alt_edGetting to know your family
September 7th 2008 07:16
Is it a new trend, or perhaps it has always been common for us to not know much of our family. Partly because of these nomadic lifestyles we lead, with couples moving abroad before starting a family, and settling far from family roots.
I am one such child, born a world away from the land my ancestors have called home for centuries.
I am fortunate though in one respect, having a well documented family tree that begins in 1641 with Barbara Palmer [nee Villiers], The 1st Dutches of Cleveland in her own right, and Countess of Castlemain by marriage.
The family origin however, really commences with the marriage of General William Palmer (1740-1816) to Faisan-Nissa Begum (?-1828) in 1779.
General William Palmer was aide de camp (ADC) to Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India. Which explains his marriage to the Bibi Fais Baksh of Delhi (Begum), a Princess of the Mogul Royal House and descendent of Shah Jehan.
There are six generational layers between the big General and myself, and a family that spreads across most continents of the globe.
Today I also learned that my Great, Great Grandfather was the founder of one of the oldest surviving restaurants in London, Veeraswamy which is also the oldest surviving Indian restaurant in the U.K, and possibly the world.
It was established in 1926 at the same site by the great grandson of an English General, and an Indian princess. The restaurant has been the rendezvous of rich, famous, and fashionable lovers of Indian food. Customers included Edward - Prince of Wales, King Gustav of Sweden, Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Charlie Chaplin, King Hussein of Jordan, and Marlon Brando.
(I wonder if I'm entitled to a free meal?)
alt_ed ta ta
I am one such child, born a world away from the land my ancestors have called home for centuries.
I am fortunate though in one respect, having a well documented family tree that begins in 1641 with Barbara Palmer [nee Villiers], The 1st Dutches of Cleveland in her own right, and Countess of Castlemain by marriage.
The family origin however, really commences with the marriage of General William Palmer (1740-1816) to Faisan-Nissa Begum (?-1828) in 1779.
General William Palmer was aide de camp (ADC) to Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India. Which explains his marriage to the Bibi Fais Baksh of Delhi (Begum), a Princess of the Mogul Royal House and descendent of Shah Jehan.
There are six generational layers between the big General and myself, and a family that spreads across most continents of the globe.
Today I also learned that my Great, Great Grandfather was the founder of one of the oldest surviving restaurants in London, Veeraswamy which is also the oldest surviving Indian restaurant in the U.K, and possibly the world.
It was established in 1926 at the same site by the great grandson of an English General, and an Indian princess. The restaurant has been the rendezvous of rich, famous, and fashionable lovers of Indian food. Customers included Edward - Prince of Wales, King Gustav of Sweden, Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Charlie Chaplin, King Hussein of Jordan, and Marlon Brando.
(I wonder if I'm entitled to a free meal?)
alt_ed ta ta
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I imagine S.L.'s family tree reads like the who's who of the last millennia hahahaha