Two of my ggg-grandfathers died violent deaths. One was killed in the Massacre at Haun’s Mill in 1838. Another was allegedly — I’ve been unable to unearth any confirming evidence — assassinated by Irish Republicans in Northern Ireland circa 1850.
Earliest one? Those who have traced their ancestry back to medieval European gentry often have expert-accepted lines that trace very far back. For example, most have us have many lines of descent from Lambert I Comte de Louvain (950-1015) who was killed 12 September 1015 at the Battle of Florennes. Lest you doubt that many moderns can trace their ancestry back to Count Lambert, consider a list of his ggggg-grandchildren at a respected genealogy site. (That website caps “Generations to check” at 8; otherwise you could get a very long list.)
Checking just now, I notice that the list of descendants I linked to, long as it might seem, starts with only two children for Lambert. Wikipedia shows three other children (including Eustache). Many genealogical databases are incomplete!
Died in a war, but not killed in battle. My great-great grandfather, of the New York 2nd Heavy Artillery Volunteers, was captured at Petersburg in 1864 and died of scurvy in Andersonville Prison Camp. He left a son (my great-grandfather) and a daughter.
A great-great-great grandfather, of the 45th New York Infantry, was also captured and became a permanent invalid due to tuberculosis contracted in prison camp.
A great-uncle was permanently invalided by a poison gas attack in WWI.
I have no direct ancestors that I know of that died in battle. A several greats grandfather was in the Revolutionary War, and courtmartialed, but even though his sentence was commuted later he lived through that war.
My roots are all peasants in Poland till the early 1900s. Neither grandfather was of age to serve in either WW. My dad was in during Korea, but stationed in San Diego. I enlisted at the tail end of Vietnam, but being female, I would have been kept far away from any fighting. One cousin went to 'Nam in the USAF - came home unscathed after his tour. One uncle was in the SeaBees in WW2 but nothing happened to him either.
So as far as I know, no war deaths, tho who knows what happened in Poland centuries back…
Don’t know of any ancestral deaths in war going back 300+ years. OTOH, 3 were POWs (plus an uncle). And surviving being a POW, esp. centuries ago, wasn’t a given.
One of my Ancestors was a deserter from the Prussian Army, who was smart enough to run to the New World during a truce in the Napoleonic Wars. Didn’t want to fight Napoleon–smart man.
Another hired a substitute, during the Civil War. Another smart man.
I know one of my great-uncles died in the '36 Spanish Civil War and I know it was from battle wounds but I don’t know how quick. That same side of the family has been in every Civil War Spain had in the 19th and 20th centuries, but he was the only one that didn’t come back home. As to who was the earliest documented ancestor to die in battle or from battle wounds, it would be on the same side (it’s the side that’s documented earlier) but I’d have to dig into medieval records.
Not an ancestor but a great uncle; he piloted a Lancaster in WW2, was shot down, he stayed at the controls while the other crew members bailed out. They survived, he didn’t. And that’s not family lore; I’ve read the files of the RAAF investigation.
In my maternal line, a second cousin, once removed, died in WWI from a German gas attack. A great-great grandfather died of disease, another survived and a great-great uncle died in battle, all during the Civil War. A 3rd-great-grandfather fought in the Revolution and survived as did three uncles during WWII & Korea.
My paternal line had lucky birth years and few were of an age to serve. Only three that I know, my father and I and a distant uncle who enlisted in 1805 and served with Zebulon Pike during the explorations of the west and the War of 1812.
No direct ancestors that I know of died in battle. One died while traveling home from a battle during the Revolutionary War in late 1776. He apparently died of some disease like dysentery and not from wounds received in battle.
My mother’s cousin was killed in Korea.
I had a many-times-great uncle who was killed in a skirmish with Indians during King Philip’s War in 1677.
And I really am kidding. My fraternal line were mostly Yakhirghiz with a little Don River and others mixed in and mothers side was mixed Siberian and Georgian who ended up in Ireland when Grandpap-that-side was born; don’t ask. Both sides just couldn’t pass up a chance to fight someone or invade Poland on their own when things were slow. I am one of the very few in my line not to have been in the service let alone combat - I never went further than ROTC. Some of the paperwork and all survive and I have the letters relating to his death and the medal awarded to Vsevlod Kopek’s widow for Hungary and Transylvania so that one is nailed as far as I’m concerned. The one I want to nail someday is a few greats before that who was supposed to have been wounded in the Pacific Northwest and died and was buried on Kodiak.
The vast majority including Dad were in combat a lot and survived not just the battles but the wars as well. They all made it home to live into their 60s or more. Considering some of the places and all, that is what I really find amazing. That in 200-some years and Y generations we have one sure and one maybe surprises me to no end when you consider camp conditions added into the equation.
Yes, my Dad was in WW2 from Dec 8, 1941 until about a year after the Armistice. He certainly saw combat, but wouldn’t talk about it. He had one funny combat story, but that was it.
My Euro relatives were all sent to Dachau, after being arrested by the Arrow cross Nazis. As “politicals” they had it *slightly *better than the Jews. I heard that Duke Maximilian tried to help all of them. However, after WW2, the Soviets sent the survivors to Russian camps. None came out.
I ask my Grandmother once: "Were we Cossacks in the Old Country, Babushka? " “No, dear, we* hired *Cossacks to beat the serfs.” Said with a total straight face.
Those who have traced their ancestry back to medieval European gentry often have expert-accepted lines that trace very far back. For example, most have us have many lines of descent from Lambert I Comte de Louvain (950-1015) who was killed 12 September 1015 at the Battle of Florennes. Lest you doubt that many moderns can trace their ancestry back to Count Lambert, consider a list of his ggggg-grandchildren at a respected genealogy site. (That website caps “Generations to check” at 8; otherwise you could get a very long list.)
