Genealogy

[Glenn]

Is anyone interested in this subject? My son and I just sent in our list of ancestors to the Descendants of Mayflower Society because as best as we can figure out, we are the descendants of Stephen Hopkins, one of the 22 heads of the families that came over. If that gets OK'd, we will check on another. It's just kind of cool. If everything works out as fantasied, I am in a direct line from two of the 22 family heads, one a Pilgrim and another what the Pilgrims called them, a Stranger.

Next on the list is trying to prove Charlemagne is my 38th greatgrandfather. The major problem in tracking these things down is that you depend on other people's data and a lot of this data can be made of wishful thinking. If I can prove my ancestry from 2011 to 1600 on the Charlemagne pathway, it will be nailed. A lot of that will be confirmed or denied by the Mayflower Society as the Mayflower came here in 1620. My "ancestors" from 1600 to Charlemagne (750 or so) are all in Wikipedia and well researched.

It's just a lot of fun.

 

[NoBonus]

Is anyone interested in this subject? My son and I just sent in our list of ancestors to the Descendants of Mayflower Society because as best as we can figure out, we are the descendants of Stephen Hopkins, one of the 22 heads of the families that came over. If that gets OK'd, we will check on another. It's just kind of cool. If everything works out as fantasied, I am in a direct line from two of the 22 family heads, one a Pilgrim and another what the Pilgrims called them, a Stranger.

Next on the list is trying to prove Charlemagne is my 38th greatgrandfather. The major problem in tracking these things down is that you depend on other people's data and a lot of this data can be made of wishful thinking. If I can prove my ancestry from 2011 to 1600 on the Charlemagne pathway, it will be nailed. A lot of that will be confirmed or denied by the Mayflower Society as the Mayflower came here in 1620. My "ancestors" from 1600 to Charlemagne (750 or so) are all in Wikipedia and well researched.

It's just a lot of fun.

Sounds like you have a lot of fun ancestors... my family was all miners and farmers... I have recently got the genealogy bug, as well. I am eligible to join the SAR, though. Any tips or tricks? I have found familysearch.org really helpful... and ellisisland.org. Are you using ancestry.com?

 

[Glenn]

Sounds like you have a lot of fun ancestors... my family was all miners and farmers... I have recently got the genealogy bug, as well. I am eligible to join the SAR, though. Any tips or tricks? I have found familysearch.org really helpful... and ellisisland.org. Are you using ancestry.com?

I use ancestry.com Once you get the hang of it, it is REALLY helpful. Just be skeptical of the data. If it shows that the parent is younger than the child, reject that hint. My son went so far as to fly to some cemeteries to get proof from headstones. The fact that he went to the town I grew up in and stayed with my sister was nice also. It may sound weird but when it comes time to prove the more recent links, you have to provide great information.

I love to learn and whether or not William the Conqueror or Charlemagne are really my ancestors or not, I have learned a lot. Lady Godiva is a distant relative (assuming etc.) and the story behind her naked ride is very interesting. She died well off and highly respected. Check out the story and you'll see how heroic she was and also what a great marriage she must have had. These things interest me.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Someone on my father's side has done that half of my tree. Contacted me right around the time my son was born which was pretty cool. I am adopted however so I don't have a whole lot of interest in exploring too far. Still I learned some neat things about my family I didn't know. Like my grandma "Katie" was really "KT" - short for Kathryn Thomas. So when I named my son with my dad's and another family name I had also unwittingly named him with both of my grandma's maiden names. Pretty cool stuff.

He also has a lot of diaries from one of my grandma's cousins so I learned a lot about where she was from which was neat.

 

[kennadog]

I belong to ancestry.com, which ix based on the records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Momons). My mom's family is Mormon and came over from England and Scotland. Either coal miners or masons. My maternal grandfather took ove the family contracting business, when his father died. My granfather was a mason and he built the first three high schools in Salt Lake City and certain of the first buildings of the University of Utah in SLC.

