Do You Know Who Your Ancestors Are?

American Quilter | May 14, 2010 | American Quilter

[American Quilter]

Now that so many ancestry records have been digitized, it's amazingly easy to start tracing your family tree. I'd never done it, but I watched this season's TV show, "Who Do You Think You Are?", and they kept referring to ancestry.com. So on a whim a few weeks ago I logged onto that site , and I've been amazed at what I've found. My mother's father's mother's family line goes back into the late 1400s in France, via many generations of French Canadians--who knew??? One of my dad's grandfathers came to the US to escape the Potato Famine in Ireland, and the other was apparently paid by his wealthy father-in-law to leave Ireland before the authorities arrested him for his anti-English revolutionary activities.

I've started wondering if I may be related to any of my fellow FReepers. Do any of you have any ancestor stories you'd be willing to share? My family has history in Quebec, St. Paul MN, Jasper County IN, Iroquois County IL, and the Seattle area (including the Olympic peninsula), but I'd love to hear from other FReepers regardless of whether we turn out to be related.

[Jewbacca]

Mom, Dad, Levi, Abrham, Noah, Adam.

people in between.

[American Quilter]

LOL! So we ARE related. I thought so.

[Andyman]

I’m VERY into genealogy. My wife’s family goes back to Quebec in the 1600’s and about 100 years back in France from there. I’m English/Scottish/Irish/German.

She’s lucky, Catholic records and she can read and write French. Lousy Irish records and old German script make things a lot tougher for me. Together, we have some 2,500 in our tree, mostly mine because she does not want to “collect” ancestors unless they are in her direct line.

[Claud]

I’ve been able to trace my roots in this country all the way back to ancestors who came here in the 1960s: mom and dad.

;)

[ClearBlueSky]

Ah HA! So YOU are the explanation for the hairy, Spanish side of my family, my affection for Yiddish and my love of Star Wars! COUSIN!!!

[oh8eleven]

Ancestry.Com is worth ten times what they charge for an annual subscription (~ $165). My family history stopped with my grandfather (who died in Brooklyn, 1965) and no one ever talked about our family history. Big secret.
I retired two years ago, got researching in Ancestry full time and I discovered my past - all the way back to my gg-grandfather who I now know came here from Ireland in 1851 and ended up living in the lower east side of NYC.
Even better, I discovered one of his sons (my great grandfather) had a brother who also had descendants which meant I might have "missing cousins" still alive. Long story short - I did and although it took me a year to find the first one, I now have over 100 new relatives in my family tree.

[AFreeBird]

Oh, so you’re a Froggy are ya? ;)

Yea, that’s a good site. Great place to get started.

My family dates back to the 17th century in this country. England before that, and possibly Germany before that.

And yea, some froggy got into the mix too, only after they had moved here though.

[MissEdie]

How are they for international relatives? I want to go to Ancestory.com for my daughter, but her father is a British National. Do they take that into consideration?

[Let's Roll]

CK your FReepmail

[RnMomof7]

My sister in law found out we are kin to Honey Fitz.. (the Kennedy’s ) actually we would have rather not known that ...

[oh8eleven]

her father is a British National.
The majority of my research was conducted within the official US Census reports which are available from the early 1800s through 1930.
I assume your daughter's father isn't old enough to be listed yet. Also, you can research foreign data bases, but that will cost more for a subscription.
You don't have to subscribe for a full year - you can pay a month at a time or three months at a time.

[DJ MacWoW]

A membership for international records costs more. But they have records. There are also other trees on Ancestry and there will be “clues” that point you to trees that share common names. You have to be careful though because some people save incorrect info and they won’t change it. They don’t seem to care. I have even been cussed out by others for correcting them about my immediate family.

[PanzerKardinal]

My family has lived in the same village at least since 1641.

The family farm was bought in 1724.

The main house, which my cousins now live in, was built in 1908.

[DJ MacWoW]

I started doing this in the early 80’s the hard way. I sent for death certs and land records etc. Ancestry is good but not the only source. I’m not a fan of their “One World Tree” either. Love the census records though.

[oh8eleven]

I watched this season's TV show, "Who Do You Think You Are?"
More Hollywood BS. Most of the people featured on this show are actors and very well off - i.e. millionaires.
If they really gave a damn about anything other than themselves, like their family history, why haven't any of them hired genealogists to do the research years ago?
Phonies.

[oh8eleven]

Outstanding free resource for NYC ancestors info. No, it isn't limited to Italians, they're just the sponsor.

[ilovesarah2012]

I, unfortunately, found I was related to Obama. Not something I tell people. It’s somewhat distant, anyway. His great-great grandfather was a relative. Still, I hate the guy. LOL

[sauropod]

Be careful of what’s on Ancestry.com.

There’s lots of unsubstantiated stuff on there.

[EggsAckley]

My family tree has been traced back to 1700 when a gggg+++grandfather came here from England. His name was Joshua Fry. He was a well respected cartographer in Virginia and was also the General in the French-Indian wars. One of his men was a young George Washington. When Joshua died from a horsing accident in 1750, Washington took over his command.

Joshua can be found on the net, with the story of his time here.

Also, another ggggrandfather was named George Miller, and he was the second bishop named by Joseph Smith with the Mormons. After Smith's murder, George did not follow Brigham Young to Utah, choosing instead to head down to Texas with a splinter group of Mormons. By then he had four wives. He can also be found on google.