Related to a blacksmith

[Glenn]

My (insert relative here) was a blacksmith. We have all heard it. Well I stumbled on this and it sort of got me to thinking. Any other famous people related to a blacksmith?


Tubal Cain 5th great grandfather was Adam (of Adam and Eve)
Ge 4:22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron.

Elvis Presley King of Rock and Roll

Jr. Strasil 3rd generation blacksmith. First hand information as I heard him tell the story himself. :wink:



Give us the URL so we can look it up for reference during a conversation.

[newlad]

Winston churchhill on both American and Englih sides of his family
Richard Sears was the son of a blacksmith
President Dwight D Eisenhower was the desendant of Iron workers
Thomas Jefferson had a nail manufactory
George Washington it is reported took great interest in the working of his smithy at mount Vermon
Richard the Lion heart is said to have spent a great deal of vtime working in his armorers smithy
Lois 16th had a personal shop at verssailes
The list goes on to mention a lot more
Not my information but found on page 4 of "THE ART OF BLACKSMITHING" Alex J Bealer

[HWooldridge]

Nobody in my family is/was famous but we did find out thru genealogical research that my Wooldridge ancestor who immigrated in 1697 was apparently a trained blacksmith. The family trade was blacksmithing in England when the family moved to Scotland for a while, then he left for America in his late teens. He listed that as his trade and indentured himself into servitude for two years to pay for the boat passage, then went into business for himself. Apparently, he did quite well because the smithing made enough that he was able to buy several thousand acres and become wealthy in tobacco farming later in life. His children found coal on the property and eventually built up a very profitable coal business - sadly, none of that profit (or coal) ever made its way down to me... :cry:

[Wishwon]

hahah ya I am apparently from old German royalty, like that does anything for me now. Off topic I know... don't know why I posted that :?

[Woody]

My grandfather, Conrad Segmiller, was a blacksmith. He worked for the Northern Pacific RR in Dickinson, ND and in his spare time he made cemetary crosses. This site shows pictures of some of his work.

http://www.plainsfolk.com/ironcross/ironmen/segmill.htm

Woody

[Leah]

Woody,

Your grandfather's crosses are beautiful. It is wonderful that you have this record of his work.

[Ralph]

Went to HS in Grand FOrks ND. and have seen some of these crosses at various cemetaries. Pictures do not really do justice. Unfortunately I was not that interested in metal work back then.

:(

[Tinker]

Hmm, this got me thinking. Dad had developed an interest in geneaology before his passing and had dug up some interesting skeletons....

Fifth Officer Harold Godfrey Lowe (my favourite)

A welshman and distant relative of ours, made famous by the fact that he was the only man to return after the Titanic went under to look for survivors. (if you watch the film he's played by Ioan Gryfudd (sp), currently Mr Fantastic in the fantastic four)

Sir (General) Hudson Lowe

The Governor of St Helena and the man responsible for Napoleon I (Bonaparte) after his defeat at waterloo and subsequent exile to the island. He came in for a bit of stick for his 'unbending' treatment of the former Emperor. Before that he'd served with distinction in the Anglo French war. Napoleon's mysterious death apparently caused him some problems (lol)

My Great Granfather on my Mothers side was a Blacksmith (groan ) for the coal mines, and on my Dads side my great great Grandfather was a Romany Tinker (he fixed pans, sharpened knives and did small scale iron work )

Me? I'm a novice smith and a hobby Silversmith, funny how the world turns 8)

[Wishwon]

Woody,
Your grandfather's crosses are beautiful. It is wonderful that you have this record of his work.

yes they are very nice.

[ThomasPowers]

My Great Grandfather on my mother's side was the smith in Cedarville AR; also owned about 960 acres there. Unfortunately *all* of his tools and equipment are gone and only his fire shovel and a foot scraper are left that he built, both plain "get it done" items...

We still have a bit of the land left; my share will be about 13 acres of scrub oak with a junkyard next to it---poetic justice...

Thomas

[one_rod]

My grandfather, on my mothers side, was a mule-train farrier in the British Army during WW1.

Seems he was trained up for the job by the army, did it for the duration of the war, then as soon as the war was over he went back to his civillian job in a wallpaper factory, and never touched a hammer again.

I can remember seeing an old black and white photo of him as a young man standing by a portable forge, on a muddy battlefield somewhere. Nobody in the family seems to know where that photo is now, I really wish I could find it.

one_rod.

[hammerkid]

Elli Whitney was a blacksmith. (the guy who intvente dthe cotton gin)

[Flaming S Forge]

My great-great -grandfather, great -grandfather & grandfather, all on my mother's side were blacksmiths. Their shop was located along the Union canal in Pine Grove (Schuylkill County) Pa. During World War II my grandfather would board the train and travel to the Philadelphia Naval Yard to work to help the war effort. I have some tools and a knife that he made. Supposedly some of his things are stored in the basement of our local historical society. Hanging around his shop as a young boy gave me the fever to pound metal. During these bad economic times, I often think of what my mother often said about life during the depression. Her dad, the blacksmith, had 6 children and a wife to support. She said they hardly had any cash money but they always had food to eat since many of the farmers paid for their work with food. Each child got one new pair of shoes each year when school started. During the summer they all went barefoot. Imagine walking into dad's shop in bare feet. I guess this Thanksgiving, we should all be thankfull for what we have. Happy Thanksgiving.

[divermike]

as for my ancestors....... I got nothin, but 3 generations from now, should the Lord tarry, my decendants will say...my great grandfather... oh never mind!

[ptree]

My Father worked in the aluminum extrusion trade for 40+ years. His Father was a master molder in a foundry making farm implements. He was also trained as a blacksmith in an apprenticeship, but moved to the foundrey in the same factory. His Father was a stoker in the same foundrey, stoking the cupplo's with a #2 scoop by hand! His father was tin smith in Germany.

[ironrosefarms]

Not that I or any of my ancestors are famous but my great grandfather was a blacksmith for local mines.
One rod, I know what you mean about remembering a picture but not being able to find it. As a young kid my great grandmother used to show me a picture of my great grandfather, he was sitting in his over stuffed arm chair with a cigar hanging out the corner of his mouth and his arm extended straight out holding out a long handled sledge from the tail of the handle, arm and sledge extended straight out. I don't know how much that sledge weighed but she used to tell me it was his favorite striker and he wouldn't leave it at the mine, but he would walk in the house with it and set it next to his chair each night.

[DragonEagle]

I'm no expert on the subject, but my name puts a blacksmith/bladesmith in the line somewhere.

-E. Allen Soard

[irnsrgn]

Wilfred Brimley, the old guy in Cocoon was a practicing smith.

My Grandfather, my father, 2 Uncles, myself, a cousin, 2 of my SIL's, my grandson, and my late son.

[canuk]

i know that my great grandfather had the farm shop. and the proable forge to heat rivets, but as far as famous well i think i would have to go back to some kind of norse royalty for that. dad says that his grandfathers shop was dismantled and thrown into the gravel pit that served as a junk pit. only the blower survived. oh well

[thisaw]

Just my 2 cents.
My Great Great Grandfather on my mother’s side was a smith. He kept a pot of coffee boiling on his forge and drank straight from the spout. We know where his shop was for he loved it so much that he made his family promise to burry him in it. The family did as he asked and it is now the family cemetery.