By the way, you can look up a Mormon geneology center near where you live. Anybody can go in and get information/records and/or help. My aunt used to voluteer at the one in Oakland, CA.

I didn't even know my dad's parent's names until a couple of years ago. Scottish and French. It can be very interesting.

You do have to be careful of information/documents. It's also more difficult if the family name has had various spellings.

 

[Glenn]

Fortunately the English kept good records which is not true of a lot of countries. I have gone back as far as the year 500 and then the information got pretty weird. One claim is that one of my ancestors was a son of Neptune who is a mythological character. At that point, I couldn't go any farther. I didn't know it but some of the Kings of England were Vikings and Dublin was created by the Vikings. As I am part Norwegian, that's interesting.

In the process I made contact with a 1st cousin who I didn't know existed. I knew her brother very well.

A lot of ancestry.com is linked informally or formally with the LDS records which is the best in the world. Kennadog, keep pushing on your English links. Charlemagne had 20 kids so who knows? Thats about 40 generations back and there are a lot of his offspring running about. It's just very hard to prove.

My son tried to run the math and says we have over a billion 40th great grandparents. I suspect the only ones with adequate provable links are European.

Let me add that before the year 1000, the people did not have last names. THAT creates a mess. They were "Glenn of Carmicheal" or the like. And then, the word "of" is different in different languages. It can be von, de, Fitz, verch (Welsh), and more. Most of the records are translated but as ancestry.com is open to the world, not all are translated in a way we would understand. The Welch names are unbelievable.

William in French is spelled differently. Rollo is Robert in Denmark, etc, etc, etc.

I need some help from dimedropper.

ps: as a descendant of Charlemagne, you'd think I could afford an arena.

 

[Glenn]

Someone on my father's side has done that half of my tree. Contacted me right around the time my son was born which was pretty cool. I am adopted however so I don't have a whole lot of interest in exploring too far. Still I learned some neat things about my family I didn't know. Like my grandma "Katie" was really "KT" - short for Kathryn Thomas. So when I named my son with my dad's and another family name I had also unwittingly named him with both of my grandma's maiden names. Pretty cool stuff.

He also has a lot of diaries from one of my grandma's cousins so I learned a lot about where she was from which was neat.

We all need roots and I hope you can figure yours out.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

We all need roots and I hope you can figure yours out.

Thanks, I am very happy with the family I do have, which includes one biological sibling. Meeting other siblings is about the extent of my curiosity when it comes to my birth family. Unfortunately I don't think that would be possible without getting more info than I am interested in.

 

[Glenn]

Thanks, I am very happy with the family I do have, which includes one biological sibling. Meeting other siblings is about the extent of my curiosity when it comes to my birth family. Unfortunately I don't think that would be possible without getting more info than I am interested in.

Then you have figured them out.

 

[NoBonus]

If you want in the LDS database, familysearch.org is an LDS site that lets non-members into their database and it's FREE! How much is an annual subscription to Ancestry.com anyhow?

 

[Rockmeister]

I use ancestry.com Once you get the hang of it, it is REALLY helpful. Just be skeptical of the data. If it shows that the parent is younger than the child, reject that hint.

I am wondering if this website is a scam. I tried using ancestry.com and typed in my email address and it said it was wrong. Ummmmm....I very well know my email address.

 

[kennadog]

I am wondering if this website is a scam. I tried using ancestry.com and typed in my email address and it said it was wrong. Ummmmm....I very well know my email address.

It certaionly seems legit. I've been a member for a few years now. Its certainly not cheap, though.

 

[NoBonus]

It certaionly seems legit. I've been a member for a few years now. Its certainly not cheap, though.

How much? Also, start with familysearch.org... it's pretty nice!

 

[Glenn]

If you want in the LDS database, familysearch.org is an LDS site that lets non-members into their database and it's FREE! How much is an annual subscription to Ancestry.com anyhow?

