Genealogy! Who else is working on family trees?

[innerkitten]

Just curious if any of you are also interested in genealogy like myself. Besides jewelry and gemstones it's one of my favorite topics! And this year after almost a decade of not being able to get past 1900 on either side, I've had a break through. I knew nothing about my grandmothers father, my great grand father. I finally took some time to learn a little about him. To my surprise his side of the family had a lot of information floating around and some very good records. All in a period of about three months I found out that my ancestors had come to America in the 1600s ( even have a mayflower relative), and that a few had fought in the American Revolution ( I just joined the DAR ), and that I had a famous relative ( Benjamin Franklin ). How no one in the family knew that we were related to him is beyond me, but they didn't know any of the other information either so there you go. And I went on Genealogy Roadshow!


I'm now going to start searching some of my other sides. My mothers side is Eastern European Jewish. Both grandparents are from Belarus, and that is a real challenge because for one thing a lot of the records were destroyed, and the other thing is that if there are records you need to understand cyrillic to read them. As for my grandmothers maternal side they seem to just appear in the USA in 1860 cencus records and I can't find any information on them before that. I'm thinking maybe Irish immigrants because their name was Lyons.

What have you found and what are you looking for?

 

[Smith1942]

My MIL has done a lot of research about her side of the family, and I think she's found it very rewarding.

Me, I come from a long line of drunks and indigents, so I don't really want to know what I might turn up - at least a few jail sentences, I reckon!

 

[innerkitten]

My MIL has done a lot of research about her side of the family, and I think she's found it very rewarding.

Me, I come from a long line of drunks and indigents, so I don't really want to know what I might turn up - at least a few jail sentences, I reckon!

Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'll find some very interesting stories if you research them .

I found an old mug shot myself of my great grandfather from the 1940s when I was researching him.

 

[aviastar]

My whole family contributes to our searches; we love it!

I have some aunts and greats aunts who have done a lot of research on my paternal lines; my maiden name line, which we obviously still have being passed down, has been traced back to relatives who crossed over from Denmark in the 1850's. We would need to travel to Denmark to continue that research at this point.

Another paternal line connected back to Lord Baltimore and Anne Arundle, so once you hit any sort of titled line it's pretty easy as the records are far better. That line connects us all the way back to Charlemagne and then to Marc Anthony from there.

My maternal lines need much more work! We have a good start back to great and some great greats, but family lore says the family first came over to the States in the 1600's, to Virginia and we have a Cherokee ancestor in the mix as well, but I fear she changed her name when she married and I don't know that I'll ever be able to really find her. I would love to be able to document if we had people who fought in the Revolution (I think we did). I can document our family members who fought for the Confederacy, but Daughters of the Confederacy is not exactly at the top of my list of groups to join

Fun thread!

 

[Smith1942]

My MIL has done a lot of research about her side of the family, and I think she's found it very rewarding.

Me, I come from a long line of drunks and indigents, so I don't really want to know what I might turn up - at least a few jail sentences, I reckon!

Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'll find some very interesting stories if you research them .

I found an old mug shot myself of my great grandfather from the 1940s when I was researching him.

Except if there were murrrrrderers I'd rather not know! I'm kidding. It was all very rough though, and extremely alcoholic!

My grandmother, born 1913, was in a children's home because her family were all too drunk to care for her, and then she went into service at 14. Hard life. And my granddad - her husband - his parents weren't married, and they couldn't afford him, so they said. Their solution was to have him adopted - i.e. handed him over the garden fence to the neighbours and bugger off to London where they stayed together, partied and had a high old time. They did get married at some point but they never came back for him. So the neighbours brought him up, gave him their name, and so I have always had the wrong name too. And apparently they had another kid either a long time before or after him, we're not sure, but they did keep that one. They didn't want Granddad though. So my grandparents had these hard backgrounds in common and they met, married at 19 and made a life of respectability of that era: church-goers, community pillars, three children, seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and lived to ripe old ages in a sweet house with roses round the door. True story. They really started out with absolutely nothing and no family support. In fact, only recently my dad remarked that their early lives are a complete blank to him. I asked why and he said, "Well, I think it wasn't very nice." I can't imagine that my grandmother was treated that well in the children's home and in service during that era.

All four of my grandparents had hard lives but the further back you go the worse it gets, I gather. Researching my family history could make me a bit sad, I think, because they had difficult lives. Much of it is lost, of course, because it was difficult enough that they didn't want to talk about it.

 

[AprilBaby]

I have my husbands paternal family to 1622 in the Netherlands, my mothers father to 1300 something in Germany, my mothers maternal DNA code showing beginnings in Tunisia and then migrating to Norway thru Spain. My fathers line to 1700 Germany, my fathers mothers line hard to find in Ireland. My brother is taking the paternal DNA test to see where we originate on that side. The test is available thru national geographic or 23 and Me.

