Who are you related to? Any Musicians?

Subject: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 01:52 PM

Yes, you're right. Since I've started about five threads in the last two weeks (just out of general springtime curiosity), I threw in the "Any Musicians?" bit to keep myself on the straight and narrow.

I have to admit the thread about "ego surfing" has really got me thinking. Has anyone discovered relatives, famous ancestors, INfamous ancestors, or just interesting family things strictly through the internet. You know, on those long long nights when you can't sleep, you've exhausted Mudcat, you're "all porned out", and you're sick of being asked "are you Yahooed?"

I've discovered a family connection with Henry Fielding and (because of it) a slight connection to Charles Dickens. I found that my great great Grandfather was a pretty high ranking Mason, and that on my Mother's side if you go back a bit you'll find a couple of Irish politicians. Gawd! I've dragged the family name down quite a few notches!

Also that my father-in-law was an inventor, footballer, and seemingly VERY modest about his accomplishments.

Any personal discoveries?

Rick

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Matt_R
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 02:16 PM

My uncle is Joe Soprani, the accordion player. He won the U.S. accordion championship, and came in second in the World accordion championship (should have won first!). He's played with everyone from Jon Bon Jovi (he said Jon's a great guy) to Pavarotti (he said Pav's a "pompous ass").

A personal discovery I made was that the tiny town of Castelvetere Sul Calore, in the mountains near Naples, was where my great grandparents came from before immigrating to the U.S., and that the village was settled in 1000 A.D. by Longobard tribes. It was also the scene of many medieval feudal conflicts.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 02:41 PM

My great-grandfather was a well known Swedish composer who came to the US where he headed up the Northwestern University Music Department. My father's uncle was president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association early on, did the brain surgery that saved the life of Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff Richard Elrod, and was a pal of Mayor Daley's (the elder). My father's cousin is a well known french horn player who had been (and maybe still is) in the CSO and has recorded solo. All these I already knew.

What I did not know was that a one-page article I wrote as a sort of infomercial when I was an in-house technical and copy writer for a local company is listed under my name as a publication. I had no idea I had a credit out there as a "published" writer until Amos suggested I look myself up!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 02:49 PM

Rick, maybe you know already, but Henry Fielding, the novelist, ("Tom Jones") was also the "Lord Fielding" referred to in the Irish song "The Newry Highwayman".

Murray

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Matt_R
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 03:22 PM

Oh yes, I should have said that my Uncle Joe's sister Phylis's daughter is married to Jon Bon Jovi's manager. Not directly related, but so much a friend of the family, he feels like a relative.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: kendall
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 03:55 PM

Samuel F.B.Morse and I have a common ancestor...Homo Erectus. Matt, how and why did an accordion player meet Pavarotti?

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,#1
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 04:05 PM

Uncle Roy was in an army divisional band in WWI, and later marched with his trombone under John Phillip Sousa. Later yet he concentrated on cello (and his hours and hours of practicing just about drove us nuts). To a lesser extent he played on some other instruments. I never saw him play the violin his father (my grandfather) made for him. I have the one grandfather made for my mother, and Uncle Roy's accordion.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Bert
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 04:24 PM

Are you sure that was Homo "Erectus", Kendall?

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Ickle Dorritt
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 04:33 PM

Father's side - Thomas Arne (who wrote Rule Brittania ) and Thomas Fairfax who was Lord Chancellor in Cromwell's time. Also very distantly through marraige an actress called Hazel Court who was in a lot of Hammer Horror stuff. Mother's side -the guy who invented the Windsor chair. As I think I've said before- where did all the money go????

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,frug
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 04:44 PM

My sister used to go out with Tony Blairs Father in law. Does this count as Tony Blair once played in a band?

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 04:46 PM

I did NOT, Murray. Thank you. Sheesh, being related to a folksong IS good.

However, I've found out something else... My great grandmother was a Coleman...connected to the Mustard people. So as Ickle says "where's the money"?

Rick

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Paul Mitchell
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 04:48 PM

My father was Geoff Crawte and played in a band called "The Moggies". Not very famous, but well impressive to me.

Paul, doesn't know how to reset a cookie, Mitchell (Crawte)

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Don Firth
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 05:01 PM

My nephew (my older sister's son), Robby Baker, is the lead guitarist with the Tragically Hip. For non-Canadians, the Tragically Hip is a blues influenced rock group formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1983. They subsequently became hugely popular in Canada, and have won about eleventy-fourteen Juno awards. They have a batch of CDs out, including such things as "Road Apples" and "Trouble at the Henhouse." So far, the U. S. charts have pretty much ignored them, despite their very large following in the States. Rob is the tall bloke with the long hair.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Mike Regenstreif
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 05:05 PM

John Gates (his real last name was Regenstreif) was my grandfather's cousin. He was a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who later became the editor of the Daily Worker and ultimately led the walkout from the American Communist Party in 1957 following the revelation of Stalin's history of attrocities.

I never met John Gates but have heard about him from Pete Seeger and Irwin Silber, who both know him. I also came across a reference to him in one of Woody Guthrie's writings.

