Ancestry or Geneaology

[Upgradable]

Has anyone ever put together a family tree? How far did you get? What online tools/sites did you use?

Have you found yourself related to someone famous (or infamous) and it really surprised you?

I've been working on mine and am stunned by the scope of the material out there! I have stumbled upon a very interesting lineage. I'll come back and share with you later today. Unfortunately I have to head off too a doctor's appointment right now.

I can't wait to get back and read some stories!!!

 

[sonnyjane]

I've really wanted to do this for a while now, but I've been too cheap to join Ancestry.com...

 

[Okie_girl]

I've been working on mine for a while now, and on one side of my family, I've gotten back to 1575 or so. It's been so interesting to trace my family back. I haven't made any surprising connections, I guess "my people" were just everyday folks!

I've used ancestry.com and rootsweb primarily.

A somewhat interesting story...my greatgrandmother came to the US from Northern Ireland around 1850 or so. I knew what county in Northern Ireland she came from, but that was about all. I did manage to find a 4th cousin of mine who lives in Belfast, and has done extensive research on that side of the family. He knows exactly where my greatgrandparents lived, and even visited the farm (it has apparently since been developed into housing additions). Connecting with him is really making me want to take a trip to Ireland. I've always wanted to go there anyway, but now with a family connection, I *really* want to go.

Uppy, if you have other resources besides ancestry.com, I'd love to hear about them!

 

[Kismet]

I've put together a tree and shared it with my family on ancestry.com. I've done some research there and on familysearch.org and from microfilm at my local family history center. These are run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Using the website costs nothing and microfilm rentals are fairly inexpensive. All of my family came to the US between 1890 and 1910 and I've been able to trace a few branches back to the 1700s.

ETA: my people are all just regular folks... farmers and miners.

One thing I've learned is that you have to question your older relatives pretty closely because they may not tell you stuff that they consider common knowledge. One of the first new things I learned was that my grandfather had an older brother who died in a mining accident. When I brought it up with my mother as big news she was like "well, duh! I knew that"

 

[Okie_girl]

Kismet, good point about questioning older relatives. I meant to say that in my other post....if your parents or grandparents are still alive, ask them questions! I so wish I could call my mother and tell her things I've found, or ask her questions. Use that valuable resource if you still have it.

And, Kismet, thanks to you, I've been doing a little indexing. Very interesting!

 

[JewelFreak]

Oh yes, DO question your older relatives while you can! Get them to reminisce & record it. I'd give anything if I'd been smart enough to do that while mine were still around.

I've done a lot of research at Ancestry.com, also Rootsweb & several others over a pile of years. Most of my family were farmers & pioneers, but my mother's family had plantations in Maryland -- starting with one who came to America from England in 1680 or so as an indentured servant. He was smart: most indentured servants stayed that way through their lives, but he saved his money & when the indenture was over in 7 yrs, married an heiress who inherited lands that he farmed & added to till he owned thousands of acres. One of his descendants -- who would be a distant cousin of mine -- bred the first Kentucky Derby winner.

Also from that line, my grandfather was a (thank heaven, distant) cousin of the Duchess of Windsor. Which I never tell my British buds! I've read that I'm related to Jesse James but not sure how. And to Paul Warfield Tibbetts, the pilot of the Enola Gay.

Ancestors on my dad's side were one of 7 families that bought Nantucket from the Indians. (I WANT IT BACK!) Their descendants stayed on the island & produced several generations of sea captains -- a few yrs ago I saw on a realtor website the house one of them built, a gorgeous brick mansion with widow's walk & beautiful interior woodwork, drool.

My great-grandfather lied about his age & enlisted in the Union army at 16. He was a sharpshooter & marched from Atlanta to the sea with Sherman. I have his army discharge papers & a letter he wrote saying, "It was I who showed General Grant the rebel picket lines at Missionary Ridge..." before the Battle of Chattanooga. As a Civil War buff myself, I WISH I could ask him what he thought of Sherman & Grant, whom he knew. Both fascinate me no end as human beings. He also lived in Illinois where Lincoln traveled as a circuit lawyer before becoming president & must have known him or, if too young at that time, at least knew many older folks who did. A time machine would be handy.

