I'm going to post two if that's okay.
The first is Sheaff, although I've really been able to find history about it too far back. The family has origins in Cornwall (I don't know if they lived anywhere before this but it's possible), and were generally distributed between four professions: Farmers, teachers, priests and soldiers. With links to the Warren family, many of whom were missionaries in China, and were relatively influential in areas of Hunan province. One such person briefly knew Mao Tse Tung (Zedong) when they were teachers in Changsha (I think Mao was headmaster of the school). The Sheaff family has also participated in a number of wars in the last century, including both World Wars and the Crimean War.
I'm also half MacLeod, and I know more about it's earlier history, so I'm going to use this one as well. The MacLeod's originated in Scotland, in the Hebrides, where they established their home on the Isle of Skye. Beginning with Leod (who was born in about 1200) and his sons (Mac meaning Son of), Tormod and Torquil, they went on to become a clan of their own in Scotland. The two sons went on to develop different branches of the MacLeod clan, those of Harris and Dunvegan, and those of Lewis. Leod was reputedly descended from Harold Hardrada, so their may be some Norwegian descent in there. The clan's motto is 'Hold Fast', which apparently originated when Leod wrestled a bull to save the life of a condemned man, to which a friend responded to by shouting 'Hold Fast, MacLeod' and the motto evidently remained. This is also why the image of a bull is depicted on their Coat of Arms. The MacLeod clan also possesses an artifact: The Fairy Flag. This flag was reputedly given to the Clan when one of their leaders or sons (can't remember which exactly) married a fairy. The flag is said to possess magical powers, and can save the clan in times of it's greatest peril, but can only be used three times. It was used once in battle when they were heavily outnumbered, once when a drought was plaguing the land, but has not yet been used a third time. MacLeod pilots possessed pictures of the flag during World War 2 on missions, and a leader of the clan went to Parliament to announce that he would raise the flag if the Germans were able to land on British soil, although the need never arose.
The first is Sheaff, although I've really been able to find history about it too far back. The family has origins in Cornwall (I don't know if they lived anywhere before this but it's possible), and were generally distributed between four professions: Farmers, teachers, priests and soldiers. With links to the Warren family, many of whom were missionaries in China, and were relatively influential in areas of Hunan province. One such person briefly knew Mao Tse Tung (Zedong) when they were teachers in Changsha (I think Mao was headmaster of the school). The Sheaff family has also participated in a number of wars in the last century, including both World Wars and the Crimean War.
I'm also half MacLeod, and I know more about it's earlier history, so I'm going to use this one as well. The MacLeod's originated in Scotland, in the Hebrides, where they established their home on the Isle of Skye. Beginning with Leod (who was born in about 1200) and his sons (Mac meaning Son of), Tormod and Torquil, they went on to become a clan of their own in Scotland. The two sons went on to develop different branches of the MacLeod clan, those of Harris and Dunvegan, and those of Lewis. Leod was reputedly descended from Harold Hardrada, so their may be some Norwegian descent in there. The clan's motto is 'Hold Fast', which apparently originated when Leod wrestled a bull to save the life of a condemned man, to which a friend responded to by shouting 'Hold Fast, MacLeod' and the motto evidently remained. This is also why the image of a bull is depicted on their Coat of Arms. The MacLeod clan also possesses an artifact: The Fairy Flag. This flag was reputedly given to the Clan when one of their leaders or sons (can't remember which exactly) married a fairy. The flag is said to possess magical powers, and can save the clan in times of it's greatest peril, but can only be used three times. It was used once in battle when they were heavily outnumbered, once when a drought was plaguing the land, but has not yet been used a third time. MacLeod pilots possessed pictures of the flag during World War 2 on missions, and a leader of the clan went to Parliament to announce that he would raise the flag if the Germans were able to land on British soil, although the need never arose.