Mike Regenstreif

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Bert
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 05:40 PM

Nope, all my family come from the working class East End of London where fame and fortune rarely strike.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Matt_R
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 05:41 PM

Kendall, Pavarotti was doing a concert of Neapolitan songs...which also happen to be the songs of my family. My Uncle Joe was playing the accordion accompaniament to them.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Peter T.
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 05:59 PM

My first cousin is the great countertenor singer, James Bowman. He belonged many years ago to David Munrow's Early Music Consort, which is how I got introduced to really, really, early folk music 30 years ago.

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 06:05 PM

Fine Bert. But how many were "transported" for stealing loaves of bread? Maybe there's an Ozzie sheep Millionaire in your background.

Rick

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: kendall
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 06:09 PM

It's hard for me to picture Pavarotti in the same room with an accordion!

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 06:17 PM

Paul, read the FAQ on resetting cookie.

~S~

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: harpgirl
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 06:59 PM

...my brother's wife is a distant relative of Edgar Allen Poe. We are for sure about it because she inherited two thousand dollars from his estate! Does that count? hg

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Justa Picker
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 07:09 PM

I'm firmly convinced that my parents have lied to me all these years, and that either Bill Monroe or David Crosby was my biological father.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Hawker
Date: 03 Apr 01 - 07:30 PM

My Father's Mother's Father (my great Grandfather) was a Burns, my father's cousin has traced the family tree back and Lo! I am descended from the great Robert Burns Himself! My maternal grandfather was a pretty good banjo (tenor) and fiddle player too
Lucy

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Callie at work
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 12:10 AM

I have an unusual surname and through the internet found someone with the same surname in Italy who is a jockey. He just got suspended for a year for doing something or other.

And the musical connection? He plays the horses, of course!

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 12:55 AM

My great-granddad engineered the railroad bed in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. My great-grandma did laundry for and fed the infamous Cottrell or was it Butch and Sundance, will have to ask dad, as she lived in the country they used to haunt in NW Colorado.

My dad was one of the ones who designed and built the first skilift on Copper Mtn, Colorado, during WWII.

My great-uncle was some bigwig engineering professor at Ann Arbor.

I am working on proving the connection dad and other relatives claim to Robert the Bruce and Rob Roy.

On my mom's side, some ancient was a bigwig in the Bahamas before being named the first governor of the Carolinas under King George what number was it?

My mom's brother wrote some famous jazz tune in the 1930's which he sold for $100 and drank.

My granddad was an original partner with J.C. Penney, but sold out early, darn it!

And, I've never been able to find a connection with Rog's family and the American LaFrance fire engines, or I WOULD go find the money!

They have all been musicians, just never famous, much to my brother, the composer's dismay.**BG**

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: MARINER
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 12:59 AM

My Mother's brother was All Ireland accordian champion in 1957, he recorded 4 singles as a soloist and also some as a member of a band.His musicianship is now becoming appreciatd by a wider audience, years after his death. My cousin was leader of the band "Cry Before Dawn" and later became half of the duo "The Wild Swans", then "The Swans" who had one of the biggest selling Irish produced singles of all time called "Dancing at the Crossroads". They are now known as "Bell and Wade".

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From:
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 02:36 AM

I am supposedly related to Bat Masterson...at least my father was quite convinced we were. mg

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Sorcha
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 02:58 AM

Nobody interesting except Ulysses Simson (S.) Grant. No, there is no "p" in the name. He was my grandmother's first cousin........but I went to Abilene, KS for Dwight D. Eishenowers' funeral........does that count? I got to see Omar Bradley, Montgomery, and others.....I was little, but I remember it well.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 02:59 AM

My kid is a punk rocker.

Actually, I AM quite impressed. My son Nic is well-known as a musician in Sacramento. He and his band moved to Brooklyn a couple of months ago, and they're trying to make a go of it as professional musicians. They even have a contract.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: DougR
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 03:04 AM

No famous musicians in our family history, as far as I know, Rick, but in researching the Richards family I did find an oral history written by a relative in 1935. Phillip Wade Hampton Richards wrote, "Some have said that a Richards generation that did not have a Jim, John or Charles in it, and could not trot out a Fiddler, were not our kin."

DougR

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Sorcha
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 03:22 AM

I suspect if you ever run across an "Evert" spelled that way rather than "Ebert" or "Everette" he will be related to me. "Evert" is English, and the family name is Green, which I suspect was Glas/Ghlais/Glass. Espically if there is a William or Wayne attached.

Apparently, there was some big family blow up when two brothers left Ireland ( I suspect Co. Kerry as Ghlas is a Kerry name) during the Famine....and they never spoke to each other again, or allowed their families any contact.

We did accidentally discover another family of Green who had given names of William, Wayne and Evert in a town only 30 miles from our home in Kansas, and they were adamant that they were not related to us, or anyone else, anywhere.......

