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Geek Culture / Family Search...

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Shadow Robert
21
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Joined: 22nd Sep 2002
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Posted: 5th Jul 2003 03:08
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has anyone ever just typed thier name into a search engine just to see if you'd get any hits?

now although i found quite a few with my own name, and my mom's name on them i also found alot of US records pertaining to others who share my family name ... now i figured that it is interesting to know there are actually others out there with the surname lettan - but i was flicking through and i what i discovered was quite interesting ... everyone who registered for residency within America over the past 200years have all been Germany in nationality, in particular west german.

This is very eery to me as my entire family on my fathers side is from west germany, a now gone country called prussia.
I read on and found some british port of call and residency papers, and i've found the same thing ... so i decided to run my fingers through a german database.

everysingle name that i could match going out of the country all came from west germany, and infact all within a 30mile radius of each other. (now this was getting kinda weird)

so i decided to do some more digging, now i can't pin point my actual family history (mainly because i don't know my grandfather or great grandparents names) ... but i have a feeling that my grandfather was named William, as there is only one name i could link up with what i know about my families history.

And even more interesting was that all of the lettans out of germany all seem to span back to a single family which dates back to 1786.
i've learnt more in the past hour about my families history trawling through databases and search engines than i've learn in the past 20years of my life.

i've found out that only a matter of 50years ago there were only 28 Lettans living worldwide, from the offspring trees i could gather this number is around 40 Lettans worldwide.
found alot of history about the origins of the family and what we were within Prussia which has kinda put a proud smile on my face, but it is just amazing how much information there was - and i'd never have though there were so many Lettan's as i'd grown up being told that our line was the last to bare the name Lettan, and in the UK we are... the rest actually died in the war without children, with the exception of my grandfather, but i'm not sure what happened to him.

I have a feeling that this will have to be looked up further as i want to track down exactly how many people there are and if they're all actually members of the same family once upon a time... but something i've noticed is all of the Lettan men seem to have consigned at one point or another to one of the armed forces for the nation they live within... might not seem like much, but i've always felt born to fight, probably would still be in the RAF if it weren't for my attitude.

just wondered if anyone else has done this and just discovered things that just have amazed you.
http://members.lycos.co.uk/timesaga/p.gif[/img]
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andrew11
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Location: United States
Posted: 5th Jul 2003 04:31 Edited at: 5th Jul 2003 04:31
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Yes, I've done it many times. I found a company, a basketball player, an astronaut (whom I later met) , a restraunt, etc. It's weird, because my last name isn't that common either.

"All programmers are playwrites and all computers are lousy actors" -Anon
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Solidz Snake
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Joined: 23rd Oct 2002
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 5th Jul 2003 06:01
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My grandad kept a nice copy of our family tree (which each of my aunts, uncles & my parents photostat), and i was originated waaaaaay back (5 times great grandparents) to India (pure Indian) & Mainland China (pure Chinese)


Classic luv story

Snake? What happened? Snake? Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!! - Colonel Roy Campbell

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Ian T
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Posted: 5th Jul 2003 06:02
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'has anyone ever just typed thier name into a search engine just to see if you'd get any hits?'

My parents started their own family name. I've done it a few times, and there a couple hits-- a thing or two my dad worked on that he got credited for, and a couple bunches of random blathering where the word happened to turn up in the writer's clearly drug-induced mind. But really, my record is pretty clear, which I like...

I know quite a bit about my ancestors however . We've traced the family tree back completely 3-4 generations before loosing track of things, but even then we've got a pretty good idea of who was who, back to colonial times.

--Mouse

Famous Fighting Furball
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Martyn Pittuck
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Posted: 5th Jul 2003 13:58
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my relative is a contender in the worlds strongest man competition, never met him though

Web Design Starting from $200. Special limited offer. MSN or Email me for more information.
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Eric T
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Posted: 5th Jul 2003 15:28
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Well i found out yesterday that I actually have 1/32 British in me(don't know how in the hell that happened) then the rest is Italian and Irish And a wee bit of Japanese somewhere deep inside.

Opinions are like a$$holes, Everybody has one.
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Nilrem
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Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 5th Jul 2003 15:41
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Hello my name is David Gorman.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
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Dave J
Retired Moderator
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Location: Secret Military Pub, Down Under
Posted: 5th Jul 2003 16:37
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Oh my god, I'm a Lettan too!!!!

