2019: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 6 (Surprise)

What surprises have I encountered during my genealogy research?

I have already written about the surprise I had (aka "skeleton in the closet") when I found the marriage registration for my great-grandparents, Tom Bates & Pearl Mumberson.  They were married in January 1905 and their eldest daughter, my grandmother Irene, was born in June of that year.

Although I was surprised about that discovery, as I had never heard of the timing (unlike great-grandparents on my father's side who never hid the fact that their first born was less than nine months after their marriage) my biggest surprise was the ethnicity of my father's side of the family.

I grew up hearing stories of male family members being active in the Orange Lodge (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) and they would attend the Orangeman Parades on July 12th each year.  My mother tells of a story that when she mentioned to a cousin of my father's that she had never attended such a parade, his response was that she should be ashamed to admit that.  He did not take into account that her heritage was German (Mennonite), although her mother's side was British.

The Allens were staunch Protestant English and proud of their heritage.  I would avoid wearing green on St. Patrick's Day with the arguement that I would then be obliged to wear orange on Orangeman Day.


I had also been told my one of my aunts that the Family Bible indicated that the family had sailed to Canada from Liverpool England in July 1831 and settled in the Mono Township area of Upper Canada.  So naturally I assumed that the Allens were English and when I started researching, I discounted Allens from Ireland.

Lo and behold, one evening when I was searching on the internet (back in the early days no less), I came across a tree which included my father as well as his siblings and parents.  Although there were some errors and missing information on that tree, there was enough consistencies for me to accept that this tree was part of mine and provided me with the names of my great-greatgrandfather's parents and siblings.  All I had known was that Robert Allen had sailed from Liverpool at the age of 6 with his family - but I never had details as to the other family members.

As with any tree I discover online, I use the information as hints to do my own research to prove, or disprove that information.  My research led me to online communication with a woman who was actively doing research with the Dufferin County Museum.  Although not related to the Allens, she warned me that there had been several Allen families in the Mono Township area - some Scottish, some Irish and she believed my Robert Allen was the son of the Margaret Buchanan, wife of William Allen, native of Ireland, buried in the St. John's Cemetery, 7th Line, Mono Township.  In a later discussion with my aunt, she gave the exact wording from the family bible, indicating that the family was from Armagh Ireland.

So in my mid-30's I was surprised to discover that I was Irish not English!