Day Five: Were it nobler...

Ogle Cabin, Gatlinburg, TN


Sir John Ogle



A picture paints a thousand words. But if I leave this picture up here and do not tell a story of discovery, you would probably think, “Why is there a picture of Shakespeare and Jesus on this dudes blog?” I tell this short story not to brag on my heritage but just as a funny little trek I took through genealogy last year.

Actually it is one of my ancestors from England, Sir John Ogle: A knight who served King Edward II around 1310. I started working on my ancestry back last year and it was exciting and addicting. For a month I worked hard on it and uncovered so many things. I started out thinking my ancestry was German Indian: Cherokee specifically. This was based on word of mouth information passed from my mother, a half-breed and my grandmother full bred. My great grandmother was full and considered a shaman type character. (I am not sure of the terminology for the female of the vocation. I didn’t look that up as it was more interesting assembling the names and lineage and still is actually even as this small discrepancy presents its self to me.)

So with that, I was in for a shock no doubt. I knew I would stumble in the research since it is a very daunting task. I mean one sole person taking on years of history and documents mostly handwritten and poorly kept. Then there is the problem of Indian data being inconsistent due to rebellion of the populace defying the government by not signing on to the rolls. My family was one of the ones that did not sign and thus past my great grandmother, my trail gets cold for the Cherokee side.

My German side comes from my father who is first generation German. His father and mother came over from England and before that were denizens of Germany. After that, it is also a cold trail. So there is the German and Indian.

So for the shock and surprise that shouldn’t be: My grandfather was English, from a long line of English. I actually traced it all the way back to 1033. There were at least five knights in the line. Just around the time of Lady Jane Grey, her uncle was in my direct line. I found that Isaac Newton was a cousin twice removed from that line as well. From that line a man worked with William Penn and rebelled in England with him and was arrested on many occasions fighting for land rights for the commoners. Then he came to Anne Arrundal County, Maryland and helped set up the township there and became one of the first mayors and legislators as well as the family setting up a sheriff’s office.

Then later I found as the lineage passed on, that Robert Ogle left Maryland and came to a little cove in east Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains. While in that cove he set up a small village that grew into what is now Gatlinburg and Sevierville, Tennessee. After he died, my great, great, great grandmother sold off some of the land to pay for the things she needed and helped establish Gatlinburg as a trading area and it grew and grew.

This family I discovered is so large and prevalent that a full society exists to establish more and more history around the line. I discovered there were many people across the world that are tied into my bloodline. There is still one of the many castles standing that King Edward awarded to Sir Robert for his efforts and loyalty during the wars with the Scottish. (A more dark time in the Ogle family as Sir Robert was one of the fine men that stood against William Wallace. Oh joy…)

Anyway, a rich history and great stories come from this research and there is so much more to discover. I plan on going to England one day with my wonderful wife and seeing this castle and maybe some more places related to the tree. Such a great thing to know this about my family and it makes me so eager to dive into the Indian and German side so much. As long as I don’t find I am related to Gobels or Himler I’ll be okay.

I worked on my wife's line and hit awall but I want to go back in. I may have to get another subscription and make the dive. I will leave any stories or tales of my wife's line to her.

But one interesting tidbit as I sat here with my family last May. We discussed movies and things we wanted to see and do and such. And as I thought I came across the “Angels and Demons” movie, the sequel to “The Da Vinci Code”. It dawned on me a very important part to that story or theory actually told in “Holy Blood, Holy Grail”, is of the Priory of Sion and the lineage back to Jesus. In that line there was of course Leonardo but one stuck out to me and stuck out for a reason I didn’t realize until almost two years after reading “The Da Vinci Code”. Some other name jumped into my thoughts and immediately I was ready to start teasing my family. “If that story is true,” I said.

“Isaac Newton was in that line, thus, I am related to Jesus Christ. I began to tell my wife who with a grin and a giggle raised her head to the ceiling as I explained the link and said “Oh My God.”

I said “Actually, very much mine but I’ll share. It’s all free. But you guys think you couldn’t take my ego before….How do you like me now?!”