"Computers are useless they can only give you answers."
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 5th Jul 2003 20:01
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seriously?!

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Kangaroo2
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Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 02:15
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Dave Gorman = Genius Have you read the book??

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes, They got them hoppy legs & twitchy little noses,
And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?
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Solidz Snake
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 02:39
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wooo Raven, ur tree went branching out all the way to Downunder

Snake? What happened? Snake? Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!! - Colonel Roy Campbell

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Shadow Robert
21
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 07:55
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lol... yeah question would be is, is his name Lettan a decendant of the Prussian Lettou or was it changed to that

we've got a kinda awesome history, our family was like the Royal bodyguards ... we all grew up with a single job, to protect the Royal family
would explain why we seem to all have a calling to be service men.

but still to me that just sounds like the most awesome life EVER, born to become a knight, trained to guard royalty hehee.
there was a corruption in the family around 1540-ish ... something happened that split the family into 2, one became the Lettan's and the other became the Toudan's

i've still got alot of try and find and read up on, but it seemed that one brother tried to kill the king and take the thrown and the other well did his job... but rather than killing his own brother he let them go, though after that they were classed as traitors.
I'm still trying to find the family crest, doesn't seem to be logged anywhere ... was at the library for almost 4hours trying to find a book about it, but i might need one closer to home.

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Arrow
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Location: United States
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 09:03
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When I checked ou my name I got a few people with some good careers (Scientologist, Program Director for the Institute for Ergonomics, GeneMachines' Vice President), a bunch from backwater town, and a whole bunch of Unix websites. It seams my last name is a command in the Unix File System, yeah us. I also stubled across my own name in a old yahoo group for fan of the old 1982 classic "The Dark Crystal", I haven't been their since high school.

Teenage Male Geek + Female Remotly Intersted in Common Geek Activities = Teenage Male Jackass
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Dave J
Retired Moderator
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Location: Secret Military Pub, Down Under
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 09:17
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Quote: "seriously?!
"


no... lol

My surname is actually Johnson, maybe I'm a distant relative of Mike O_o - Then again, Johnson isn't an uncommon name lol.

"Computers are useless they can only give you answers."
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Damokles
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Location: Belgium
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 14:07
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I kinda knew how much things would come out of such a search : My family-name only exists since 46 years. There is only my dad, my uncle, some cousins and my brother called like me.
That's what I found : 2 entries, all made by myself.

"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop." - Lewis Carroll
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 15:38
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if your name is only 46years old then perhaps you should ask your dad what your families original name was.

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empty
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Location: 3 boats down from the candy
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 19:09 Edited at: 6th Jul 2003 19:09
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One question:
How can Lettan's roots be west German (as you've stated) when your forefathers were bodyguards of the Prussian monarchy?

I awoke in a fever. The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat.
She said "You've been having a nightmare and it's not over yet"
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ReD_eYe
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 19:20
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prussia=west germany i think???

hi guys
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empty
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Location: 3 boats down from the candy
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 19:28 Edited at: 6th Jul 2003 19:29
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Nope.
Prussia = East Germany, at least at the time Raven mentioned.
Although it had enclaves in the western part of Germany the residences of the leaders were in the eastern part (Berlin & Potsdam)

I awoke in a fever. The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat.
She said "You've been having a nightmare and it's not over yet"
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Kentaree
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Location: Clonmel, Ireland
Posted: 6th Jul 2003 19:48
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Somewhere down the line, I have a Russian and a Gypsy in my family. Never really bothered to find out more about that, though it might be fun.

Whatever I did I didn't do it!
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Damokles
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 20:28 Edited at: 6th Jul 2003 20:29
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Quote: "if your name is only 46years old then perhaps you should ask your dad what your families original name was."

I don't think it's necessary ... I know the original name. I even know why the name changed : when my granpa entered in Belgium, some guy at the administration made a mistake while writing down our name.

Between, Prussia (Preußen in German) was the former name of Germany (but the country didn't look like now (they got some new territories since then and lost other ones)

"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop." - Lewis Carroll
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empty
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 20:43
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Quote: "
Between, Prussia (Preußen in German) was the former name of Germany (but the country didn't look like now (they got some new territories since then and lost other ones)
"

That's not quite correct.
Between 14?? and 1806 most of today's German territory (and more) was called the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. It was a (not very tight) union of several countries. Then it was dissolved by Napoleon I. After that there was the "German Empire" (Deutsches Reich) (1871-1918), wich was led by Prussian kings.

