Secrets After They're Gone!

My great great grandfather (might be three greats) anyway, killed someone he was feuding with on a train. They lived in WV and his defense was if he hadn't shot him the other guy would have. He was cleared! Ran moonshine up and down the mountain. Yep! =)

When one of my husbands grandmothers died, we discovered her second son (Uncle),had been adopted!!!! He had no idea, neither did anyone else..

We still do not know. (I would hate not knowing the whys)

Also her correct birth date. She had said many times she liked to add a few years so others, would be able to tell her, "You look so young!"...

So when she was 40, she started, telling people she was 43.. Sometimes, she would add a lot of years and other times, just a few.

Her Drivers license had a date, her marriage license another, her insurances all had different dates.. So while we were all driving up to the cemetery, we were looking forward to seeing the date carved on it.. Yep.. a different date! We really got a giggle.

My grandpa passed away 9 years ago and last year we all discovered that he had a daughter that we never knew about. He was in England during World War II and had a brief relationship with a woman. When he came back to the US he married my grandma. I don't have all of the details, but eventually the woman in England wrote him to tell him that she was either pregnant or had already had a baby. My grandpa told my grandma about this, but they kept it a secret from everyone else. Last year there was a family reunion and one of my cousins that none of us ever knew existed contacted one of my family members to explain that he was my grandpa's grandson and wanted to know if it would be okay to come to the reunion to meet his family. Everybody was sooo stressed out about having to tell my grandma about this but the funny thing was that she already knew. When he arrived, my grandma even told him that he could call her "grandma" if he wanted to. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the reunion last year, but from what I heard, my new cousin fit in great with our family and our qwirky sense of humor. I have seen pictures of him and he looks a lot like my grandpa when he was young man. He brought some pictures of his mom to share with our family and his mom looks just like my aunt. He's planning on coming back to the US sometime in the next year or two and bringing his wife and two young kids. I will definitely do whatever I can to meet him when he comes.

It wasn't a secret to many other members of the family, but I had NO IDEA my somewhat gruff uncle was a tenor in the choir in high school.

Awww!!! There are so few real pen pals these days, compared to pre-internet days! When one of my grandmothers died, I helped my mom go through her things. I found a letter from one of my grandmom's penpals (she had been a widow for decades). He was begging her to come down to the state he lived in and marry him. He said he was old and he needed someone, and didn't she want someone to be with too? I cried when I read it. The envelope wasn't with the letter, so I had no address to write to tell him that she had died. Then again, perhaps he was already gone too.

Dawn

I found out that my biological mother had lied to people by telling them she raised me until I was 15, at which time I moved out to get my own place.. what she forget to tell them (besides the truth) was that due to her alcoholism , I was placed in foster care from the age of 10 until about 18...... Additionally, prior to foster care, I had been living happily on and off with a biological sister .. However, my mother although still a raving drunk, told my sister that I requested to leave her home (which I NEVER did) and instead had me placed in foster care..For years, my sister thought it was me who was unhappy and wanted to leave her home. Truth was, I was VERY happy.. Sadly, my mother lying so much to other family members has made it extremely hard for me to reconnect and break through the lies that my mother set forth.
There are more lies I could list.... point is.. boy oh boy was my mother a manipulator , self-serving , vicious person.. While all the while, playing like she was a victim. she started so much of the drama in our family and now her kids have had to sort through it all.. it's been tough..

I just recently discovered that my great-grandmother (who passed away when I was 10) was Miss Lewis County and was in a car accident on her way to the Miss New York pageant so never ended-up competing for the crown. She was beautiful, so I wasn't surprised to hear that she was a beauty queen, but I would have loved to hear her version of the stories when I was a child!

When my great-grandma, well actually my great-great aunt - her sister passed within a few days of having my grandma, so since my true great-grandfather couldn't care for a young child & a baby, the couple I know as great-grandparents who couldn't have children of their own - raised my grandma from the day she left the hospital & she became their pride & joy.
Weel anyways, when she passed my grandma & mom found a shoebox in the back of an cabint that said "Do not open! Please burn". Of course they couldn't help but look... in the box was every letter my "great-grandpa" wrote her while he served in WWI. My grandma had to read the letters, she was able to see a completely different side to the man that raised her. Don't get me wrong, his ladies where his world - he worked hard to make sure they were always taken care of, even after he passed. But he really never put his love for anyone into words... except in those letter.

I did, I discovered that my grandmother had been married before she married 'that man'. 'That man' was my mom's dad, and I didn't learn his name until after she died also.

When I discovered this I asked my mom, who had no clue so we asked my grandma's bestrfriend, also the woman who raised my mom from about the age of 2 till she was 16. I learned that she married this guy, who was much older, to get out of her house and out of Idaho. Then she met 'that man' divorced the other guys who was abusive, had my mom and left 'that man'.

It was so odd cause it did not line up with the grammy I knew.

When my sweet, sweet Grandma died many years ago we made a hilarious discovery while cleaning out her apartment. Hidden in her dresser was a Playgirl magazine and some cigarettes! We about died..it was SO out of character for her. No wonder she always had a little twinkle in her eye ;)

found out from a few things I inherited from my Grandfather, that he was a bigger bastard than everyone else said he was. He was always kind, loving, and nice to me. I never knew him for a drinker, wife/child beater, and cheater he was. So I heard a lot as I grew up about his other side. He was belligerent and violent. That I was shielded from, for a long time. Then I inherited a Cupboard and desk from him, and it finally made its way to me from Texas. I found papers, clippings, police reports, apology letters, death threats, and other goodies. WOW I was amazed and sad. Is that the legacy I will be passing to my kids about my Paternal Grandfather?

When my Nana died in 1991 (she was born in 1904), we found $15,000 in small bills scattered around her home in little white envelopes. She was terrified of banks, having lived through the Depression, and never told anyone about the hidden money. Good thing we checked all of her housecoats before she died! And her drawers...and under the couch...in the bathroom...