The rest of them broke sod, built houses, farmed land, started businesses, were elected to local & state legislatures in the Midwest & the East Coast. Part of all the ways this country grew from before its founding to the present, which gives me a great deal of pride & gratitude.

--- Laurie

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Thanks to the development and progress of the internet, I've been able to easily get more detailed information about my ancestors on my family tree from the 1600s on one side (with more info going back another 600 years!) and 1400s on the others. (Heck, thanks to reduced republishing costs I recently purchased a 21st century reprint of a 19th century scholarly text all about a single 17th century relative of mine-- what a trip!)

Now I get why they were such a big deal, and... I feel like a really big slacker for not doing more with life myself.

Upgradable, what did you find in yours so far?

Anyhow, off to peruse SMTB...

 

[Okie_girl]

Laurie, your Civil War story reminded me of a letter I have that my great-great grandfather wrote to his wife. He was also a soldier in the Civil War, but on the side of the Confederacy. He died about a month after this letter was written, after being shot and held as a POW. He was 26 years old.

Dec. 23, 1862
Dear Wife
This leaves me in a fine state of health. Hoping these few lines may reach and find you all well and doing well. I have nothing strange to write at preasant. I am in better health then I have bin in 12 months. Mary I read your letter dated Nove 21. You wrote that your father was very sick and allso you wrote that Wm Kitchens was dead which I was sorry to hear and you rote that you was going home you thought for you thought you would be better saddisfied. Mary you do as you think best about that. You thought you could get a boy to plow for you. I think you can two for I think you can get Frank to plow for you. I think the war will end in time for us to all get home before plow time. President Davis was in Murfreesboro the other day and he made a speech and he said peace would be made before long. Thear is a powerful stir up in the army. Thear is something up some way.
Mary I saw a man shot the other day. Mary it was a bad site. Mary I sent you fifty dollars by Sam Jackson and I sent 20 by A. R. Baker. Do the best you can if you go home. Get Sam’s son to build you a garden and a stable to keep your mare dry. You said the children was all well and the baby was talking. I can’t tell how bad I want to see you and my baby. Mary don’t kill yourself working and don’t grieve yourself about me for I will take care of myself. Mary if you can send me a pare pants and a pare socks and a pare galluses without taking it of you or the children do so if not don’t do it. Mary I am as big as Sam Cooner I can’t do without galluses. So write to me as soon as you get this letter. So hug and kiss the cihldren for me. I will rite again in a few days. Nothing more at this time.
Remains your affectionate Frank til death

 

[Kismet]

Wow, how awesome is it that you have actual letters from your ancestors. I know my grandfather burned a whole lot of documents before he died. It would be interesting to know what he got rid of.

 

[Upgradable]

I know I have several very interesting lines in which I've yet to really delve. I have a cousin on my father's side who has done quite a bit of work on that line, so I've not spent much time researching that.

My (maternal) grandmother was quite engaged in documenting her family lineage all during her life. I remember, as a child, visiting one or another distant relative with her and my grandfather. I have her scrapbooks which contain all of her documentation. Most of this was done (or written down at least) in the early 1970s, before internet, computers, or even fax machines. She spent lots of time in county libraries, state departments of history, and even went to the library of congress to find information. It boggles my mind that she did so much of this on her own! She was able to trace her lineage (maiden name Shelton) from the US to Scotland (Carmichael) back as far as 1754. Amazing when you understand that she had to look up each piece of paper, marriage license, and certificate of death individually!

Because of her work I was always aware that both her and my grandfather's families were from Scotland. I even knew, in nonspecific terms, that they hailed from Ayrshire. My further digging has revealed a pot of gold that I don't even think she would have expected!!

