Both Kitty and I have curious and interesting family trees.
My Mother came from Irish farming stock in Cookstown. However my father was descended from a long line of tinkerers, pewterers and journeyman gunsmiths on his fathers side. (That's Romany Gypsies to you). Also a famous highwayman called Captain Cole Who used to terrorise the travellers passing through Epping Forest.......but his mother was descended from the Ruse family, who were French aristocrats who escaped to England during the French revolution.
Kitty Was also descended from Romany Gypsies on her father's side. However her mother was the illegitimate offspring of the Local Lord of the Manor and a lowly chambermaid, in his service. (Sadly she didn't inherit great riches, as the Lord of the manor, threw his pregnant maid out to fend for herself.
On further investigation, we discovered that both Kitty and I are descended from the same Romany family (The Coopers) So are actually kissing cousins (as is traditional in Romany circles). 😉
So I guess that makes us a pair of aristocratic Gypsies.
Such an interesting background. The photo works really well with your narrative. I have been doing my family tree and the things I have found are also fascinating .
