The Most Notorious Brit of the 18th Century

I spent the day hanging photos of my ancestors in my hallway. Mostly a bunch of long dead people... Anyway, I love to find old pictures of the people that I came from. The stories are fun, too. I'm not interested in it for honor and glory, to say the least... but there were some characters! I think I'll periodically throw one in the blog just for the fun of it and tell you a bit about them. The first will have to be William, Duke of Cumberland--voted the most notorious Brit of the 18th Century!

My Pack ancestors take great pride in being descendants of King George I of England. The connection is supposedly that William, George's favorite son (but not the heir to the throne), had an illegitimate son, Joseph Pack, with a commoner named Mary Packard. Joseph Pack received a large land grant in America by King George III, who loathed the debauchery of his forefathers and was eager to get rid of those illegitimate cousins! (This is my interpretation from reading historical accounts--obviously not what I was told by my proud relatives!) Joseph Pack founded Packsville (now Paxville, SC) and later participated in the American Revolution, so he obviously wasn't strongly loyal to King George III, either! Anyhow, Joseph Pack was ancestor to Mary Elise Pack, my great-grandmother.

Back to Duke William...well, William is notorious for leading a very successful campaign against those rebellious Scottish folks. Remember that scene in Braveheart where the Scottish peasants are hung from the rafters in the barn? Well, that sounds much like the wake that Duke William's military left behind them. This has earned my illustrious ancestor that prestigious title, "the Most Notorious Brit of the 18th Century".