Genealogy - your family tree

[CrzyMeg]

It does go way back beyond 100 years, it goes back, theoretically, to thousands of years ago. It does NOT give you anything specific, like "Your grandparents came from Ballantyre and your great-grandparents from Edinburgh," or anything at all along those lines.

It's more "Your ancestry is (Caucasian, African, Asian....) and your roots are in (Northern Europe, Africa, Asia)..."

Really, it's probably not much more than what you already know, although I suppose some people might be surprised that they have some bit of ancestry they never knew about. If you participate in their projects maybe that might be fun, tracing your family name, but personally, I had no success with that. My maiden name is somewhat unusual, and I never found anyone with that name on the site, although I have found my own relatives in Italy. My name takes up about half a page in the Florence (Italy) phone-book, so it's not unusual there, just here in the U.S.

i find some things from my family but I find out by my father's last name it root is German but translated something different still german last name.

 

[deafskeptic]

American. I think it's highly unlikely that my ancestors ever came from India.

As for the Huns, it's my understanding that many Europeans of German and Swiss German are descended from the Huns but that other enthic groups in Europe weren't as affected by Genghis Khan and his army. The women prolly suffered greatly from the invasion.

I've looked up the Huns and I have to admit that it's quite possible all of Europe would have Hun ancestry.

 

[cdmeggers]

interesting about the Pocahontas linage. I'm supposedly related to her too.. through my mom's father's mother, somehow. I don't know. I should find the direct linkage, make sure we are directly related to the Bolings that descend from Pocahontas. hmm.

am also related to Princess Diana (well Queen Elizabeth) from my father's mother's side. My grandmother has done a lot of genealogy research and has found the actual connection to the royal family.

am supposedly related to Ulysses S. Grant from my mom's side of the family, but how exactly, I have no idea. Her dad mentioned it once ages ago. I wish he was still alive so I could ask him for more information on it, at least try to trace it.

got some Scottish, Irish, and some others? I can't remember them all.

 

[Hollykins1]

I had done a bit of research into my family tree. Hard to do as there was so much misinformation and name changes. For example, my father's family had a German surname. When his father came to this country it got shortened. However, the last name my father and his brothers use is different. Basic same name - just different spelling. (and I never could get a straight story as to why).

On my mother's side...well let's just say my grandmother had three children while her husband was gone for five years. Another aunt apparently had three secret children before her marriage - a single birth and twins. Those children were adopted out and then she married and had children. I suspect this type of thing is not at that uncommon in many families!

I did manage to track down quite a bit. I am: Swedish, German, Welsh, Polish, Iroquois, and Apache.

 

[lanapoo]

I have the opposite problem with my last name. It's Smith. Need I say more? :P

We're probably related then! My grandma was a "Smith" before she married and became a "Douglas."

 

[deafskeptic]

We're probably related then! My grandma was a "Smith" before she married and became a "Douglas."

Prolly.

 

[sheila022]

boo hoo you guys with all of those European ancestry. What about Asians? I tried few genealogy sites when I was 13 years old....none of them worked for me a jack shit.

Too bad the communist destroyed all ancestral records that was stored in great libraries that kept records of people. Fuck those communists---doing nothing good but destroying everything. Dad said it's possible we were descended from a Chinese general with the last name of Xu in some town called Xu? Lol.

It would be interesting to do one of those DNA testing...perhaps I'll try it one day when it's not so ridiculously expensive.

 

[deafskeptic]

boo hoo you guys with all of those European ancestry. What about Asians? I tried few genealogy sites when I was 13 years old....none of them worked for me a jack shit.

Too bad the communist destroyed all ancestral records that was stored in great libraries that kept records of people. Fuck those communists---doing nothing good but destroying everything. Dad said it's possible we were descended from a Chinese general with the last name of Xu in some town called Xu? Lol.

It would be interesting to do one of those DNA testing...perhaps I'll try it one day when it's not so ridiculously expensive.

I think You could relate to a lot of African Americans here in this country. Many of them can not trace their family back to Africa because in the 18th and 19th century, many were sold into slavery and brought over to this country. I recomend Roots by Alex Haley. It hit a deep chord within the African Americans in the 70s.

 

[Roca]

I am of a triracial background (African,European,Native American).

Through one of my grandmothers,I'm descended from Carter Braxton,who signed the Declaration of Independence. (Located in center column at bottom of said document.)

Braxton's grandfather was Robert "King" Carter,a planter and legislator in colonial VA.

By route of Carter Braxton,I'm also distantly related to Robert Carter of Nominy Hall, (King's grandson) who freed almost 500 slaves. This was USA's largest private slave manumission.

I'm also related to Robert E Lee,his mother was a Carter.

I had a DNA test done with 23 and Me in November. They tested paternal, maternal,traits,disease risks,and included ancestry painting which is one's
estimated continental ancestries. It was expensive ($514,US) but well worth
it! (Believe it's on sale now for $199.)

23 and Me said I was:

48%-African

45%-European

7%-Asian

My "Asian" probably is reflective of NA ancestry. My gg grandfather was FB
Pamunkey. I knew his daughter (my g-grandmother) when I was a child; she
died when I was 19.