The clan Carmichael is a very long and historic line in Scotland. They were living in the borderlands of England/Scotland before the 11th century Norman conquest of the Isles. So, that means I can go back to about 1050 AD. As I went through the process of identifying each of the generations of this family, I veered off track a little. Instead of sticking with the Carmichael name, my attention was caught by one of the female members. She was the wife of Sir John Carmichael (1484-1587). Her name was Elizabeth Bruce.

At this juncture I owe a nod of acknowledgement to Mel Gibson, whose acting and directing career has (for good and bad) brought to light many events and eras of history. It was during his portrayal (in blue face paint and kilt) of William Wallace in Braveheart that the name Robert the Bruce was reintroduced into contemporary frame of reference. I recalled Robert the Bruce was the Scottish ruler who backed Wallace in his successful attempt to free the Scots from English rule.

I immediately dove off in this direction to see if Elizabeth was indeed a part of this famous line. What I found was a Bruce/De Bruys line that I have traced back to 1164 and the original Robert Lord Annandale deBruce. (And boy, it is frustrating when you have to factor in the titles with the given names with the area in which they lived which were often a part of their name! That's completely separate from the tradition of marrying cousins which cross the lines up until you swear you have a spiderweb!!)

As I examined the marriages and families between the first Robert and Elizabeth, I found in our line (right now, I'm still working on it) Kings Robert I, II, and III of Scotland (family name of Stewart). And if I can document what I expect, I'm going to be moving into the line of the English monarchs.

To boil all of this down, I don't think it is unreasonable to change my screen name from Upgradable to Her Royal Highness, Uppy of Oklahoma. Do you think it would catch on?

 

[Karl_K]

My dad's side and family name is traced back to 1010 Scotland.
My mom's side we cant get past Odessa in the early 1900s when they came to the US.

 

[JewelFreak]

Okie girl, what a fabulous letter to have! Shows so much of his personality & the god-awful responsibilities of making a life then. The letter from my g-grandfather was dated 1927, to his daughter who asked about his Civil War experience. He said he was called to Sherman's tent before the Battle of Chattanooga, where he met w/Grant & Sherman. He closed saying, "Well, that takes me back to sober times & I will quit. I was alone with what happened then and am alone with it now. One in that position don't tell all." Obviously still very painful memories. I wish so much that his wartime letters (I'm sure he wrote them) had been saved. However, about 20 yrs after the Civil War he got very sick -- but recovered enough to run off to California with his nurse! My g-grandmother never again allowed anyone to speak his name in her presence, so if she had letters, photos, journal, she tossed 'em quickly & thoroughly. Big shame. I have a photo of him in his 60s but have searched online for earlier ones with no luck. You're very lucky to have such a window on a relative.

Yow, Your Royal Highness Uppy! Cool stuff. Virtual curtsies here!

--- Laurie

 

[Enerchi]

I don't think it is unreasonable to change my screen name from Upgradable to Her Royal Highness, Uppy of Oklahoma. Do you think it would catch on?

We bow in your presence, your royal highness!!!

LOVE IT!!!

 

[justginger]

I did a bit of work to satisfy my mother, using roots, ancestry, etc. She was convinced we are of Irish descent. It took me DAYS to find an ancestor that wasn't just plain American.

Tracing through census records, I finally found something a bit puzzling. First census, household is James (husband), Kate (wife), and Catherine (domestic help). James' parents from NY, Kate's parents unlisted, Catherine's mother from NY, father from Ireland. Next census? There is no Kate, it is now James and Catherine, husband and wife. Either he hitched up with the maid, or there was an error in the naming of the wife/maid on the first census. Regardless, this Catherine with the Irish father was the mother of my mother's relatives, so she was right. There's .0000004% Irishness in her blood.

It was interesting, but very labor intensive. It was nearly impossible to trace back any of the females' lines because I couldn't ever find maiden names. I have no idea how people have managed to do histories dating back hundreds of years - think I was in the early 1800s and all my info was already dried up.