I awoke in a fever. The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat.
She said "You've been having a nightmare and it's not over yet"
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Mattman
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 21:07
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apparantly, i was in the Off-Camber Crawlers Four Wheel Drive Club in 1985, which was before i was born!!! here is their logo:


---Mattman
DID YOU KNOW THAT ???
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Damokles
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 23:17
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Well, empty. I suppose that this site will help most of interested people : [href]www.preussen-chronik.de[/href]

"Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop." - Lewis Carroll
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empty
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 23:34
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Yes.
And a brief history until 1740 in English:
http://expert.ics.purdue.edu/~mbishop/frames/prusshist.html

I awoke in a fever. The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat.
She said "You've been having a nightmare and it's not over yet"
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Hamish McHaggis
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 23:34
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Ha Ha! I have won a nobel prize for physics, I'm an Austrailian cricketer, I'm a newspaper from 1818 and I'm a scottish explorer in Africa! Wow, I'm pretty famous!

cuRant PRogekt: a three-de map editer
Why the hell'd you ask me for crying out loud!?!
Athelon XP 1400 Plus - Nvidia Geforce MX400 - 256mb RAM
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 6th Jul 2003 23:54
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ya know i really hate padantic assholes who come in just to be so anal retentive about everything.

i'm happy with what i've learnt, but noooo - some people have to come in and think they know better and sit there and be all like "well actually... blah blah"

if i wanted you help looking into my history i would've asked for it, if you want to be some wiseass there is a button which returns you to the main forum... USE IT!
i want to find this information out all on my own, i was pretty happy with what i'd found ... just to have some smug bastard be like "oh well thats wrong, this and this is right."

kiss my ass and get out of my thread

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Ian T
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 08:28
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Oooopsie, Raven. Are we being a little bit of a hypocrite? I seem to remember a time where you said something very like 'Nope, I'm not leaving, it's your fault for bringing it up.'

What the hell makes you think anyone should treat you better than you treat them? I'm not standing for people taking a thread offtopic, but you seriously need to put things into perspective.

--Mouse

Famous Fighting Furball
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 09:01
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mouse there is a big difference between standing up for something you believe in and then trying to discredit and insult what someone has found out about thier own family.

ya know - it is one think to argue a point with someone, its another thing to take something he was proud to actually have found out snap it in two then kick him whilst he's down.

i mean christ i might be an evil about everything all the time, but even in being evil i have honour and respect for what i do and say.
this is just like some ass in the street comming upto you and going "your momma is so fat... blah blah" ya know - who cares if what they say is true or isn't true, there are limits.

and a good few just don't have respect for them around here.

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Dave J
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 12:53
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Quote: "Ha Ha! I have won a nobel prize for physics, I'm an Austrailian cricketer, I'm a newspaper from 1818 and I'm a scottish explorer in Africa! Wow, I'm pretty famous!"


It's Australian

"Computers are useless they can only give you answers."
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empty
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Location: 3 boats down from the candy
Posted: 7th Jul 2003 13:20
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Quote: "
i mean christ i might be an evil about everything all the time, but even in being evil i have honour and respect for what i do and say.
"

It's not a question of evil and honour, it's a question of misinformation and lack of information.
And trying to argue your point even though your're obviously completely wrong is not evil, that's simply... funny.

I awoke in a fever. The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat.
She said "You've been having a nightmare and it's not over yet"
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 13:35
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Quote: "It's not a question of evil and honour, it's a question of misinformation and lack of information. "


its information that i have the right to find out on my own... NOT form some wiseass who isn't putting information across to aid in my search but just to have another oppertunity to "show up Raven"
thats all this is ever about with guys like you... just to show up and look like someone with all the knowlage and facts which you want to portray to everyone else because you think somehow because you can open a book that suddenly your the leading authority on the matter... when really your only goal is to show someone else up to make youself look big and important.

sick'n'tired of the small minded people like you.
your not content with people being happy unless your happy... so you've gotta intervene in a way that you come out by destorying what they're all happy about.

this may just be a fact of me having my east<->west mixxed up, but really i don't give a crap ... there was no call for how you put across the information you did in the way you did.

just get the f*** out of my thread and stay out

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empty
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 14:03
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Quote: "
because you can open a book that suddenly your the leading authority on the matter
"

Yeah I confess, I can open a book and I can read, great isn't it? Something you often refuse to do.

