Genealogy (it's all Scarlet's fault)

[Pamela H in Texas]

So one thing led to another yesterday after I was looking up census info (5 seconds to make a suggestion to Scarlet). I found MAJOR information in my tree that I haven't been able to find in years of searching. I think that is one of the reasons I go in spurts looking for things. I find great information then get stuck, put it away for 8 months, then when I take it out again, I make some headway.

 

Anyway, the information is soooooooo interesting! I wish I could afford to be on Ancestry.com all the time. I did their 14 day trial and that is some good stuff. Of course, paying for it for most of the year when I wouldn't even use it doesn't make a lot of sense. But I did find the neatest stuff including the ship my grandmother came over on in 1937. That about brought tears to my eyes ("my grandma, at 21, could have sat right in that chair!").

 

Anyway, I'm gonna try to spend a little time on it during the next 14 days that I have Ancestry. Maybe I can pay for it another time (probably not the beginning of Dec though).

 

Anybody else do genealogy? Found anything neat lately?

[elegantlion]

Yes, I love genealogy. When ds was a baby I spent years searching online and compiling my family tree. I have relatives on different sides that have done many years of research.

 

I've gotten hung up on a few branches that drove me batty.

 

One recent confirmation was the family line dating back to England to a William de Warren. He was at the Battle of Hastings with William the Conqueror. Here's a page about a castle he built, which is no longer standing.

 

There is some debate as to the lineage of his wife, who was presumably the step-daughter or unlisted daughter of William the Conqueror. Depending upon which side of the debate you pick the lineage can go back to Rollo the Viking or Charlemagne.

 

I find that quite interesting and honestly just very cool. Next year we are studying the Middle Ages and I plan to take half the year to do a genealogy study. We are going to spend some time following the lines back to 1066 and then talk about the possibilities from there. We are also going to study some Irish history as we go back on dh's side. His info isn't as developed but I know it goes back to County Cork, Ireland.

[cathmom]

someday...

 

My maternal aunt has done a lot on my grandfather's side of the family. She has back to the 1640s in CT, and I have seen those tombstones. I looked at all her info this past February when I visited her. I would really love to continue it back into England, and also trace my grandmother's family back to Ireland.

 

It is just so interesting! And hey, my daughters would be in ecstasy if I found Scottish heritage!

Edited November 21, 2008 by cathmom

[Julie in Austin]

If you have US immigrants, you may want to try the Ellis Island website.

 

(I saw a picture of the ship mine came on--too cool!)

[Alessandra]

I do some genealogy and love it. I subscribe to ancestry and also have some big, heavy reference books at home. The Mormon Church has its big library in Salt Lake City, but there are local centers all over the country that anyone can use for free.

 

Just be careful that you don't get your info exclusively from other people's family trees, or you may eventually end up with a lot of "former ancestors".

[KarenNC]

I got a rather ironic history lesson via genealogy recently, as well as a reminder to be careful what one wishes for as one might find it;).

 

I have been searching for the actual death date of one of my ggggrandfathers for quite a while, especially trying to find an obituary hoping to get some additional info on his parentage (since I can't pin it down yet). A researcher in the county where my family lived came across the obituary and offered to mail it to me (we had been corresponding). Naturally I was thrilled, especially when he said that, as my ancestor was one of the oldest residents of the county, there was a small article about him talking about being carried to the polls to vote when he was 92 despite his ill health (he died at age 93 in 1899).

 

I received the letter shortly after the election, opened it and read the obituary, unfortunately not mentioning either parents or siblings. It did, however, say "Up to the last election he had not voted in 20 years, but so warm was the campaign that he became interested and consented to be carried to the polls, where he cast his vote for a white man's government administered by white men." Great, just what I wanted to know without a doubt about my ancestor! One likes to think that, regardless of when or where one's ancestors lived, that perhaps somehow *their* story would be at least a little different than others in the area (and by extension, one might have been different than the norm if one had lived in that time), but it's not usually the case.