 

[sillyberry]

My mom has gotten very into genealogy over the past year (lots of very interesting stuff!), and one resource that's been invaluable is findagrave.com.

 

[Upgradable]

Been immersed all day. Unreal.

From a Warrior to Kings to a Saint! I've got more work to do but it looks like Macbeth is a second cousin.

 

[GlamMosher]

As a bit of a veteran at this stuff, my best advice is never trust anyone else's work! Never put anything in your tree unless you have sited proof, certificates etc. You would not believe the cock ups I have seen of my own family tree...

Alas, i have no stars or anyone famous, royal etc (I do have a direct Bruce ancestor, but no relation to Robert. EVERYONE with a Bruce name tries to go back to him), but do have a handful of convicts which in Australia is like royalty! Most families in Australia are upset if they don't have at least one convict.

 

[JewelFreak]

That's hilarious, Glam Mosher! I'll give ya Jesse James if you want him. A friend of mine discovered one of her ancestors, who came over on the Mayflower, was the 1st person legally hanged in the New World. I forget what he did, but it was a stringing-up offense. She was mortified but I thought it was a gas.

--- Laurie

 

[Upgradable]

As a bit of a veteran at this stuff, my best advice is never trust anyone else's work! Never put anything in your tree unless you have sited proof, certificates etc. You would not believe the cock ups I have seen of my own family tree...

Alas, i have no stars or anyone famous, royal etc (I do have a direct Bruce ancestor, but no relation to Robert. EVERYONE with a Bruce name tries to go back to him), but do have a handful of convicts which in Australia is like royalty! Most families in Australia are upset if they don't have at least one convict.

Thanks Glam. I have been hesitant about just mix and match of other's trees. I'm just starting, but have been using other sites besides ancestry.com. One of the good ones I have found for the historic line I'm in is Geneology4U. I'm also working back down the line to reconnect to next generations to confirm they do match. I'll be taking much more time to verify as soon as am able to stop myself from digging down! It is addicting.

 

[kenny]

How would you like to trace your family back over 60,000 years?
Here's 7-year old BBC article announcing just such a project: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4435009.stm

I saw this National Geographic Special that was so riveting I watched it twice.
It is now streaming on Netflix.





Using the latest in genetic technology geneticist Dr. Spencer Wells has determined with scientific certainty that all humans living today descended from one single man and one single woman in Africa.
(The program never implied they were partners or lived even at the same time, ala the Adam and Eve idea).

Using genetic markers unique to a family line they have identified the time frames and different paths that groups of humans took out of Africa to populate the world 60,000+ years ago.



If I understand it correctly genetic mutations spontaneously occur in DNA that are passed down to every one of that person's descendants forever.
Over time more mutation markers occur and today serve as kernels of popcorn dropped along the way by our ancestors over time to trace our ancestor's migration path.
This allows analysis to use the markers in your DNA to trace your ancestry.

To date 524,384 people have swabbed their cheek, sent in their DNA, and gotten back their distant family line from this worldwide project.
If you want learn your distant ancestry, it costs $200. http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=2001246&gsk&code=MR20946
If you had any privacy concerns you can opt out of your data being included in the overall project.

 

[JewelFreak]

A project like that has been going on for people with my maiden name, Kenny. It's interesting. I always thought my father's family line was from Scotland but it turns out they are Dutch; the name was anglicized from the Dutch ending of -sen to -son, making it identical to a Scottish name.

How about the story of maybe 10 yrs ago about the teacher of high school science in England who used the recent discovery of a stone-age burial for a project? Many families in the area had lived there for generation after generation, so he asked the class to give DNA samples for matching against the skeleton. Turned out HE, himself, was a direct descendant! What a knockout! Love that story.

--- Laurie

 

[kenny]

Nation Geographic's Genealographic project does not give names and dates of birth, deaths or marriages going back 60,000 years.
I believe it only tells you which of those red lines your ancestors took out of Africa, and when.