That web site does not guarantee accuracy nor does ancestry.com. The major difference that I can see is that ancestry.com allows a way of constructing the family tree and the other doesn't. Ancestry.com suggests possible relatives to whoever you are looking up and the other doesn't. Familysearch.org for my needs is useless.

You can add pictures and supportive documents to ancestry.com. Most of this will have been researched and discovered for you.

Ancestry.com costs $20 per month and is a lot more if you want to scan the world. Multiple people can use that account so if you have 4 people in your family interested, it's $5 per month and there is no limit to the number of family trees that can be placed on any account. In fact data can be taken from one tree and added to another. You can scan the world that has already been researched by clients. All the data I discovered was on the $20 month deal. It will allow you to get in touch with other people researching your area and you can check out what they have found without asking. You can get in touch with them if you wish. It blanks out the names of those that are living if you are afraid people will find out something that can hurt a living family member.

For example, Kennadog could have used my account and we would have split the expense. As it is for me right now, I split the expense with my son and his girl friend and we have two trees being constructed. I also constructed two other bare bones trees to hopefully prove I am related to two people who were on the Mayflower.

Another neat goody is you can pick out any person that you have added to your personal tree and it will tell you how they are related to you and show the links of all the people that link you together to them.

I think you can get a free trial on ancestry.com but its full use doesn't become apparent unless you know the most recent three or four generations.

For instance here is a partial list that shows my link to Lady Godiva:

Godiva Lady Avranches (980 - 1067)
relationship to you: wife of paternal grandfather of wife of 28th great grandfather

Leofric, Earl of Mercia ( - 1057)
Husband of Godiva Lady

Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia ( - 1062)
Son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia

Ealdgyth, daughter of Earl Ælfgar
Daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia

Harold II, King of England Godwinsson (1022 - 1066)
Husband of Ealdgyth, daughter of Earl Ælfgar

Godwin Haraldsson (1049 - 1075)
Son of Harold II, King of England​

and so for, and so forth and so forth.

Can't do that with the free service.

ps: note the last named people I put up were a Viking King of England and his son. Go Vikings.

Addendum: through another British ancestor I got a more direct link and Lady Godiva is my 25th great grandmother. I have two links to Charlemagne, one of them passes through William the Conqueror. Is it real? Not sure but I have contacted the International Charlemagne Society.

 

[hoopsfan]

My mom has been doing our family's geneology for the past 30 years or so, long before the internet and all of these helpful websites. She used to go to Utah just to go to the LDS archives. She would write to cities and county records in various states for information, forms and photographs. Sometimes even writing complete strangers that she found and was hoping they were related somehow.

Since my grandmother's family came toCalifornia from Oklahoma, she and my father went there, (actually for other business..a farm that she inherited, etc.), and ended up staying at a B&B which she found out was actually the family home and built by here great grandfather!

She has traced both hers and my father's side of the family all the way back to Germany, which was actually Prussia at the time...I told here we ned to go to Germany to continue her search, and since I know some German, I would need to go with her to help translate! Unfortunately, she hasn't taken me up on my offer.

 

[Glenn]

I have been able to trace my ex-wife's (children's mother) from Germany to Russia. I knew her grandfather was in the Russian army previously but didn't understand it. In 1810 a group of Germans left Germany and created a town in Russia (now Ukraine), a town where all citizens were German. In 1840, they all left Russia and moved to the Dakotas as a group. To this day my ex father in law and mother in law (in their 90's) can speak fluid German.

All this information is on ancestry.com except for the part where I say my ex in-laws can speak fluid German, of course.

Perhaps genealogy is more of interest to older people than younger people. It helps to be very compulsive.

My German, nicht sehr gut.

 

[Glenn]

Just got a letter from the Descendants of Mayflower Society and everything is OK so far. Now we need to prove the most recent generations which shouldn't be difficult as we have the original documents. We aren't in yet.