C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 At least there is company in the criminal corner. Ah. Speaking of criminals... I'm most likely the only one here related to a pair of shoes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The furthest back I remember is Caesar Augustus. WOW. You *remember* Augustus himself??? I never thought you were that old! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Ah. Speaking of criminals... I'm most likely the only one here related to a pair of shoes... Shoes??? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 :lol: My stepdad is descended from the McCoys. There is a Hatfield and McCoy joint family reunion every year ;) There's a huge family joke about the Hatfield & McCoy's here. Some relationship too on my mom's side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) Shoes??? LOL Not for the faint at heart. May I present my great-great-uncle (or something like that) http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/bignose.html ETA: do we say "faint at heart" or "faint of heart" ??? Suddenly I don't remember. Edited January 4, 2011 by CleoQc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xuzi Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Not for the faint at heart.May I present my great-great-uncle (or something like that) http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/bignose.html Ew. :001_huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Not for the faint at heart.May I present my great-great-uncle (or something like that) http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/bignose.html Okay that's revolting! LOL Although I think I'd rather be related to the shoes than to the guy that wore them!! Ick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Mennonite peasant stock here. Nothing too interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I traced my family tree in the US back to the 1600s - everywhere my dad's family settled, they were on the edge of a swamp (Okefenokee, Great Dismal, etc.). I then traced the family name across the pond to England. Where we lived in the peat bogs at the edge of the Lake Country. We're not famous. Just a bunch of swamp dwellers. :tongue_smilie: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Not for the faint at heart.May I present my great-great-uncle (or something like that) http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/bignose.html Oh my goodness!!! How gruesome! :ack2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Through my paternal grandparents I am related to British educator, Charlotte Mason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 This is so interesting. So how do you all do this family research? Some people mentioned using LDS resources, but how do you actually go about doing that? I need some steps to follow, websites to use, or whatever. I don't know where to start. I have some great-grandparents' names, but that's it. What do I do next? So how do I get started, and where, and how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 This is so interesting. So how do you all do this family research? Some people mentioned using LDS resources, but how do you actually go about doing that? I need some steps to follow, websites to use, or whatever. I don't know where to start. I have some great-grandparents' names, but that's it. What do I do next? So how do I get started, and where, and how? LDS Resources Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Joseph Smith Jr. He's my Great-great-great Grandfather. I also married a Smith (not related by blood), so I got to keep my last name... my only claim to fame :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Cadam, Was the youngest a boy? I've heard that was common if one did not feel one could support all of the children. The boy was kept to work on the farm and the girls were given away. It happened to my grandfather's sister. She was the oldest and when their mother died while my grandpa was a baby, he and his brother were sent to his aunt's house to be raised until they were old enough to work on their father's farm but she was given away. Fortunately, the aunt did not like that one little bit, retrieved her niece, and raised her. However, she only saw her father a couple of times. He lived several states away on the farm and never came to visit nor wanted to deal with his female daughter. Those couple of times she met him with him were in her adult years. My grandfather was very, very close to his auntie and uncle who raised him so it was quite traumatic for her and his brother to be taken away at 11 and 12 to become "hands" on their father's farm. They were 18 or 19 before they saw their family again. Very sad. I think pragmatics used to win over all other considerations most of the time. Faith This happened to my grandmother. She was one of many children from a poor family and was given away when she was old enough to act as a maid. The family agreed to raise and educate her in return for her work around the house. She remained bitter about that until the day she died. However the family that took her in were incredibly kind people and continued to help my grandmother even after she married. They even took my mother in from time to time when my grandparents were struggling but she wasn't put to work...just loved. This family never had their own children so they saw my grandmother's children as their own and when my brother and I came along we were the apple of their eye. They loved and spoiled us rotten. I still miss them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 On my mom's side, I'm descended from Reverend and Mrs. Hale of the Salem Witch Trials. A friend of mine is descended from Cotton Mather. We found this very funny. Nathan Hale is also descended from that line, but isn't a direct descendant (obviously, as he never had kids). He looks spookily like my brother if the postage stamp is to be believed. DH and the kids are descended from the inventor of the television. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I thought this article was rather apropos to this thread. Apparently thinking about your ancestors for a few minutes before you take an exam or interview for a job boosts your success. Kinda neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osaubi Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 My great aunt was hired by the government in the 1930's to do geneology. She found a letter from a past relative that talked about the family book. Research had been done for generations and added to the book along with family stories. She loaned it out to someone and they lost it. I always wonder that that book would have said. I am related by marriage to Clark of Lewis and Clark. My ancestor was his 2nd wife. The most facinating thing that I recently learned about an ancestor was someone that went to Jamestown. He was promised 10 acres of land, but when he got there they said he was too young and gave it to someone else. He go mad and went to live an a cave. He met the Native Americans while living in the cave and that is how my European and Native sides got together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I'm distantly related to Martha Washington apparently. Dh (and therefore my dc) is related to Ty Cobb (a.k.a. the biggest @$#hole baseball ever knew). I can't prove it, but I was told one side of my family was related to Martha Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Sir Joseph Banks, who was the botanist who came out with Captain Cook, is a great something Uncle (he had no kids himself). Ned Kelly is a relation to my dh. If you met him you'd make the connection :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Apparently there's a connection to Alexander the Great somewhere in my mother's family. I don't know how though. My Father's family connects to Lord Nelson somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntgoodwin Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) Thomas McKean - signer of Declaration of Independence, President of Continental Congress, governor of Pennsylvania or something Samuel Fuller and Edward Fuller - passengers on Mayflower, signers of Mayflower compact Martha Goodwin - accuser of witches in Salem Fanny Crosby Bing Crosby Joseph Smith, Jr Edited August 13, 2011 by tntgoodwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elinnea Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 The Swedish lineage always gets stumped at 4 generations, because I would actually have to "go" there. The Swedes have put a good portion of their church records online. It does cost to access them (much cheaper than actually going there though) and you'd need to know where they are from but I've had great luck tracing my Swedes back to the 1700s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmom Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Through our Stiff family heritage, I have traced ancesters such as Merriweather Lewis and Robert Dudley. Also Jane Wyman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Apparently there's a connection to Alexander the Great somewhere in my mother's family. I don't know how though. My Father's family connects to Lord Nelson somehow. You have millions of descendents: interesting but not unusual. If he had had two children, who each had two children, who each had two children, who each had two children you already have 16, and the multiplication gets extreme very soon after that: 16, 32, 64, 128 .... It's like the story of the rice grains on the chess board. I don't believe that Alexander the Great had any children who reached adulthood, but I might be wrong. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimber Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) My ancestors include Marguerite, one of the first slaves to sue for her freedom. Her "master" "loved" her and promised to set her free upon his death--her and the children. When he died, his children kidnapped her children as their property. Marguerite went to Cuba and sued for her freedom. She won! After her, all of her descendants were free men of color throughout much of slavery times and were in the Martin Donato Guillory family. Basically, they were part of the creoles of Louisiana. This is part of the family. Here is her son--Jean Baptiste and his wife She was half Italian, one quarter African, and a quarter French. I can trace the French on Jean Baptiste's side to France in the 1500's. Simon Guillory lost in mind in Canada and killed a Priest. The priests have kept the records. Edited August 13, 2011 by Kimber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiller Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 My mom has recently found out that her mothers, dads side of the family was in America since the revolutionary war and were scottish americans. We know that her mothers mother was half cherokee and so her ancestory is all native american aside from her father who we don't know anything about as far as I know. I don't know anything else about my family from there. My husbands mothers