Genealogy

[PopeyesPappy]

I have been putzing around with genealogy on and off for years. One branch of the family that I didn't know much about was my father's mother's side of the family. I didn't know anything about his maternal grandmother's ancestry beyond her last name.

One thing I did believe is that dad's maternal and paternal grandmothers were probably related. Same last name. Same part of West Virginia. I was finally able to answer that question with a family tree link I found on familysearch.org. His paternal grandmother's father was the brother of his maternal grandmother's grandfather. They were first cousins once removed.

Familysearch.org is an interesting tool. The reliability is questionable, but I found a couple of interesting lines in my family history while just looking to see how back things go. One is that I can apparently count Ecgberht King of Wessex, as one of my ancestors. As a fan of the History Channel's series Vikings, I can appreciate that. Through him I can go back to Cedric the Saxon founder of Wessex.

By far though the most interesting branch is this one. Check the upper right corner.



Apparently, my sister's daughter is a Holy Grail.

That's not all though. If you follow that line back you will eventually get to Gilgamesh of Uruk in 2750 BC. Which is interesting because that gives me a line that goes back to before the flood without passing through Noah. I haven't found the right line to get back to Noah or Adam yet, but that should be in there somewhere too. Right? 😉

[Unbeliever]

I want to try that myself, since I don't know who my biological parents were, only that their name may have been Fry. That's all I've got to go on, which isn't much, so I'm not expecting much.

Sounds like you've had a great time with it, though, so if you could take it all the way back to Adam and Eve that would be cool! 🖖

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm descended from eight couples who left Ireland in the 1890s. They changed their family names at Ellis Island. Nothing known about them before that. 23andMe says I'm 100% Irish, thank god.

[Mike Cl]

My mom did an extensive genealogy search for my dad's side of the family.  The first she found booked passage from  London to Maryland.  So, we think he was Irish who settled in the largest Catholic area of this country.  He was a Col. during the Rev. War--and it was thought he was a large landowner in Maryland.  If all was right with the world, I should be living on a large estate in Maryland.  Only one problem.  He was a Col. in the British army.  So, when the war ended all that he owned was no longer owned by him.  And we have been paupers from him to me.  :)
We followed the Cumberland Gap to Illinois to a place called Clary's Grove--it's on the maps of that time.  One owned a trading post/store.  A couple served with Lincoln in the Black Hawk war; and prior to that wrestled with him (not winning apparently).  We were friends with Mike Armstrong one of Lincoln's more famous wrestling partner's.  From Ill. the clan went to Arkansas and finally into Texas.  My grandfather was born and lived his entire life in Mexia, TX, a cotton gin town.  My dad escaped that town by going into the Army.  He met my mom while he was training in Oregon.  My mom produced a just about a 100 page book dealing with all of the ancestors from Maryland to my time.  It's a fun read.  Well, for me anyway.

[viocjit]

I'm doing my genealogy but only an ascendant one.
I don't include all descendants of my ascendants but only those who are ascendants of me.

It does means you can find my parents , grandparents etc... but not theirs brothers/sisters/half-brothers/half-sisters and theirs descendants.

[SoldierofFortune]

Turkey emerged from the remains of the Ottoman Empire, which included the Balkans -once upon a time.

My maternal grandparent emigrated from Yugoslavia, which is now Macedonia. He was blonde with green eyes. I take after him a little bit.

I have no more information about my ancestors beyond my grandparents: any cencus didn't take place in the Ottoman Empire until its falling times. And the reason for cencus was taxing, Only males was counted.

[aitm]

My older brother did one, don't know where it went to. His widow claims she gave it to my other brother who says the bitch never gave it to him. Last I spoke with him he said he was inches from linking us to James Brumfield, first English settler killed by Indians in Jamestown (records have him as a 16 yr old boy) so they say. Anyhoo...no proof but I've used it a couple times during the last 10 years when some uppity claims to be from the Mayflower, I harumph, get a snooty English accent, "family was here 13 years for you even got on the boat"

[PopeyesPappy]

I'm descended from eight couples who left Ireland in the 1890s. They changed their family names at Ellis Island. Nothing known about them before that. 23andMe says I'm 100% Irish, thank god.

Mom's 2nd paternal great grandfather immigrated from Ireland sometime before 1843 when her grandfather was born here. We know zero about that line prior to him. Most of the rest of my ancestors came from England, Switzerland, and Germany.

[PopeyesPappy]

if you could take it all the way back to Adam and Eve that would be cool! 🖖

Well, since according to some unknown stranger I'm apparently descended from Jesus the line from him to Adam is already in the Bible. lol

[PopeyesPappy]

My mom did an extensive genealogy search for my dad's side of the family.  The first she found booked passage from  London to Maryland.  So, we think he was Irish who settled in the largest Catholic area of this country.  He was a Col. during the Rev. War--and it was thought he was a large landowner in Maryland.  If all was right with the world, I should be living on a large estate in Maryland.  Only one problem.  He was a Col. in the British army.  So, when the war ended all that he owned was no longer owned by him.  And we have been paupers from him to me.  :)
We followed the Cumberland Gap to Illinois to a place called Clary's Grove--it's on the maps of that time.  One owned a trading post/store.  A couple served with Lincoln in the Black Hawk war; and prior to that wrestled with him (not winning apparently).  We were friends with Mike Armstrong one of Lincoln's more famous wrestling partner's.  From Ill. the clan went to Arkansas and finally into Texas.  My grandfather was born and lived his entire life in Mexia, TX, a cotton gin town.  My dad escaped that town by going into the Army.  He met my mom while he was training in Oregon.  My mom produced a just about a 100 page book dealing with all of the ancestors from Maryland to my time.  It's a fun read.  Well, for me anyway.

Several of my ancestors had largish holdings in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. But like you there wasn't anyone with more than a couple hundred acres by the start of the 20th century.

[PopeyesPappy]

I'm doing my genealogy but only an ascendant one.
I don't include all descendants of my ascendants but only those who are ascendants of me.

It does means you can find my parents , grandparents etc... but not theirs brothers/sisters/half-brothers/half-sisters and theirs descendants.

Adding kids can really help identifying people in some of the public databases.

[PopeyesPappy]

My older brother did one, don't know where it went to. His widow claims she gave it to my other brother who says the bitch never gave it to him. Last I spoke with him he said he was inches from linking us to James Brumfield, first English settler killed by Indians in Jamestown (records have him as a 16 yr old boy) so they say. Anyhoo...no proof but I've used it a couple times during the last 10 years when some uppity claims to be from the Mayflower, I harumph, get a snooty English accent, "family was here 13 years for you even got on the boat"

Yea, but can you get back to Jesus or Gilgamesh? ;)

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Mom's 2nd paternal great grandfather immigrated from Ireland sometime before 1843 when her grandfather was born here. We know zero about that line prior to him. Most of the rest of my ancestors came from England, Switzerland, and Germany.

There was, supposedly, a bible that had our lineage in it, but that's long lost.

[PopeyesPappy]

Ha! Apparently I'm related to William Shakespeare. Not a direct descendant but through his sister Joan.

Isn't there some question as to whether or not ol' Will was a real person or not?

[Unbeliever]

You may also be related to Genghis Khan, since I've read that a large percentage of Europeans are. 🤔