 

[innerkitten]

My whole family contributes to our searches; we love it!

I have some aunts and greats aunts who have done a lot of research on my paternal lines; my maiden name line, which we obviously still have being passed down, has been traced back to relatives who crossed over from Denmark in the 1850's. We would need to travel to Denmark to continue that research at this point.

Another paternal line connected back to Lord Baltimore and Anne Arundle, so once you hit any sort of titled line it's pretty easy as the records are far better. That line connects us all the way back to Charlemagne and then to Marc Anthony from there.

My maternal lines need much more work! We have a good start back to great and some great greats, but family lore says the family first came over to the States in the 1600's, to Virginia and we have a Cherokee ancestor in the mix as well, but I fear she changed her name when she married and I don't know that I'll ever be able to really find her. I would love to be able to document if we had people who fought in the Revolution (I think we did). I can document our family members who fought for the Confederacy, but Daughters of the Confederacy is not exactly at the top of my list of groups to join

Fun thread!

Have you used ancestry.com or any of the other family search sites? They can be very handy for filling in the blanks if you already have some sort of tree. But of course you always have to double check your sources and you need some sort of documents to back it up. But I found ancestry.com to be very helpful. Also check land deeds and court records during your research. The weird random stuff can give clues.

Also Southern lines are harder to trace than the Northern lines. I don't know why but it's true. I had help getting the info together for my DAR application with a woman who helps straighten out research for the Bay Area applications and she confirmed it to be true.

As for Native American DNA have you considered a DNA test? There are always a few surprises in everyones results. I did come up just 1 percent of Native American myself. And I have loaded it on to gedmatch which is another good site. What I have heard is that if your family was here before 1850 there is a like 50% chance that you will have some Native American DNA.

 

[innerkitten]

I have my husbands paternal family to 1622 in the Netherlands, my mothers father to 1300 something in Germany, my mothers maternal DNA code showing beginnings in Tunisia and then migrating to Norway thru Spain. My fathers line to 1700 Germany, my fathers mothers line hard to find in Ireland. My brother is taking the paternal DNA test to see where we originate on that side. The test is available thru national geographic or 23 and Me.

I did 23andme. But they are no longer doing tests! It's the best one out there in my opinion. How great that you have a male to do your paternal DNA!

Seems Ireland is a tough one. Thats what I hear anyway.

 

[innerkitten]

My MIL has done a lot of research about her side of the family, and I think she's found it very rewarding.

Me, I come from a long line of drunks and indigents, so I don't really want to know what I might turn up - at least a few jail sentences, I reckon!

Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'll find some very interesting stories if you research them .

I found an old mug shot myself of my great grandfather from the 1940s when I was researching him.

Except if there were murrrrrderers I'd rather not know! I'm kidding. It was all very rough though, and extremely alcoholic!

My grandmother, born 1913, was in a children's home because her family were all too drunk to care for her, and then she went into service at 14. Hard life. And my granddad - her husband - his parents weren't married, and they couldn't afford him, so they said. Their solution was to have him adopted - i.e. handed him over the garden fence to the neighbours and bugger off to London where they stayed together, partied and had a high old time. They did get married at some point but they never came back for him. So the neighbours brought him up, gave him their name, and so I have always had the wrong name too. And apparently they had another kid either a long time before or after him, we're not sure, but they did keep that one. They didn't want Granddad though. So my grandparents had these hard backgrounds in common and they met, married at 19 and made a life of respectability of that era: church-goers, community pillars, three children, seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and lived to ripe old ages in a sweet house with roses round the door. True story. They really started out with absolutely nothing and no family support. In fact, only recently my dad remarked that their early lives are a complete blank to him. I asked why and he said, "Well, I think it wasn't very nice." I can't imagine that my grandmother was treated that well in the children's home and in service during that era.

All four of my grandparents had hard lives but the further back you go the worse it gets, I gather. Researching my family history could make me a bit sad, I think, because they had difficult lives. Much of it is lost, of course, because it was difficult enough that they didn't want to talk about it.

Sounds like a movie. I'm glad the story of your grandparents has a happy ending

 

[Smith1942]

My MIL has done a lot of research about her side of the family, and I think she's found it very rewarding.

Me, I come from a long line of drunks and indigents, so I don't really want to know what I might turn up - at least a few jail sentences, I reckon!

Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'll find some very interesting stories if you research them .

I found an old mug shot myself of my great grandfather from the 1940s when I was researching him.

Except if there were murrrrrderers I'd rather not know! I'm kidding. It was all very rough though, and extremely alcoholic!