 

Now, as a Southerner, I was aware of the history of my region and the documented fact that some of my ancestors were indeed slave owners (though not as many as I expected---most couldn't afford them). This one, however, particularly took me aback for some reason. I also wondered what made that particular election (1898 in NC) so different than any of the previous ones during Reconstruction and worth mentioning in an obituary for a man who died a year later. I went out searching and found that, in 1898, the Democratic Party in NC ran on a platform of white supremacy at least partially in reaction to the high degree of integration of public offices, etc in the area during Reconstruction. The state library has a good website with lots of primary documents, political cartoons, newspaper articles, etc from the time. Very eye-opening and not something we covered in NC history when I was in school! It has changed the way I will approach that history when my daughter is older (not appropriate right now at age 8). It's really amazing the history that I have learned through genealogy that I never came across in school.

 

I always tell folks who are interested in genealogy to realize up front that when you shake the tree, the nuts will fall out! In my case, that's been sometimes literal as I've found ancestors who were in insane asylums, criminals, slave owners, slave runners, had illegitimate children, etc along with the upstanding citizen types. I've had other family members refuse to acknowledge these sorts of things happened, as well. My stance has been that the facts are the facts, what matters is what we do with them and learn from them.

[cathmom]

How interesting, Karen!

[Rosie_0801]

My family tree can be traced back to Little John, of Robin Hood fame. It's pretty cool being descended from someone who is supposed to be mythical.

:)

Rosie

[Jane in NC]

 

Now, as a Southerner, I was aware of the history of my region and the documented fact that some of my ancestors were indeed slave owners (though not as many as I expected---most couldn't afford them). This one, however, particularly took me aback for some reason. I also wondered what made that particular election (1898 in NC) so different than any of the previous ones during Reconstruction...

 

 

 

May I also suggest a look at the special supplement that the Raleigh News and Observer produced, The Ghosts of 1898. A coup d'etat (apparently the only one in US history) occurred in Wilmington, NC, that year.

[Blessedfamily]

Growing up, I had a somewhat racially diverse group of friends. Those who were of ANY oriental descent resented the fact that all the other kids assumed they were good in math and science. I resented it too because I got the best grades in math and science in the whole school.:001_smile:

 

My oriental friends hated to see the school bus come just like any other American kid. They were glad for help from me, an African American, and any person of any race. They couldn't care less, as long as they passed the class. They were the first ones to tell anyone that being born with oriental genes had nothing to do with good math and science grades. "Just look at Yvette".

 

We were a very close group and were quite proud that we broke every stereotype imaginable about black, white and oriental people.

 

A few years ago, my Dad's father's family had their first reunion. I had never met them. At the reunion, they made a presentation on their family geneology. So far, they have traced their family back to a servant from Waverly, Va. A woman whose parents were Chinese and black.:001_huh: Ah so!... and Aw snap! So much for breaking stereotypes.

[Kris]

Anybody else do genealogy? Found anything neat lately?

 

As a matter of fact --

 

When I first started all of this, I figured I'd never be able to find out much about my Sweetie's great-great-great grandparents, and kind of wrote them off. Every once in awhile, though, I make a stab at them. Not only did I get a lead on them, but just yesterday I found out when the wife died and what her maiden name was. Since the rest of their "stuff" is in England, and their name is pretty common, I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to get on them, but I thought this was pretty kewl.

[KarenNC]

A few years ago, my Dad's father's family had their first reunion. I had never met them. At the reunion, they made a presentation on their family geneology. So far, they have traced their family back to a servant from Waverly, Va. A woman whose parents were Chinese and black.:001_huh: Ah so!... and Aw snap! So much for breaking stereotypes.

 

And there goes another stereotype---I didn't realize there were any Chinese in the South at that period:). Wonder if her parents were in the Caribbean at some point? I've learned a lot more than I knew about the life of free blacks in NC in the 1830s as a result of trying to find out about the free black woman living in the household of one of my ancestors in the 1830 census (primarily, I learned that there *were* free blacks in NC in 1830!:)).

 

Are you familiar with the Afrigeneas site? http://www.afrigeneas.com It's dedicated to African-American genealogy. Since that is a particularly difficult line of research, folks are putting up information that they find in order to help others----wills, bills of sale, other information that aren't as readily available as some other sources. Your family might consider putting their information up there.

