I called my sister the other day with a question I had about our family tree. I had noticed that back in 1684, Nicholas Schoonover was born to Derrick Van Viliet and Debora Davids. I wondered about the drastic name change from Van Viliet to Schoonover. My sister had a fascinating explanation. It seems that Derrick Van Viliet was also a pirate called "Pegleg". (I'm quite sure that with that nickname he also donned an eyepatch and carried a parrot on his shoulder.) That rascally pirate had an affair with Debora Davids (who was married to another, by the last name of Schoonover). They produced Nicholas who was, subsequently, brought up as a Schoonover. Gotta love family tales! :)
On another note, I've been watching a new show on tv called "Who Do You Think I Am?". It follows the family trees of a different celebrity each week. So far they've shown Sarah Jessica Parker, Emmitt Smith and Lisa Kudrow (her family's story brought tears). Certainly makes me wish I could travel the world to track down my family history.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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