Ancestors

RebeccaB88

My aunt has done a huge amount of family research, but I don't have copies of any of it, so I'm going off memory. She's about as far as she can go now without going to Poland and having someone translate stuff for her, and going to England.

Ancestors on Dad's side fought in the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American war, and the Civil War (on both sides).  I've debated joining the DAR, but haven't done anything yet. The original family who came over (through Boston, not Ellis Island) settled in North Carolina and became millers, owning a grist mill that's still there and owned by descendants. It still operates on a small scale, has a museum and teaching area, and hosts Civil War re-enactments. My mom bought some cornmeal and grits from them and they are really good.

Mom's side is tough, but the Irish side came from around Belfast.  They were there long before Ireland started keeping official birth, death, and marriage records, so we'd have to go over there and go through church records to find anything out.

And another branch on mom's side is descended from King James V of Scotland and his mistress. Their son was half-brother to Mary Queen of Scots.

aleciajaye

Some of my mom's ancestors were settlers in Jamestown.

anjemon

Oooo, this is really interesting.

My Mom's family is largely Swedish/Norwegian farmers. A couple of generations of Midwestern farmers. My Grandpa traced his ancestors back to a farm in Norway, on one of the fjords. He and my grandma actually went and visited a few years ago.

I also have an "uncle" (great uncle or somehow removed) who worked on the Manhattan Project. He would have received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, but he died before the award was given to the group. And they don't give the Nobel Prize posthumously.

My Dad's family is terribly hard to trace. We're Smiths and he's originally from New Jersey. Apparently my grandfather's names were generic enough that my aunt hit a dead end trying to figure out which Robert Smith was our Robert. Which is too bad because that family is interesting enough there's probably some good stories in there.

themuffinman16

My ancestor is the Great Stone Dragon. 

WinstonsGirl

I got nothing.  I could ask my Granny, and probably get the names of her grandparents, but that's about it.  My Dad's parents died when I was too young to care much.  I think it would be cool to look at, but don't really know how to get started.  I feel like I should though while Granny is still around.  My Dad is the last in his immediate family, so I know that avenue is pretty much gone now.  

My Dad is Ukrainian, my Mom a mix, but with half English/Scottish.  I'm a ginger.  I get the red hair on her side, but I have no idea how it got wrapped up on my Dad's side.  Who ever heard of a red headed Ukie??  He doesn't know where it came from either, but both of my parents used to joke that either the milkman or the mailman brought me.  Thanks parents

CMGragain

RebeccaB88 said:

My aunt has done a huge amount of family research, but I don't have copies of any of it, so I'm going off memory. She's about as far as she can go now without going to Poland and having someone translate stuff for her, and going to England.

Ancestors on Dad's side fought in the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American war, and the Civil War (on both sides).  I've debated joining the DAR, but haven't done anything yet. The original family who came over (through Boston, not Ellis Island) settled in North Carolina and became millers, owning a grist mill that's still there and owned by descendants. It still operates on a small scale, has a museum and teaching area, and hosts Civil War re-enactments. My mom bought some cornmeal and grits from them and they are really good.

Mom's side is tough, but the Irish side came from around Belfast.  They were there long before Ireland started keeping official birth, death, and marriage records, so we'd have to go over there and go through church records to find anything out.

And another branch on mom's side is descended from King James V of Scotland and his mistress. Their son was half-brother to Mary Queen of Scots.

The best thing about the DAR is that once you join, all your records will be preserved at DAR National Headquarters.  I have talked to so many people who say, "Well, Aunt Aggie had all that stuff, but she died and I don't know what happened to it."  Your relatives and descendants will all have access to your records if they want to learn about their family history (unless you ask for your file to be closed - very silly!)
It isn't all little old ladies, either.  My daughter (AW brag!) was one of eight outstanding junior members this year at their annual convention, and I got to watch her walk across the stage at Constitution Hall and be recognized for her good works.  DAR is the place to meet history buffs!

hellosweetie1015

Back in early college, I think it was, I decided to google my name, and found a whole website dedicated to my maternal grandmother's paternal lineage. It was a huge help when I started working on a family tree in 2011, but only for that one line. 

I am intensely interested with where I came from and where FI came from - I know that the one great grandfather was at least partially British, and I think his wife was at least partially German. And I know that on my maternal grandfather's side (and possibly on my paternal side somewhere) there is Cherokee Indian somewhere (I've been told that I could be as much as 1/8th all told, although it's much more likely to be 1/16th or less). I know FI's dad is at least partially Italian, and his mom is at least partially Polish. I want to know so much more than what I do, though, and I hope to have time to get going with it soon.

behsco90

I love hearing about everyone's family histories! I too have ancestors that came over on the Mayflower.

My great uncle is very wealthy and well known, so someone did a family tree for him on Wikipedia and apparently we are very distantly related to George Bush.