 

Others might also consider putting up this information there as you find it about your own ancestors, in order to help those looking for information on slave ancestors, in particular. I've put up a few things that I've come across in my family line. Slaves aren't identified by name in any of the census records, so sometimes wills and bills of sale are the only places one can find them. There can also be clues to family relationships in those sorts of documents.

 

It's been interesting to work, off and on, with a lady in another state who is looking for her family, who were slaves belonging to a family that might be part of mine (there is conflicting opinion on whether the person I can definitely trace back to is the grandson of that particular slave owner or not). We've been pooling information to see if we can figure out where everyone went.

[Blessedfamily]

And there goes another stereotype---I didn't realize there were any Chinese in the South at that period:). Wonder if her parents were in the Caribbean at some point? I've learned a lot more than I knew about the life of free blacks in NC in the 1830s as a result of trying to find out about the free black woman living in the household of one of my ancestors in the 1830 census (primarily, I learned that there *were* free blacks in NC in 1830!:)).

 

I can't figure out what she was doing in Virginia then, either.

 

Now, as far as free black communities here, good information abounds. Free black communities were in Charles City and thereabouts and in some cases the families still own the properties.

 

I watched a fascinating show on PBS which traced the genetic geneology of some black celebrities- Oprah, Chris Tucker, Whoopi Goldberg, TD Jakes, Quincy Jones, Mae Jameson(astronaut), etc. They all had some white ancestry except Oprah. She had the highest percentage of African, which suprised me. The others had varying degrees of white ancestry, some a lot more than they thought. Mae Jameson, like myself, had a sprinkle of Chinese.

 

The funniest part was when the professor who did the testing was showing the results to his genetics class at some University(I forget which). He was white, but when he posted his test results on the board he something like 18% African. The class broke out in laughter because you certainly couldn't tell by looking at him.:001_smile:

[Pamela H in Texas]

Okay, here is a mystery and any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

My father (56) and his biological sister (60) were each adopted by who I knew as my grandparents at birth. My aunt never cared who where biological parents were (she's still not). My father asked the lawyer at 14 and was told to come back at 18, but the lawyer died inbetween. For some reason, my dad thought the last name of his biological parents might be Southmore (not sure how I could use that information even if it were true).

 

Anyway, so the other day, I found out that the people I knew as my grandparents had gotten married in 1948 or 1949 (I sent off for the record but because of the holiday, I might not get it til the first week in Dec). That would have been the same time my aunt was born. So it wasn't like they had been together, been infertile, were looking for a baby or something.

 

Well, I ALSO found a man with the same birth info and name as my grandfather had been married many years prior. The 1930 census has him, his wife, and a mother-in-law; no children.

 

It has always been assumed that my grandfather was biologically related SOMEHOW (and there is family resemblance down to my brother and me). I want to guess that possibly, he and his first wife had a child (we keep saying a girl but it could have been a boy). That child, as a teenager, in the late 40's had a child (or fathered a child). My grandparents took the child, my aunt, to raise. When the person had another child, they took that one also.

 

Now, this is all hypothetical, but HOW could I go about finding this person? I don't have a name, birthdate, or even proof she/he ever existed. The 1940 census is not available to see if the family. And what happened to the first wife.

 

Also, will the marriage record give me the information to confirm whether these two men are truly the same man afterall? Because though it seems LIKELY, we all know that it's POSSIBLE that there were just two RCB's with the same birth info in the same year. However, I DID only find one's death and considering they'd be over 100, it's very likely they're BOTH dead if there are two of them.

 

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears :)

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I found this very interesting. We are at that period in our history cycle right now. Is is possible that your ancestor was coerced into voting? The wording of the article could have another story between the lines.

[cathmom]

Okay, here is a mystery and any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

My father (56) and his biological sister (60) were each adopted by who I knew as my grandparents at birth. My aunt never cared who where biological parents were (she's still not). My father asked the lawyer at 14 and was told to come back at 18, but the lawyer died inbetween. For some reason, my dad thought the last name of his biological parents might be Southmore (not sure how I could use that information even if it were true).