side has traced their family back to a viking lineage. But DHs dad is (we assume) full blooded french canadian who came to the States when he was young. That side of the family isn't close to us because his parents divorced when he was young. So we don't know much about them either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarbourLights Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I have not done any of the research but I have copies of all the documentation that my grandfather (maternal) and my father have done one each side of the family tree. Maternal side: My grandfather traced back to a minuteman from New Jersey and had it authenticated by the DAR, but hit a dead end around that time... Paternal side: My father's family are all swedes and danes. He traced back to the 1400's (maternal side) and found out there this is a monument dedicated to one of our ancestors. He (ancestor) was a war hero of some kind... would have to dig out the paperwork to find the name of the monument/ancestor. This subject is so fascinating to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Dh's family is difficult to trace. His great-grandfather, an only child, came here from Denmark, married a woman of half-German/half-Danish descent, and left virtually no information about their ancestry. Since the Danish population in those days had 80% of the population sharing only about seven surnames, it makes for an enormous amount of people to determine if he's related to or not! I heard that many Danish parents are mow giving there children different last names to lessen the confusion. So the Madsen family might have two kids with totally different last names then the parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) My dh is German and Scottish. His Scottish ancestors lost the clan war and moved to America and brought the American spelling of his last name with them. The winners got to stay in Scotland and keep the alternative Scottish spelling there. *I always tease him that his family is a bunch of LOSERS* I am English, Irish, Chickasaw, and Cherokee. My only famous relations are some signers of the Declartion of Independence and Robert E. Lee who was a cousin or something. *At this point, my dh tells me that my family is a bunch of LOSERS as well (Cvil War general and all that)* :D Edited August 14, 2011 by pw23kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Some of my ancestors founded New Amsterdam. The thing with family history is that you have to be careful. Just because a family tree says it goes back to the time humans were little fishies doesn't mean it's true. There was a lot of questionable work done in the 1890s as a response to all the immigrants coming to the US. It was a huge quest to "prove" that people were "real" Americans, and that they were of pure WASP heritage. It was a bonus to tie yourself to famous ancestors. Personally I only believe what I can document with official paperwork like birth certificates and census records. My mother and I have been doing family history work for about twenty years. It is a *great* hobby, and especially wonderful if you live in the DC metro area :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 One thing I'd like to add is about claims of Native American heritage. People need to research this and make sure it's true - most of the time you will find it is not. My ex-husband and his family claimed that one of his great-grandmothers was full-blooded Cherokee. She was actually mostly German and not a drop of Native blood. They all hate me now :glare: On the other hand I thought my ancestors were 100% WASP back to the Dark Ages (I'm joking) but it's turned out that I have a little Pawnee in me and one Quebecois guy who was *gasp* Catholic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Wow 775! My mom's side can be traced back to 1600s. We're related to Sybil Luddington. She rode to gather the minutemen during the Revolutionary War. (and Col. Luddington, her father) she outrode Paul Revere, though not as well known. Oh good Lord, our trees clash! Unbelievable! I had once upon a time, a sister in law carrying this last name; and one year I did her family tree as a Xmas present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Joseph Smith Jr. He's my Great-great-great Grandfather. I also married a Smith (not related by blood), so I got to keep my last name... my only claim to fame :) Do you know the story about King Strange and Beaver Island? One of my relatives is the one that wrote the gold fortune hunter sighting. So, ya...we share an ancestor visit somewhere back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 One thing I'd like to add is about claims of Native American heritage. People need to research this and make sure it's true - most of the time you will find it is not. My ex-husband and his family claimed that one of his great-grandmothers was full-blooded Cherokee. She was actually mostly German and not a drop of Native blood. They all hate me now :glare: On the other hand I thought my ancestors were 100% WASP back to the Dark Ages (I'm joking) but it's turned out that I have a little Pawnee in me and one Quebecois guy who was *gasp* Catholic. FWIW, I am actually a Chickasaw tribe member (have my card, get to vote in tribal elections, etc.). I wouldn't have said that I had Native American heritage if I wasn't 100% sure. I agree that people claiming it overuse it. Where I grew up (Arkansas), it seemed like everyone claimed to be Cherokee because the Trail of Tears passed through the state. When actually pressed about it, they couldn't come up with any hard evidence, "Well great-grandma LOOKED Indian!" :001_huh: My husband teases me that I am the most Irish looking Native American he's ever seen...he's right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Priscilla Mullins is an aunt many times over on my husband's side. She is married to John Alden. Also, from what I understand John Pack is in our line too but not sure how. My mother in law is really into genealogy and she has gone back quite far. Hey, so we're totally cousins :D John and Priscella are my 9th great grandparents. But they had 11 of their children live to reproductive age so I'm sure a lot of people can say that. Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 John Alden and Priscilla Mullins are my 10th great grandparents, on my father's side. :) I have history on his side traced back to around 1200 or so, I think. (I could go look, but feel lazy. I might look tomorrow though! :tongue_smilie:) See? More cousins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Hey! John Alden is a great, great, great . . . grandfather on my mother's side! :seeya: Maybe we should hold a John Alden/Priscella Mullins WTM family reunion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) I just finished reading the rest of the thread and really enjoyed the stories, even the sad adoption ones. I love family history because researching it seems to make book history more real...more approachable somehow. Sir George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore (and founder of Maryland) is my 13th great-grandfather. Actually, he's my 13th GGfather 3 times over thanks to a bunch of Calverts and Robersons intermarrying multiple times. Another of my multiple great grand fathers fought alongside George Washington at Valley Forge and the Brandywine. He was given a large land grant in NC for his troubles. My family has been in Western NC for 225 years. Barb ETA: And my 5th great grandfather was a horse thief. I see I am in good company. Edited August 14, 2011 by Barb F. PA in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Both sides of my family have direct lines to Mayflower passengers. One side has a Salem "witch," while the other has a Salem judge. I have traced one line to Charlemagne. He claimed to have found his lineage to Adam by making it all up and forcing everyone to accept it! My husband and I share 6th great-grandparents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntgoodwin Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Both sides of my family have direct lines to Mayflower passengers. One side has a Salem "witch," while the other has a Salem judge. I have traced one line to Charlemagne. He claimed to have found his lineage to Adam by making it all up and forcing everyone to accept it! My husband and I share 6th great-grandparents. HA! I wonder if we are related. Who were your Mayflower relatives? Mine were the Fullers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 On my side, they are descendants of one of the jurors on the Salem Witch Trials. One of the ladies who was hanged as a witch (Susannah Martin) was the 2nd wife of my ancestor. Cool! We're half cousins, then, as Susannah North Martin was my direct ancestor. Another of my ancestors was part of the Mormon Battalion, and helped bury the dead of the Donner Party on his way home. His name was Matthew Caldwell and he kept a very detailed and lively journal, part of which I have a transcript of. My blondish, blue-eyed children are part Cherokee, proven. My MIL got her enrollment card earlier this year. She was legally adopted by her step-dad, but her biological father was half Cherokee, and his dad was on the Dawes roll. Her grandfather was Samuel Cloud, who was on the Trail of Tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaWood Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 My husband is related to Herbert Hoover both maternally and paternally. His father is also related to him both maternally and paternally. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 One thing I'd like to add is about claims of Native American heritage. People need to research this and make sure it's true - most of the time you will find it is not. :iagree: My dh had the same oral tradition. I researched his family, and it wasn't true. I also took some genealogy classes through BYU and this was a very common issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I don't think there's anyone famous. My dad researched his family, but was unable to get far at all due to missing immigration records and name changes and such. I researched my mom's family, and fellow researchers have traced back to England in the 1500s. As it turns out, dh's 5th great grandfather is also my 6th great-grandfather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 This is so interesting. So how do you all do this family research? Some people mentioned using LDS resources, but how do you actually go about doing that? I need some steps to follow, websites to use, or whatever. I don't know where to start. I have some great-grandparents' names, but that's it. What do I do next? So how do I get started, and where, and how? LDS Resources Here are a small handful of getting started videos on YouTube that were just recently announced (showed up in our local paper this morning), also done by LDS FamilySearch. Look for the Genealogy in 5 Minutes series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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