My grandmother, born 1913, was in a children's home because her family were all too drunk to care for her, and then she went into service at 14. Hard life. And my granddad - her husband - his parents weren't married, and they couldn't afford him, so they said. Their solution was to have him adopted - i.e. handed him over the garden fence to the neighbours and bugger off to London where they stayed together, partied and had a high old time. They did get married at some point but they never came back for him. So the neighbours brought him up, gave him their name, and so I have always had the wrong name too. And apparently they had another kid either a long time before or after him, we're not sure, but they did keep that one. They didn't want Granddad though. So my grandparents had these hard backgrounds in common and they met, married at 19 and made a life of respectability of that era: church-goers, community pillars, three children, seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and lived to ripe old ages in a sweet house with roses round the door. True story. They really started out with absolutely nothing and no family support. In fact, only recently my dad remarked that their early lives are a complete blank to him. I asked why and he said, "Well, I think it wasn't very nice." I can't imagine that my grandmother was treated that well in the children's home and in service during that era.

All four of my grandparents had hard lives but the further back you go the worse it gets, I gather. Researching my family history could make me a bit sad, I think, because they had difficult lives. Much of it is lost, of course, because it was difficult enough that they didn't want to talk about it.

Sounds like a movie. I'm glad the story of your grandparents has a happy ending[/quote]

Thanks! Yes, it's interesting and a real achievement that they were able to escape their backgrounds. Most people didn't back then, and I think their families pretty much carried on the way they were. My grandma's reaction was to have nothing further to do with them. Unsurprisingly, she was a lifelong teetotaller and completely intolerant of alcohol in any form, even in cakes. If the topic of alcohol came up in conversation, she wouldn't answer and would ignore it or simply pretend you hadn't spoken. But my grandparents did have a happy ending. They were married for 66 years in the end. I don't know what happened to the rest of her family in later years, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm related to a few members of today's prison population, hahahaha!

 

[innerkitten]

My MIL has done a lot of research about her side of the family, and I think she's found it very rewarding.

Me, I come from a long line of drunks and indigents, so I don't really want to know what I might turn up - at least a few jail sentences, I reckon!

Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'll find some very interesting stories if you research them .

I found an old mug shot myself of my great grandfather from the 1940s when I was researching him.

Except if there were murrrrrderers I'd rather not know! I'm kidding. It was all very rough though, and extremely alcoholic!

My grandmother, born 1913, was in a children's home because her family were all too drunk to care for her, and then she went into service at 14. Hard life. And my granddad - her husband - his parents weren't married, and they couldn't afford him, so they said. Their solution was to have him adopted - i.e. handed him over the garden fence to the neighbours and bugger off to London where they stayed together, partied and had a high old time. They did get married at some point but they never came back for him. So the neighbours brought him up, gave him their name, and so I have always had the wrong name too. And apparently they had another kid either a long time before or after him, we're not sure, but they did keep that one. They didn't want Granddad though. So my grandparents had these hard backgrounds in common and they met, married at 19 and made a life of respectability of that era: church-goers, community pillars, three children, seven grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and lived to ripe old ages in a sweet house with roses round the door. True story. They really started out with absolutely nothing and no family support. In fact, only recently my dad remarked that their early lives are a complete blank to him. I asked why and he said, "Well, I think it wasn't very nice." I can't imagine that my grandmother was treated that well in the children's home and in service during that era.

All four of my grandparents had hard lives but the further back you go the worse it gets, I gather. Researching my family history could make me a bit sad, I think, because they had difficult lives. Much of it is lost, of course, because it was difficult enough that they didn't want to talk about it.

Sounds like a movie. I'm glad the story of your grandparents has a happy ending[/quote]

Thanks! Yes, it's interesting and a real achievement that they were able to escape their backgrounds. Most people didn't back then, and I think their families pretty much carried on the way they were. My grandma's reaction was to have nothing further to do with them. Unsurprisingly, she was a lifelong teetotaller and completely intolerant of alcohol in any form, even in cakes. If the topic of alcohol came up in conversation, she wouldn't answer and would ignore it or simply pretend you hadn't spoken. But my grandparents did have a happy ending. They were married for 66 years in the end. I don't know what happened to the rest of her family in later years, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm related to a few members of today's prison population, hahahaha!

Where were they from?
I hope you don't mind me asking.

 

[Smith1942]

No, I don't mind! My granddad was from Eastbourne, East Sussex, and my grandmother was from South London. They married and lived the majority of their lives in South London (Croydon) and then lived out their long and happy retirement by the sea back in Eastbourne.

 

[innerkitten]

Cool! I think know where that is. I don't know a lot about the geography of England, but my husband went to College and lived in Brighton for a while. I think that's in the same area right?

p.s. England has very good ancestry records so if you ever do decide to search you'll find there is a lot of easy to access information.

 

[Smith1942]

That's right! I was born and raised in Brighton. Good to know re. the genealogical info.