 

Anyway, so the other day, I found out that the people I knew as my grandparents had gotten married in 1948 or 1949 (I sent off for the record but because of the holiday, I might not get it til the first week in Dec). That would have been the same time my aunt was born. So it wasn't like they had been together, been infertile, were looking for a baby or something.

 

Well, I ALSO found a man with the same birth info and name as my grandfather had been married many years prior. The 1930 census has him, his wife, and a mother-in-law; no children.

 

It has always been assumed that my grandfather was biologically related SOMEHOW (and there is family resemblance down to my brother and me). I want to guess that possibly, he and his first wife had a child (we keep saying a girl but it could have been a boy). That child, as a teenager, in the late 40's had a child (or fathered a child). My grandparents took the child, my aunt, to raise. When the person had another child, they took that one also.

 

Now, this is all hypothetical, but HOW could I go about finding this person? I don't have a name, birthdate, or even proof she/he ever existed. The 1940 census is not available to see if the family. And what happened to the first wife.

 

Also, will the marriage record give me the information to confirm whether these two men are truly the same man afterall? Because though it seems LIKELY, we all know that it's POSSIBLE that there were just two RCB's with the same birth info in the same year. However, I DID only find one's death and considering they'd be over 100, it's very likely they're BOTH dead if there are two of them.

 

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears :)

 

I think I followed that! What came to my mind was that maybe the grandfather had an affair and then married the lady, who had their child. You don't know what happened to the first wife?

[TraceyS/FL]

Hey Pam - a few years ago you could have gotten more info in Texas.... but then my Aunt ticked someone off and they closed a bunch of records! :lol: (i'm kinda NOT joking... her fault or coincidence?!?!).

 

My mom is one of 10 - maybe 11 that was adopted out. They never got straight answers from their birth mom either. She'd probably have some tips for you to go about this - but it's not a good time for me to ask her. But they have found some amazing things they thought they'd never find!).

[KarenNC]

I found this very interesting. We are at that period in our history cycle right now. Is is possible that your ancestor was coerced into voting? The wording of the article could have another story between the lines.

 

I suppose it's remotely possible, but in looking at the prevailing sentiment in the area at the time, I have my doubts that it was against his will or in opposition to his beliefs. Given the situation (that he had been in ill health and not voted for 20 years), it is indeed likely that it took some strong encouragement and convincing to get him to the polls, however. If you go to the website (google "1898 election NC"), you'll get an idea of how things were at that period (though it isn't for young children). There were also allegations of widespread corruption and other issues wrapped up in it.

[neesek]

I haven't read all of the replies, but this is one thing I have on my goal list over the next few years. When I was a kid, I used to go along with my dad when he was researching our family tree. We have it traced clear back to CT in the 1600s. There are plenty of holes, but I think it will be easier to fill those now that the internet has evolved.

[cathmom]

I haven't read all of the replies, but this is one thing I have on my goal list over the next few years. When I was a kid, I used to go along with my dad when he was researching our family tree. We have it traced clear back to CT in the 1600s. There are plenty of holes, but I think it will be easier to fill those now that the internet has evolved.

 

Where in CT?

[neesek]

Where in CT?

 

New Haven/North Haven.

[cathmom]

New Haven/North Haven.

 

We might be related!!

 

My maternal grandfather's family lived in New Haven from 1640 on.

[neesek]

We might be related!!

 

My maternal grandfather's family lived in New Haven from 1640 on.

 

How neat! This is my father's line. The first one came from England in 1637. The family stayed in the New Haven/North Haven area until the 1800s when a branch came to Ohio.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Hey, I have relatives that went from CT to OH also, but it was a bit later. My gggrandfather was born in CT, but had moved to OH by 1882.

[Happy]

We were lucky enough to inherit someone else's work to trace my dh's family line back to Scotland. Dh and I heard one of his great-uncles talk about how the family/clan originated on the isle of Barra in Scotland where there is still a castle.

 

Thus, it became a pilgrimage when we lived in Belgium to make the journey to the Outer Hebrides to the little island of Barra. Where, yes, a small castle still stands. Too cool for this Texas family.

