Rambo Rumors proven false
Rambo genealogy: Rumors that Refuse to Die
24 May 2004 last update
Here is a list of Rambo genealogy rumors I know to be wrong. If you think differently, send me some ORIGINAL SOURCE references such as wills, deeds, bible records, etc. Don't send me a reference to a published genealogy or to census records. Published genealogies are not original sources; census records prove very little. Family traditions are equally suspect. There is a lot of genealogical junk on the web, on CDs, and in family group sheets everywhere.
Also of interest is the earliest recorded mention of these rumors. I'll add those that I know now. If you know of earlier mentions, I'd be interested to hear from you.
The father of Peter Gunnarson Rambo is NOT anyone named Rambo or Rambeau. Money from his employment in America was sent home to his father, Gunnar Petersson. The Rambo name originated in America, not in Sweden. Read through INTRO.TXT and the biography of Peter Gunnarson Rambo in RAMBO2.TXT. There is not one shred of evidence to support any French ancestry of the Rambo surname other than the coincidental similarity of pronunciation. This rumor was presented in the Eli Francisco Rambo [#XXA114] family reunion address in 1925 and published by Owen P. Adkins [#31C33272] in 1967. However, I realize that many people cherish the thought of romantic French ancestry and absolutely refuse to give up that thought. No problem, you have your belief and I have mine. We can agree to disagree.
Anna Paulsdotter is NOT the mother of Peter Gunnarson Rambo. His mother's name is entirely unknown. I'd like to know who invented that one. No doubt she was the wife of some Gunnar in New Sweden.Again, some people just MUST have a name for his mother. We too can agree to disagree.
Peter Gunnarson Rambo's wife, Bretta Mattsdotter is NOT a daughter of Matts Hansson. Earlier genealogists were grasping at straws to come up with a plausible parent. Peter Craig says that there were two men named Matts Hansson in New Sweden, but neither could be her father since both arrived in New Sweden as single men. He thinks she came as an unnamed servant girl. See RAMBO2.TXT.
Peter Gunnarson Rambo is probably not buried under the alter at Gloria Dei. No telling where or when this rumor started, but it is being faithfully promulgated by the present day Gloria Dei church deacons. Herb Rambo (former president of the Swedish Colonial Society) tells me that the church was "remodeled" and exterior bolsters added to support the walls. Peter's grave was not moved, but was built over. Herb's guess is that the grave is under a bolster. Peter Craig says simply that there is no evidence whatsoever indicating the location of the grave.
Andreas (or Andrew) Bengtsson was the husband of Gertrude Rambo [#2], Peter Gunnarson Rambo's oldest daughter. The father of Andres Bengtsson is not known, but his father is NOT Lars Bengtsson as published in Louhi's phoney "history" of New Sweden. I've even seen someone claim that his father was Bengt Bengtsson ... I guess by misapplying a partial understanding of the patronymic naming conventions.
Magdalena Bauerin was NOT the wife of Peter Rambo [#12]. The name of his wife is entirely unknown. The will of Magdalena Bauerin leaves items to her GOD daughter Anna Rambo, the GRAND daughter of Peter Rambo [#12]. See RAMBO200.TXT for the will, estate papers, & eulogy of Magdalena Bauerin. This rumor started when The Genealogical Society Of Pennsylvania published a book of Philadelphia estate abstracts including Magdalena Bauerin's estate and erroneously concluded the paragraph with the following words, "administration to Peter Rambo, son of Madelina Bowerin, deceased." The estate papers contain no such wording. Edna Vacher also published this error in 1947.
Two PINSON-Rambo marriages are rumored although there is absolutely NO evidence to support them. (One of those rumors is still published in this book. See Swan Rambo [#319] in file RAMBO5.TXT. The other rumor concerns the children of Aaron Pinson, bequeathed livestock by the will of Christopher Rambo of Lunenburg Co., VA. See Christiern Rambo [#314], also in RAMBO5.TXT.)
Catherine Denny was NOT the wife of Matthias Koplin [#1222]. She was Catherine, whose last name is entirely unknown. His will reads "wife Catherine During her life." It has been misread as Catherine "Denny." See RAMBO6.TXT for a transcription of the will.
Lawrence Bankson [#226], born about 1704, married Rebecca Hendricks, but did not have children by a second wife. Andrew was the oldest son, and his oldest son James was named heir-at-law of Lawrence Bankston on a North Carolina indenture dated 1 Jan 1788. In Georgia on 27 Nov 1786, the surviving sons of Lawrence, i.e. Peter, Daniel, and Jacob, sold land in Pennsylvania that they had inherited from their parents. The corroborating document is the depostion of Isaac Bankston [#22643] dated 6 Jun 1859 wherein Isaac exhaustively names all his Rambo male cousins. If there had been additional male children by a second wife, Isaac certainly would have named them. No documents have been discovered to support Edna VAcher's theory that Lawrence married a second time to Ann Major.I do understand that many people are convinced that they descend from Lawrence's second wife, Ann Major, and absolutely refuse to give up that belief. No problem, we can agree to disagree.
ALWAYS mistrust anything you see in print. There are known errors in the books published by Mary Emma Hamrick, Edna Robertson Vacher, and virtually every other genealogical author including Beverly Nelson Rambo and myself. You must always verify your information with original source material. If you pass information on to others without citing your sources and without verifying it first, you are guilty of promulgating RUMORS. I am just as guilty as anyone else. Click for more ranting about rumors, proofs, and estimates.
I earnestly request that you send me e-mails (RSBeatty@aol.com) or letters citing original sources (or a lack thereof) to help me correct any errors you find. With your help, the next edition can be more nearly perfect and correct. Thank you very, very much.
Pages of personal interest: Eve's Garden Organic Bed and Breakfast, a wonderful, eclectic, artistic papercrete alternative living learning mecca in Marathon, Texas,
Rambo family genealogy, Bankston & Bankson family genealogy, the Camblin family genealogy, the Dorsey Overturff family, cousin Jean's Schenck and Hageman genealogy,