(All I could find about "me" was that apparently I run a "Mens Silk Clothing" business..........boring.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Tone d' F
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 03:41 AM

My grandfather on my mothers side invented the trailer tent and did'nt patent it (no money there)

He also sued Lord Harewood over the ownership of a house in County Cork 25 bedrooms the 700 acres etc but he lost (no money there)

My great grandfather on my fathers side designed resavoirs in Yorkshire & Lancashire

unfortuanately my grandfather was a renowned pick pocket and was disowned (no money there)

And somewhere in all fo this I am distantly related to Tony Bennett, (so distant no money there)

but I'm comming on niccely with the comb & paper a much misunderstood instrument

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Amergin
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 03:54 AM

Well, let's see....no famous musicians that I am aware of....but other folks have been fairly well known....we are said to be descended from Chief Tecumseh.....(though that may be just a family legend)......V.P. Daniel D. Tompkins is kin somehows.....Cordell Hull was my great grandfather James Tompkins' cousin.....one of my cousins is exCIA Bill Lair.....he was a very prominent figure in Southeast Asia...(mostly Loas and Thailand) and has been in several books and has been interviewed many times....check out Shooting At The Moon....that's all I can think of at the moment....oh and then there's Nathan Tompkins....but he's only a legend in his own mind....

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Rachel D
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 04:43 AM

Mick Hoy, fiddler from Ulster, was my dad's uncle.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 05:24 AM

The only musical surname links my surfing turned up was someone who co-wrote some novelty jazz tunes pre-war in the US. Also Van Morrison crops up as he mentions the Irish village that shares my surname in one of his songs.
There is also a well-known UK artist (contemporary)who draws rather strange things.
I've mentioned the Dissenting tracts, another wrote on the gold standard and helped to found Aslib (the association for special libraries)so there might be e genetic link there! Others wrote obscure tomes to do with the silk industry, unsurprising as the eponymous village in Cheshire is where my direct ancestors (great grandfather) moved to Birmingham from.
Those 'Catters who don't know my surname have a lot of clues there!
RtS

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Ella who is Sooze
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 05:39 AM

Well, apparantly my grandfather used to have harmonica lessons from Larry Hagler...

My great grandmother came over from Sligo, not speaking a word of English or reading English just gaelic, and on the other side of my family, my dads great grandmother did the same, but under an air of shush and quiet as none of us know quite where she came from, it's been kept quiet for some reason...

So... apart from both my grandfathers (never met either of them) being harmonica players, there has never ever been as far a anyone can remember musicians in the family until I turned up... Everyone thinks I was swapped at birth...lol

Ella

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Sabine
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 05:45 AM

What I like to know is how did you all find those informations? I mean I know the names of my grand-grand-parents and thats all. Nobody remembers and the papers were all lost in war. I'm the only musician (no professional *sigh*) in my family and for that they are gazing like me at a sheep with 8 legs *g*.

Sabine

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Amergin
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 06:18 AM

Hey, Ella, could it be that everyone is just hoping you were swapped at birth?

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Matt_R
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 08:18 AM

LOl Doug!! I know how that is...us Richards HAVE to have a James in every generation. Thank goodness I didn't have to be one! But my uncle, cousin, grandfather, greatgrandfather, all have or had the name...

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Ella who is Sooze
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 08:24 AM

Nathan.... Don't start... I'm NOT in a good mood to throw any back at you today... My uncle died this morning...

Sorry, can't play sarcasm tennis with you today, don't feel up to it.

Ella

(PS that wasn't nice!)

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Amergin
Date: 04 Apr 01 - 01:49 PM

Oh god, I'm so sorry to hear that, dear.....here's a hug for you:

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Ella))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Just want you to know that you're in my thoughts this morning....

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: DougR
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 01:11 AM

Matt: an additional quote from the same source that I intended to include in my post re Richards ..."one prominent characteristic of the Richards family was nearly every one of them (except me) would take a drink of whiskey, and if you made him mad he will kill you if you don't get out of his way, but I never knew one of them tried for stealing." Old PWH Richards must have been a pretty pious old fellow!

So, harkening back to an earlier thread, you can be doubly glad you are not in my Richards line! LOL. DougR

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Bugsy
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 01:24 AM

Rick! What a coincidence! My Uncle was a coalman! I recently found out that he was also my fathers brother!

It seems I'm also related to my mothers brother, sisters and parents.

I'll have to do this net surfing more often.

Cheers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 01:44 AM

Ella, sorry to hear about your uncle. Please know that you are in my thoughts and may your memories of him help you through this time of grief.

kat

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Bugsy
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 01:56 AM

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Bugsy
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 03:15 AM

I just found out that my father used to play on the Linoleum when he was a small child.

Cheers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 04:20 AM

Bugsy! I thought I was the only one licenced to tell that old joke!
RtS (or am I your dad?)

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: GUEST,bill\sables
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 04:36 AM

I had a great uncle who was a miner in the USA and whilst in a saloon brawl in Leadville, Colorado he shot the fiddler.

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Amergin
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 04:38 AM

Well, that's one good reason not to displease the audience I guess....

Subject: RE: Who are you related to? Any Musicians?
From: Ella who is Sooze
Date: 05 Apr 01 - 04:57 AM

Thanks Kat and Nathan... Ella