix, but more time with the children.  Plus I have projects I want to work on.
I have read a few books lately about the power of positive thought and Gratitude.  I will be sharing more on them and my new out look on life soon.  One thing that I'm going to start with my blog is a vision section.  Like a vision board.  I have a few things I want to put on it,  First a trip to Scotland, second finishing the book I've been trying to write, and third figuring out what my dream job is.  One thing I have been focusing on over the last week has been being thankful.  It has really been interesting to find things everyday to be thankful for.  What I have found is that I'm noticing how much people thank me for things I do.  I hadn't noticed that before.  It has made my night job a bit more pleasant to be at.
Well I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.  Let me know if you have any interesting skeletons in your family tree.
G.G.