Vociferous Mute's blog: "Serendipity"

Its amazing what you stumble upon when you're looking for something completely different.  I've spent countless hours researching my family history, but always had to stop short when it came to the first generation of my paternal or maternal family, because Ancestry.com is SO freaking expensive if you want an international membership.  Well while looking for images of a family crest I know exists, I came upon a castle that I also knew exists.  This castle bears my last name, and its located in a village in France that also bears my last name.  It was, however, the story that I came upon that shocked me.  Apparently, one of my direct descendents is known by most historians as the "Father of the American Revolution".  He was directly responsible for convincing Louis XVI to help America in its war against the English, and without his help, we most likely would NOT have won the war.  He is also one of the greatest enablers of the French Revolution (oddly enough he withdrew his support when his own castle was repossessed by the revolution go figure).  Not only that, but while Benjamin Franklin lived in France, he was his landlord.  

Pretty cool I'd say.