There’s an old story in my family from the 1800s that one of our ancestors who lived in Canada left the family home on horseback to go into town to take care of some business and never returned. He just vanished without a trace.
Was he robbed and killed? Or maybe he wanted to disappear and start a new life elsewhere? We’ll never know, but it’s an unsolved mystery that my ancestors have talked about for generations.
Folks on Twitter shared the interesting stories from their family’s history and I think some of these people need to put pen to paper soon and write some books.
Let’s take a look.
1. A real lifesaver.
My papa saved someone on the side of the highway while working the "worst accident of his career" as a police officer.
A young girl had her wind pipe collapsed. He used a pen to keep her "breathing" till paramedics got there.
She later graduated college with my mom.
— Witchy Riley ♿ ♋♋♋ (@WittyApothecary) January 21, 2020
2. Trail of Tears.
My Grandma Susanna survived walking the Trail of Tears with her new husband and their baby. Thank you, Grandma. Yakoke, anpokni. Chi hullo li.
— Hoshonti ?️ Honayo (@BeChoctaw) January 22, 2020
3. That is amazing.
I've told this story before, but, when Reagan cut 40K fed gov. jobs my mom was tasked with getting rid of all "non-essential positions" in her division. She promoted everyone in her office in rank, and then made her own position "non-essential" and took early retirement. Baller. https://t.co/1QAYuy0Rlh
— This handle kills fascist rats (@BethLynch2020) January 24, 2020
4. A true artist.
An uncle of my grandfather sculpted the statue of the Holy Family of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (his name was Jaume Busquets) pic.twitter.com/REL19E75Bk
— Pere Busquets ✝ (@Pedri_009) January 22, 2020
5. Don’t mess with this guy.
One of my grandfathers killed a bear with a hammer
— Dr. Ol' Greggorvski, MD (@Gregorvski) January 23, 2020
6. A harrowing tale.
My great grandma survived the Armenian Genocide. Walked thousands of miles through the desert as a teenager with her dead baby brother on his back hoping he'd "wake up" eventually (didn't happen). Dressed as a boy to avoid being taken as sex slave by turkish officials. Etc
— Shawarman ?? (@Armo_007) January 22, 2020
7. Never backed down.
My aunt fought for accessibility in the 80s/90s. She used a wheelchair as a mobility aide and would chain herself to inaccessible public busses. One time she was arrested for this, the cops were unable to transport her chair and were forced to let her go. She never backed down. pic.twitter.com/G7cH9ZJBs8
— ✨emily d'internet✨ (@emilyherself) January 23, 2020
8. He told the world.
My grandfather smuggled a camera into a WWII concentration camp to document life as a prisoner. https://t.co/vM3XScbuxQ
— Mark Takahashi (@Mark_Takahashi) January 23, 2020
9. American hero!
Grandfather was a Red Tail. pic.twitter.com/UMp1SKKyzk
— Jimmy Dozier (@Caldera2700) January 23, 2020
10. A life well-lived.
On my mom’s side of the family, we have the oldest black owned business in the state of Mississippi still to this day and family run. My grandfather was in the Battle of the Bulge and Obama sent him a message on his 90th birthday.
— Black Women Lead…Period. (@BlackWomenLead_) January 23, 2020
11. Trailblazer for women.
This woman right here. Victoria Claflin Woodhull. Ran for POTUS in 1872 with Fredrick Douglass as her VP. Huge figure in the suffrage movement. Promoted independence for women in their marriages. Advocate for sexual freedom and human rights. pic.twitter.com/x9hMaEnqeF
— Holly Holly Oxford Comma (@mamaschriefer) January 25, 2020
12. Congrats to her!
My mom is the first Black Woman to ever graduate from her law school. pic.twitter.com/k1GHi8oMah
— The Poindexter (@Putney_Kotto) January 24, 2020
Those stories are very interesting, no doubt about that.
How about you? Do you have some fascinating tales from your family’s past?
Tell us about them in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!