Guilt or pride in your ancestors

[screwlooose]

I have felt a huge slice of guilt. I was happily following my tree when one day i typed a name in the old bailey records and my Great Grandfather popped up. He had been charged with manslaughter.
Firstly he married on xmas eve, he was 18, his wife about 62! (go figure, she wasn't rich). They didn't live together, but decided to adopt a child from a newspaper add, i believe it was common in the1800's. Short story is that the child starved to death whilst in his wifes care. The child was 4. She was found guilty and given 6 weeks hard labour. He got off as he didn't live with them.
I have tried to find the mother and have traced her to a Birmingham workhouse, but her name was fairly common and i am unable to find if she eventually married. I have poor Ediths birth cert and her death cert, even her burial record, but wouldn't it be great to find some half decendants that you could at least say sorry too.
My way of saying sorry is to know that she wasn't forgotten, although she wasn't strictly family, she is part of my tree and sits on my wall along with my other decendants. Some lives were so sad.

[Barb Hafslund]

How very sad, screwloose. But I don't understand to be honest. Those people were a product of their times and it's only thanks to education that times and conditions have changed for us. And when you look at at what is happening worldwide nowadays one has to wonder if the education is still lacking somewhere! I'm guessing that in another 100 yrs people will look back on our lives and choices we took and shake their heads too.
The way I look at it when I examine my ancestors is that I was raised in far better circumstances and surroundings and they had to deal with a far harder reality. I'm pretty darned sure I would never have survived long in their times.
Barb Hafslund
Brisbane, Australia
barbh42@bigpond.com

I have felt a huge slice of guilt. I was happily following my tree when one day i typed a name in the old bailey records and my Great Grandfather popped up. He had been charged with manslaughter.
Firstly he married on xmas eve, he was 18, his wife about 62! (go figure, she wasn't rich). They didn't live together, but decided to adopt a child from a newspaper add, i believe it was common in the1800's. Short story is that the child starved to death whilst in his wifes care. The child was 4. She was found guilty and given 6 weeks hard labour. He got off as he didn't live with them.
I have tried to find the mother and have traced her to a Birmingham workhouse, but her name was fairly common and i am unable to find if she eventually married. I have poor Ediths birth cert and her death cert, even her burial record, but wouldn't it be great to find some half decendants that you could at least say sorry too.
My way of saying sorry is to know that she wasn't forgotten, although she wasn't strictly family, she is part of my tree and sits on my wall along with my other decendants. Some lives were so sad.

[lilyrichard]

Really nice discussion to share in this post.
Thanks