 

[aviastar]

My whole family contributes to our searches; we love it!

I have some aunts and greats aunts who have done a lot of research on my paternal lines; my maiden name line, which we obviously still have being passed down, has been traced back to relatives who crossed over from Denmark in the 1850's. We would need to travel to Denmark to continue that research at this point.

Another paternal line connected back to Lord Baltimore and Anne Arundle, so once you hit any sort of titled line it's pretty easy as the records are far better. That line connects us all the way back to Charlemagne and then to Marc Anthony from there.

My maternal lines need much more work! We have a good start back to great and some great greats, but family lore says the family first came over to the States in the 1600's, to Virginia and we have a Cherokee ancestor in the mix as well, but I fear she changed her name when she married and I don't know that I'll ever be able to really find her. I would love to be able to document if we had people who fought in the Revolution (I think we did). I can document our family members who fought for the Confederacy, but Daughters of the Confederacy is not exactly at the top of my list of groups to join

Fun thread!

Have you used ancestry.com or any of the other family search sites? They can be very handy for filling in the blanks if you already have some sort of tree. But of course you always have to double check your sources and you need some sort of documents to back it up. But I found ancestry.com to be very helpful. Also check land deeds and court records during your research. The weird random stuff can give clues.

Also Southern lines are harder to trace than the Northern lines. I don't know why but it's true. I had help getting the info together for my DAR application with a woman who helps straighten out research for the Bay Area applications and she confirmed it to be true.

As for Native American DNA have you considered a DNA test? There are always a few surprises in everyones results. I did come up just 1 percent of Native American myself. And I have loaded it on to gedmatch which is another good site. What I have heard is that if your family was here before 1850 there is a like 50% chance that you will have some Native American DNA.

Yes, we do use Ancestry and FamilySearch.org. I would love to do the DNA testing, that's something I should talk to me mom and sisters about. I have a brother, too, so we could do both maternal and paternal lines!

 

[NonieMarie]

As I am sitting here on the computer, my fiancé is at his doing research. He has been at it for years. He started in the early 80's when you had to go to libraries and request books and copies of documents through the mail. He has written 3 books about his mother's side and has the info but hasn't put together the 4th. His mother's family came from Spain, through Vera Cruz, and settled in NM in the 1500's. He's traced them back to Spain even further. They were a tight knit community and he finds people today from that area. My nephew married a Sandoval and when he traced her back, he found they were related back in the 1800's. His family would get upset when people would assume, because of their last name, that they were Mexican. They are Spanish and were only under the Mexican flag for a few years. On his father's side, in a few lines, he keeps hitting a roadblock. The courthouse burned in the 1800's and records were lost. But even with that roadblock he has found a wealth of info. Both sides of his family have been here for hundreds of years!
I always knew I was half Italian ( he traced me back to the 1800's in Italy's church records...before there was an "Italy") but thought, because of my mother's maiden name, that I was mostly German and a little Irish on her side. I was surprised to find I'm very little German and mostly Irish with a little Dutch (1500's Newfoundland). One of the sad things found is that her family, on both sides, has a history of abandoning their children.

Sometimes people don't want to know what he finds. My brother's partner is in his 70's. He was adopted and his adopted mother married many times and was not a nice person. He ended up being raised by one of her ex- husband's parents. He was told, by her, that his birth mother did not want him because she already had a son. He gave my fiancé all the info he had and in an afternoon the truth was exposed. His mother was a 15 year old girl in an orphanage when she had him and he was put up for adoption. She later married and had 4 other children. She died about 15 years ago and her obit even included a photo. He has a brother that lives within 50 miles of him! He did not want to open the file with all the info. My brother looked at it and is waiting to see if he changes his mind. My brother-in-law is a miserable person that blames everything on the lies his adopted mother told but he doesn't want to know the truth. I guess he is too old to change.

 

[aljdewey]

I've worked on mine for the better part of two years now, and I really have hit a stumbling block because my paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Italy. In those days, the influx coming from Italy was considerable, and many of the records are rife with misspellings which no one corrected.

On my maternal side, there's quite a bit of history through grandfather, but grandmother came from an Irish family with a name that is as common as Jones or Smith, so I'm struggling to make headway there.

Still, I find it fascinating. It's like being a detective in figuring out the pieces. As they mesh together, it's given me a real sense for how my family developed in those days and how close families were then.

 

[SB621]

I have tried with moderate sucess. Mostly I can trace back to my great grandparents (it helps that both my grandparents are alive and well with very strong memories at the age of 94 and 93). However once we jump over to Europe it is near impossible to find any records of our family or my even my grandparents cousins. Almost everything and everyone was lost during WWII and the Holocaust. Dh's family is even worse. I plan on trying to make another attempt once we are over in Europe. We have a rough idea where our families were from so I plan on going to visit with our kids.