Quote: "
when really your only goal is to show someone else up to make youself look big and important.
"

Nah, I'm not big or important (that's what most of us here have in common)

Quote: "
your not content with people being happy unless your happy... so you've gotta intervene in a way that you come out by destorying what they're all happy about.
"

I am happy. And I was happy before this thread. And what did I destroy?

Quote: "
how you put across the information you did in the way you did.
"

And what exactly was wrong with the way I put it across. It was a question, wasn't it?

I awoke in a fever. The bedclothes were all soaked in sweat.
She said "You've been having a nightmare and it's not over yet"
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adr
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 14:14 Edited at: 7th Jul 2003 14:16
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I haven't done a search, but I'm pretty sure of the family history on my mother's side. We've got this crazy family tree which dates back to Azerbaijan/Russia in the 1600s. Our ancesters were given a Coat of Arms by the king, which kinda rules.

Since both my grandparents were Polish, I've grown up with a taste for all their crazy cuisine - I'm the only person I know who likes gherkins out of the jar.

Still can't speak a word of the language tho.

Bender:Blackmail’s such an ugly word. I prefer extortion. The x makes it sound cool.
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Kanzure
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 17:34
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Hmm..This relates to *MY* family tree search.

Not too long ago (okay..4 weeks..long time ago) I came back from vacation after almost (keyword: ALMOST) going to a family reunion, and I wanted to just do a small summer project. So I looked up my grandfather, and started my family tree..in MS paint. Baaad...Well in 2 days I found an ancestor from 1396, and also their parents (but I don't have dates @_@)...w00t w00t! Err..now to document all the lines going DOWN the family tree ^_^.

~Morph/Kanzure
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CrayZemon
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Posted: 7th Jul 2003 19:26
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Holy Moly - I got a truckload of results.
Even my full name with correct middle initial is in some sort of Software Design Corp. Then there's the radio hosts, the business managers and some leathery guitarist and (rambles on)...

"I need gopher-chucks!!"
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Shadow Robert
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Posted: 8th Jul 2003 02:05
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(^_^) thats cool Shizzle ... ya know i kinda like the Russian, i mean thier portrayal in life and in history are just so different.
and i just love the russian girl's accent (hehee)

i'd love to have some ancestors from there, but both sides of my families have pretty clean cut histories after a point.
just seemed that in the last 2 centuries everyone got bored of living in the same area ... my moms side dates to pure Irish which only 3 generations ago was crossed with english, last generation (my moms) came from wales, a great great uncle was from scotland.
but the line is pretty clear.

they were Irish Pirates too (of all things) ... bad pirates, but priates none the less
my dads generation is the first english on that side too. Really got more English in me than anything else... the english roots arn't anything special at all, pretty boring but all the men as far back as you can go were naval men

its so weird, my family has such a hisotry with being in the armed forces, and fighting for a country. me, my brothers and sister are the first generation not to actually continue that - i've tried and my youngest brother might take a tour with the army ... but so far not really served yet.

as for empty - i told you get out, stay out!

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Kentaree
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Posted: 8th Jul 2003 02:23
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Hey, something else I found out about my Gypsy (Romani) side of the family, they were supposed to be psychics, and supposedly my uncle was somewhat psychic aswell, because of our ancestors.
I'm just psycho, prolly nothing to do with my ancestry

Whatever I did I didn't do it!
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Ian T
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Posted: 8th Jul 2003 19:07 Edited at: 8th Jul 2003 19:08
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'psychics,'

Psi-Chic? lol, funny name for a profession

--Mouse

Famous Fighting Furball
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Kentaree
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Posted: 8th Jul 2003 19:23
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Or a game
Psi-chicks : You control a bunch of psychic chickens to escape becoming someone's dinner!
lol, cool idea actually, it could be turned into a funny game.

Whatever I did I didn't do it!
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Nilrem
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Posted: 9th Jul 2003 12:43
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No I haven't Sam, is it good? I just pi$$ed myself everynight that show was on.

Hello my name.. is David Gorman

8-P Sheer briliance.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
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