My family was and is entirely respectable... at least those that lived long enough to breed.

Agincourt - One of my ancestors was there. He was one of the few English knights who didn't survive.

1635 - The ship Angel Gabriel arrives off Pemaquid, Maine (well, Massachusetts at the time), with three of my ancestors on board. Before their goods could be unloaded a hurricane sank the ship at anchor. Penniless in a strange land. Archaeologists are still looking for the wreck.

Colonial Connecticut - The Committee of Safety issued a summons for one of my ancestors recommending that he be arrested and hung from the nearest tree. We don't know who he pissed off or how.

Revolutionary War - An ancestor living in Quebec, Antoine LaChance, took advantage of an opportunity and joined the American army... under Benedict Arnold. He was there for the attack on Quebec City and made the long sad retreat back to the States.

War of 1812 - Cape Porpoise, Maine. A group of American soldiers on Goat Island are fired on by a British ship. Six dead including a Lt. Burnham.

American Civil War, Gettysburg - One ancestor was wounded by the rebels and then later that day by his own sergeant. At least he survived.

Modern times - One of my cousins has died in prison and several are unaccounted for.

So... at least I'm still breathing.