The family tree on Wikipedia came in handy when I signed up for a free account on Ancestry and started making my family tree - it helped fill in a lot of gaps. I was able to go back to the 1600s. If I had the money I would love to work on it more and go back as far as I can!

southernbelle0915

My grandfather was straight off the boat. I'm almost 100% dutch, with some French and native american. There's a town just outside Amsterdam that is my last name and I know some way back family had something to do with settling it. We also had some dutch west india company connections that went around naming towns after the family but that's all I got. Many of those names have since been changed because history (I'm guessing because my last name is a pain to spell).

beethery

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

buttercup1958

On my mom side my great grandparents and grandparents came from holland. My grandfather and great grandfather were working on a ship as crew but jump ship when they were docked in New York. My great grandma and grandma follwed them afterwards and somehow got 200 acres of land..

My dad side I know one of my ancestors was represented by President Lincoln while he was still a lawyer. I also know one of my ancestors was a general for the south in the civil war. My grandpa was an air force pilot during WW2. He was station in Japan and went to a lot of strip cards which he kept postcards from. I'm not sure grandma knows that one..

RebeccaB88

CMGragain said:

RebeccaB88 said:

Ancestors on Dad's side fought in the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American war, and the Civil War (on both sides).  I've debated joining the DAR, but haven't done anything yet. The original family who came over (through Boston, not Ellis Island) settled in North Carolina and became millers, owning a grist mill that's still there and owned by descendants. It still operates on a small scale, has a museum and teaching area, and hosts Civil War re-enactments. My mom bought some cornmeal and grits from them and they are really good.

The best thing about the DAR is that once you join, all your records will be preserved at DAR National Headquarters.  I have talked to so many people who say, "Well, Aunt Aggie had all that stuff, but she died and I don't know what happened to it."  Your relatives and descendants will all have access to your records if they want to learn about their family history (unless you ask for your file to be closed - very silly!)
It isn't all little old ladies, either.  My daughter (AW brag!) was one of eight outstanding junior members this year at their annual convention, and I got to watch her walk across the stage at Constitution Hall and be recognized for her good works.  DAR is the place to meet history buffs!

Well, I'd pretty much need to be a member in name only, since I don't have the time or money right now to devote to being very active in it, and I've heard not the best things about our local chapter. That's partially why I haven't pursued it yet. Maybe in a few years.

mrstrevor3

I have a relative that was in the Mayflower, his name was John Billington. His son almost sank the Mayflower, his other son was stolen by indians and they had to go and rescue him. He was also the first person to be executed in the country.

ashley8918

I am apparently related to JFK. In what way, I have no idea.

theartistformerlyknownas

beethery said:

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

And hood rats. Don't forget the hood rats. :-*

ashley8918

lolo883 said:

beethery said:

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

And hood rats. Don't forget the hood rats. :-*

beethery

ashley8918 said:

lolo883 said:

beethery said:

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

And hood rats. Don't forget the hood rats. :-*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHyB_FRr4-M

Theme song, obviously.

(No joke, I love this song and know all of the words to it.)

charlieyankee03

I have a book that was put together by a historian about my paternal grandmother's family. My grandmother's grandfather is the founder and namesake of William Steele & Sons, an architecture and construction company in Philadelphia. They built Philadelphia's first skyscraper and Connie Mack Stadium, among other things. It's pretty cool to have so much history where I grew up.

BritLady

As a child and teenager I was not very interested in genealogy, but as the family tree was prominently displayed in the library of my childhood home, it was almost impossible to avoid. My paternal family can be traced back to William the Conqueror (11th century). This distant ancestor was a Norman knight who crossed the channel with William, and fought his way across the country. Through the centuries we produced some interesting characters including a highwayman, a privateer who helped plunder Spanish vessels in the name of King and Country, a royal mistress, plenty of army and navy officers, including a few who gambled away their inheritance (one of whom was forced to commit suicide), and so on.

I don't know all that much about mummy's side, except that her family were landowners from an old aristocratic family who lost their estates after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918. My great-grandmother was born in what is now the Czech Republic in 1894, and was a lady-in-waiting for Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the last Austrian Empress. She died in 1982, and I found her to be very intimidating. She was always dressed in dark colours. We children had to address her as Madame Grandmere, curtsey/bow, and kiss her hand. As a result of this connection, my grandma, mummy, dad and I attended Zita's funeral in 1989. I was still a child, and the three things that impressed me most were the funeral cortege with the horse-drawn carriage which looked like something straight out of a Gothic horror novel, the Habsburg ladies in black mourning veils, and the highly ritualised knocking ceremony in front of the Kapuzinerkirche.The master of ceremonies knocks on the church's doors with a staff, and the abbot enquires who desires entry. The master then lists all her titles with the abbot responding that they don't know her.  This is repeated with fewer titles until finally the master introduced the deceased as "Zita, a mortal human and a sinner" at which point the abbot and his monks permit entry.

firebabe6519

We are direct descendants of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Queen Victoria, and related to the vast majority of European royalty. After WWI and WWII, my family immigrated to Sweden, then Norway, and eventually made their way to the US. Most of our family lost their lands after the world wars. Our family's first cousins in Russia are Czar Nicholas and his daughter Princess Anastasia. There is a lot of cool ancestry history and some awesome family heirlooms that were secreted away during immigration.