 

The funniest thing is...when we arrived on Barra (after a plane flight, an all day drive, an overnight stay, and five hour ferry ride) we learned that the castle was CLOSED for remodeling. The clan leader's family had turned it over to the Scottish heritage society and they were installing safety features such as handrails on the staircases. Our B&B host said he'd talk to someone for us.

 

He did...a John MacNeil. (Funny because dh has a cousin by the same name.) JM had been caretaker of the castle for years. He agreed to ask if we could tour. When it was all arranged and he was transporting us out to the castle (on a small island in the bay.) He was grousing about how the castle was a thousand years old and no one to his knowledge ever had fallen off the stairs and why did they have to put in handrails now....I laughed out loud. He sounded so much like my dear father in law. ;)

 

While on the castle tour, he told us that the tower was off limits. When we got to the castle, he said he was going 'over there' to look at a few things. My dh understood immediately and we shot up the tower stairs to the top. Awesome. And again, so like the branch of the family we belong to. Rules are meant for people who can't think for themselves. Sigh.

 

Anyway, it was a lovely adventure. We collected a number of adventures about our family name. Heroes and pirates. Someday when I have time, I'm going to collect them into a book. It would be a fun project.

[Scarlett]

So one thing led to another yesterday after I was looking up census info (5 seconds to make a suggestion to Scarlet).

 

Anybody else do genealogy? Found anything neat lately?

 

Hee hee....sorry about that....hey on my library on line Heritage Quest is free...and TX is one of the states they have loaded. So you might find something there.

 

I signed up for Ancestory.com too....I plan to cancel before the 14 day trial is up...I even put it on my Outlook calender to remind myself.

 

I found that my MIL is adopted. That is pretty big. I don't think she knows.

[Saille]

This thread made me go try ancestry.com, and WOW! I've scaled the family trees of both my paternal grandparents as far as I can go...now I'm stuck, but I still have a week and a half to sort it out, and some relatives I can call. I'm thinking about starting on dh's family.

 

So far it's interesting, but nobody famous has turned up. Of course, I haven't made one of those family trees on the site yet. We missed being famous by about *that* much, though. My great-great grandmother's first husband was a Confederate Army Captain who served in the NC House of Representative and Senate, and who knew Davy Crockett. Sigh.

[Scarlett]

I haven't been on the boards for weeks and weeks and got a kick out of seeing this old thread with it being all 'Scarlett's fault'.

 

Pam do you even remember what I was looking for? Was it to do with my MIL or my long lost sister.

 

My sister found me. We've established a relationship. I've seen her twice now in the last few months. Just got back from a vacation in Fl with her and her husband and 2 of their kids. So fun! We are in love with each other.

[EmilyK]

I love genealogy but have to get my research organized someday. It is not in a good system right now, to put it mildly. Maybe I need to pay my older son to do it for me. :001_smile:

 

I'm posting because I saw the Barra / MacNeil connection. My husband went to Barra before we were married to see where his ancestors came from. It isn't his last name but his grandmother had done a lot of research. We even have a little framed postcard that she had, complete with the family connection information on the reverse.

[lionfamily1999]

I love geneology :)

 

I was able to trace dh's family back to the early 1500s. For me, my roots are scattered every where and very difficult to trace, that was quite an accomplishment.

 

I was an Ancestry member for over a year, but just didn't have time for it. One day, I want to get the leather bound book for my dad and then one of the gigantic posters for us :)

[elise1mds]

I love it but never have time to do it any more. However, I'll share a couple of good stories.

 

One of my dad's ancestors committed murder/suicide (killed his wife), and the kids were raised by their aunt and uncle. Rumor has it that his wife was cheating on him, but of course there's no proof.

 

Then there's DH's great-great-grandfather. For the longest time, I hit a brick wall with him. I knew he was born in England, but since he was known as "Bart," the census folks I guess automatically assumed that he was a "Bartholomew." Not so much. His son, Vic, died in WWII, and the family rumor had always been that Bartley had died at sea, too. But I couldn't find any records. I found his birth record (eventually), his marriage record to Vic's mom, and nothing else. When I did find military records, they said he was discharged because he kept running off. Clearly he wasn't in the military if he had died at sea.

 

I also knew that Vic had moved to Australia when he was about 11 and that his mother had remarried before they moved. Clearly Bartley had died in England, right?

