Bastards! Or, My un-pruned family tree.

Here's the set-up: I actually have no interest in genealogy. The way I figure it, I know my near relations. I've met them. Some are cool. Some are okay. That's really all there is to it. I don't have a Christmas card list, why am I going to be interested in my long-dead relations? But there was a family rumor I heard once about being descended from an historical figure (kind of a C-lister, but still...) so I decided to look into it. Apparently, can not be descended from said historical personage, as he had no grandchildren. It could be that the family tradition is garbled somewhat, though. We could be descended from a brother or third-cousin. We would still be related, just not linearly. But predictibly, I lost interest.

Now, see, I could try to trace my family history back by checking who my great-grandparents were, and their great-grandparents and so forth, until I've found a connection to some august so-and-so, but that would be work. For my own part, I like the romance of the following amendation:

"Had no grandchildren, that he knew about."

See? I bet if anybody looks back far enough, there's a good chance of being the descendant of any number of august personages, via some by-blow. I actually like this notion better than finding out for sure. "I come from a band-sinister branch of some noble so-and-sos." To research and find only numerous, thoroughly uninteresting lists of legitimate "begats" would just destroy my romantic illusion.