FiancB

I am related to the original Leinenkugels (big brewery in the midwest, their beer is everywhere here but not so much on the west coast). My mom must've told them I was getting married because his wife sent us a really nice card and $100 after our wedding. I wouldn't even be able to pick them out on the street, don't think I've met them, and I didn't send an invite so that was very nice of her. Mr Leinenkugel passed shortly after that. 

There was a commercial claiming it's been in the family this whole time and I'm all THAT'S NOT TRUE he sold it in the 80s I think lol. 

My grandma claimed that her mother was supposed to be on the Titanic but missed the boat but I don't think that's really true. The dates don't really match up and also why would a Finnish person be on a big fancy boat leaving from the UK? My great grandma was a weirdo in a lot of ways so it wouldn't really be a surprise for her to make up some tall tale like this. 

My dad had some relatives come to the west on the Oregon Trail but other than that I don't know much about his side. 

huskypuppy14

beethery said:

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

Also related to Charlemagne. I read somewhere that everyone of European descent is related to Charlegmagne. I'll have to find that article.

Also, I had at least 7 ancestors on the mayflower. And my grandmothers family can be traced back to the first European born in Connecticut.

AprilH81

huskypuppy14 said:

beethery said:

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

Also related to Charlemagne. I read somewhere that everyone of European descent is related to Charlegmagne. I'll have to find that article.

Also, I had at least 7 ancestors on the mayflower. And my grandmothers family can be traced back to the first European born in Connecticut.

We might be related!  I descend from George Soule.

mrstrevor15

I am related to John Billington from the Mayflower. He was the first person to receive the death penalty in what is now the U.S. I guess my ancestors were the troublemakers of the colony.

On my dad's side, the King of Spain granted land to my ancestor in what is now in the Valley in Texas ( Santa Maria, Mercedes, La Feria area).

Lowell14

My maternal grandfather descends from Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots and Charles Stuart, 'the Young Pretender'

Inkdancer

My mom's biological father is directly descended from William Shakespeare's mother. (Not sure which of his siblings is my ancestor.)

wandajune6

Going through an ancestry phase. We're related to Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg, the only known Jewish nobility. Obviously, that was all stripped away hundreds of years ago but it's still pretty cool.

A more recent claim to fame: a distant cousin (now gone) lead the revolution (!) to get the pay toilets out of O'Hare Airport. We're very proud.

madamerwin

AprilH81 said:

On my Dad's side of the family I am a descendant from a Mayflower passenger (which makes me very distantly related to Richard Gere).  Most likely an American Revolution fighter in there somewhere but it hasn't been proven.

Me too! I am a 12th-generation descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullens, who came over on the Mayflower. Granted, they currently have 50K+ living descendants, but still, it's cool. I'm so grateful to my grandfather, whose interest in genealogy means I have a ton of information on my ancestors (on my dad's side, at least).

themosthappy91

huskypuppy14 said:

beethery said:

My dad did a bunch of research. We got exactly SQUAT on my mom's side, NOTHING on his mom's side, and a whoooooole bunch of stuff on his paternal grandmother's side.

I'm related to an ass-ton of US presidents, European royalty (through Charlemagne), and Vikings.

I am also related to a whole bunch of nobodies, just like me! Who'da thunk it?

Also related to Charlemagne. I read somewhere that everyone of European descent is related to Charlegmagne. I'll have to find that article.

Also, I had at least 7 ancestors on the mayflower. And my grandmothers family can be traced back to the first European born in Connecticut.

I have also heard this!

I'm descended from the ali'i- like the ancient royalty/chief people of Hawaii.  But to be fair, basically everyone of Hawaiian descent can claim the same.  Womp womp.

H is related to John Wilkes Booth.  His grandma (through whom the connection is passed down) is super embarrassed about that.

lovesclimbing

raissyrais said:

According to Richard Dawkins "The Ancestor's Tale", we are all related to one another. All of us, no exception. There, that is my interesting ancestor story.

As a Christian, I do believe this. According to the Bible, everyone has to be related because everyone on earth is descended from Adam and Eve and also from Noah and his wife a few generations later due to the flood.

I don't know anything exciting my family. My grandmother has done some genealogy research, and I have been meaning to ask her about it sometime when I'm visiting, but have never had the time or the chance to.  I hope to do it this spring when we will be visiting for a few days for a wedding.