 

HA!

 

One day I randomly searched his name on the LDS web site and found a Bartley living in Ohio with the same approximate birth date. I found his death in 1976 and, out of sheer curiosity, ordered the record. You guessed it! Bartley had apparently run off on his first wife, moved to the USA (I found emigration records later that showed that he had left when Vic was about 3 years old), lied and said he'd never been married, and got married not once, not twice, but THREE more times. The first two American wives died relatively young with only one son to show for them, but his last wife gave him three more children. One of them, a male, is still living in Ohio, and I was able to get hold of him. I was hesitant about sharing the story, but I did, and he and his wife were amazed to know that he has a half-niece who is 7 years younger than him who was born in Australia and now lives in Oklahoma. Bartley had never said a word about any of his life in England, so I was able to fill in a lot of blanks for them. They also say that my husband looks almost exactly like him.

 

And that's my crazy story ;)

[Mothersweets]

Great detective work, Sarah B.!

 

Everyone's stories are fascinating. I love genealogy.

[Peggy in Va]

There is some debate as to the lineage of his wife, who was presumably the step-daughter or unlisted daughter of William the Conqueror. Depending upon which side of the debate you pick the lineage can go back to Rollo the Viking or Charlemagne.

 

I just love geneology. If this is true (Charlemagne) we are/could be related.

 

Thanks to a lot of leg work by another family memeber, I've traced mine back to a few generations past Charles Martel.

[Peggy in Va]

Anyway, as I was saying. Someone in my family traced our lineage back to Otto I. After reading this thread earlier today, I decided to see if I could take it back even further. I managed to get a few generations past Charles "The Hammer" Martel.

 

It really is fun. Although we'll be studying American History this school year, I'm having dss do a read on ancients up to modern with a heavy emphasis on British History over the summer. It will be fun to point out all the relatives while they're reading.

 

I just have one question though. With all the royalty in my background, what the heck is my title?;)

[lionfamily1999]

I found out my dad's family was great friends with the Bordens (Fall River). I knew, because I'd dug up an obit. for one of dad's uncles and a Borden was listed as a truly close friend... Didn't realize Dad's dad, aunts and uncles were all friends with THOSE Bordens. (Lizzie... ax... )

[Saille]

Well, it does look like one of our relatives was beheaded by order of Mary, Queen of Scots for being a Calvinist...

 

Mostly, I'm just fascinated by my dad's family. So many people, and they all come together in a place called Thicketty Creek, South Carolina. I'm hitting a brick wall with my Great-grandmother's family, though. Which is weird, because how many Sophronias and Jnos can there be in the world?

[OnTheBrink]

I've poked at genealogy for a few years now. The most frustrating branch is my paternal grandfather. He was an orphan and there are no records of his birth. Apparently, the courthouse where his records were burned down. So, all I know is his name and year of birth. Can't find anything else about him at all. He had no memory of his family of origin.

[Pamela H in Texas]

With all the royalty in my background, what the heck is my title?

 

LOL. Scout Bee :)

[Pamela H in Texas]

The most frustrating branch is my paternal grandfather. He was an orphan and there are no records of his birth. Apparently, the courthouse where his records were burned down. So, all I know is his name and year of birth. Can't find anything else about him at all. He had no memory of his family of origin.

 

Yeah, my dad and aunt were "adopted." Even finding info about the adoptive family is difficult but the birth family is IMPOSSIBLE. The lawyer who "handled" took all that info to the grave with him. My dad had asked him when my dad was 14. He was told he could know when he was 18. The guy was dead by then <sigh>

[Peggy in Va]

LOL. Scout Bee :)

 

I knew it, I just knew there must be a title in there somewhere!:lol:

[mommaduck]

Love genealogical research. I just don't have a lot of time for it.

[Saille]

Can I just tell y'all what a road you set my feet on?

 

I have over a thousand people on my current tree. I've gotten in touch with people I barely know to ask for information. I'm giving family tree posters to both sets of our parents, and after Christmas I'm going to start requesting microfilm from the LDS so I can research European relatives I'm not going to find any other way. I'm also going to have to ask for information from the Potawomeck Tribe. And I've found a very bustling genealogy group from that county in NC I was telling you about.

 

This is so cool. Thank you!

[Scarlett]

Can I just tell y'all what a road you set my feet on?

 

I have over a thousand people on my current tree. I've gotten in touch with people I barely know to ask for information. I'm giving family tree posters to both sets of our parents, and after Christmas I'm going to start requesting microfilm from the LDS so I can research European relatives I'm not going to find any other way. I'm also going to have to ask for information from the Potawomeck Tribe. And I've found a very bustling genealogy group from that county in NC I was telling you about.

 

This is so cool. Thank you!

 

This thread was started over a year ago when I had asked in another thread about how to go about finding out about my MIL being adopted. My XH and my BIL both confronted her (at Thanksgiving, but separately) about it and wow the story she told. Lies I feel quite sure, since none of what she says matches up with the few facts we do have.

 

We weren't even sure she knew,but apparently she has known always....she is childlike in her creation of the perfect bio mom with the perfect genes who did the perfect thing in letting the perfect bio dad raise her and be adopted by the bio dad's wife. (the woman XH always called Grandmother).

 

All I can say is----don't lie to your kids! LOL :tongue_smilie: (not talking to you Saille...just the general bunch of us humans)

[Saille]

I know you don't mean me, but I've found some stuff that feels that way. Slave ownership, for example. My dh's family and mine were pretty much ranged on opposite sides of the Civil War. But, you know, in another way I think it's a good thing. Having such negative events touch your family personally makes them much more real.

[MomtoCandJ]

doing my ancestry, I found out that my biologically great grandma (legally just grandma) was also adopted by her grandparents for the same reason she adopted my mom, which is daughters getting pregnant at the age of 16 by other wise married men.

[LizzyBee]

I had lots of information entered into Family Tree Maker before my youngest child was born. The back up was saved on a 3.5" floppy disk (remember those?!) and we've gone through 2 new computers since then.

 

Last Sunday, I was going through a big box of old computer stuff and came across the FTM software and back-ups. I put the disk in an old computer so I could copy the back ups to a CD and then save it on my laptop. (I noticed that the last backup was dated a week after my dad's death in Oct 2000 - apparently, that was the last thing I entered.) Then I loaded the software - and it all works!!! I sure was glad all that work is saved. I did lose some files and pictures once when our hard drive had to be replaced, but at least I have the bulk of the work I've done. I checked the website for the FTM software, and my files can still be converted to the latest version. I think I should update my software while the conversion is still possible!

[mommaduck]

I'm reviving the thread!

 

Has anyone found anything of interest lately?

 

One brick wall is finally making progress. On another side, I found a message from a cousin, left to me two years ago, three years after my post. My mama gave her all the info she had on that side (things my mama didn't share with me). I contacted her on FB and let her know that she had more information than I did, but that yes, I would be interested. Like I expected, I did not hear back from her. Our mothers have a lifelong feud going on. One reason that I have avoided contact with that side; I don't want to be in the middle of that mess.

[Melissa in Australia]

My family tree can be traced back to Little John, of Robin Hood fame. It's pretty cool being descended from someone who is supposed to be mythical.

:)

Rosie

HA! my family tree can be traced back to King Henry V111's chambermaid!. It is my grandmothers pride, and she is always boasting of it.

[MomLovesClassics]

My dad's family has a "clan" they get together in Ireland about every 4 years I believe and discuss family history. Our DNA surname project is private and everytime there is a new member added the members are informed of their new cousin. We have a tree keeper who keeps up with all the family trees and links them together. We still haven't really traced our roots in Ireland, though we know our family originated in Co. Clare Ireland. We believe our relative was a stowaway when they came here.

[MomLovesClassics]

Yeah, my dad and aunt were "adopted." Even finding info about the adoptive family is difficult but the birth family is IMPOSSIBLE. The lawyer who "handled" took all that info to the grave with him. My dad had asked him when my dad was 14. He was told he could know when he was 18. The guy was dead by then <sigh>

It can be expensive but DNA could give answers. If you go to the right place, they can determine which surname you are related to, and I am pretty sure provide info from the maternal side too.