One interesting service 23 and Me has is Relative Finder@. They match your DNA up against others in the database,give you a projected range (ex: 3-7
cousins), and a most likely relationship.(ex: 4th cousin)

I also have an Ancestry.com deluxe membership and have met in person and online several distant cousins.

Genealogy has been a very interesting hobby for me.

Roca

 

[Beach girl]

That's very interesting. I'd never heard of the "23 and me" site. Was the "disease risks" part very helpful? I mean, everyone knows you should keep cholesterol down, exercise, eat right, etc. Did they give information more specific than that to help you combat known factors?

 

[Jane B.]

How about German

A somewhat distant cousin did extensive research on my dad's side of the family getting back into the late 1500s. She and some other members of her immediate family found on a trip to Germany that earlier records were destroyed in a fire but that fire had not been confirmed at the time she wrote a 2 volume documentation of her research in 1998. They settled in an area that was other German emigrants. Someone else did one on my grandmothers family from this side and it also goes back into Germany but I do not have a copy.

On my mothers side both my grandparents were German emigrants from about 1882.

Growing up in the North Prairie/Huegely area of Southern Illinois my father did learn the language. But, my mother did not as she was the sixth one of seven kids and by the time she came along her folks had learned English well although they did at time use the German to each other and their church in Centralia, Illinois offered German services. Thus, all I grew up with other than a few phrases was English.

 

[Roca]

That's very interesting. I'd never heard of the "23 and me" site. Was the "disease risks" part very helpful? I mean, everyone knows you should keep cholesterol down, exercise, eat right, etc. Did they give information more specific than that to help you combat known factors?

Beach Girl,

Yes,the disease risks part of my DNA test was very helpful. They got down to specifics.

I'm at higher risks for macular degeneration and prostate cancer (among other diseases) and I have made certain lifestyle changes.

http://www.23andme.com

 

[KristinaB]

Well - I know I mentioned this in another thread a long time ago.

My father's side of the family is German. On his father's side, the name was changed at Ellis Island from (not totally sure of the spelling) Holtzen Zholen von Stauffen to Meyer. How they came up with that I will never understand. His mother's side is also German Both side for my father are German for at least 10 generations I was told.

On my mother's side, her mother's side was Cherokee and English (Britain), and her father's side for both parents was English/Australian back to 1571, before then, it was Great Britain.

 

[deafskeptic]

Beach Girl,

Yes,the disease risks part of my DNA test was very helpful. They got down to specifics.

I'm at higher risks for macular degeneration and prostate cancer (among other diseases) and I have made certain lifestyle changes.

http://www.23andme.com

I wonder if that would apply to breast cancer? My grandmother Price, my great aunt Helen (grandmother Price's sister) and my mother all have come down with breast cancer. My mother is the only member of the family to survive it.

 

[jillio]

I think You could relate to a lot of African Americans here in this country. Many of them can not trace their family back to Africa because in the 18th and 19th century, many were sold into slavery and brought over to this country. I recomend Roots by Alex Haley. It hit a deep chord within the African Americans in the 70s.

Absolutely.

 

[jillio]

That's very interesting. I'd never heard of the "23 and me" site. Was the "disease risks" part very helpful? I mean, everyone knows you should keep cholesterol down, exercise, eat right, etc. Did they give information more specific than that to help you combat known factors?

There are some risks that are specific to certain ethnicities, but more often it is just an increased risk for certain ethnicities. But....not definitive on whether that is a biological phenonena or related to certain social and environmental factors associated with marginaliized groups.

 

[jillio]

I wonder if that would apply to breast cancer? My grandmother Price, my great aunt Helen (grandmother Price's sister) and my mother all have come down with breast cancer. My mother is the only member of the family to survive it.

My maternal grandmother, both her sisters (my great-aunts) and my mother all died of breast cancer. My mother's sister and her daughter (my age) have both had mastectomies (survivors). My mother's brother has prostate cancer (often the way the gene manifests in men from families with a strong history).

The good news is, the pattern of the disease does not manifest until late 60's or early 70's in age.

 

[jillio]

Well - I know I mentioned this in another thread a long time ago.

My father's side of the family is German. On his father's side, the name was changed at Ellis Island from (not totally sure of the spelling) Holtzen Zholen von Stauffen to Meyer. How they came up with that I will never understand. His mother's side is also German Both side for my father are German for at least 10 generations I was told.

On my mother's side, her mother's side was Cherokee and English (Britain), and her father's side for both parents was English/Australian back to 1571, before then, it was Great Britain.

Yeah, if they had changed it ot Holt or Stauffer, or something, you could see where they were coming from.

I wonder if maybe they saw a sign with the name Meyer on it, recognized it's German roots, but felt it was more Americanized?

 

[deafskeptic]

My maternal grandmother, both her sisters (my great-aunts) and my mother all died of breast cancer. My mother's sister and her daughter (my age) have both had mastectomies (survivors). My mother's brother has prostate cancer (often the way the gene manifests in men from families with a strong history).

The good news is, the pattern of the disease does not manifest until late 60's or early 70's in age.

Mm that's of interest. I have no aunts or uncles as my parents were only children so I dunno if the males in my family are also affected.

 

[jillio]

Mm that's of interest. I have no aunts or uncles as my parents were only children so I dunno if the males in my family are also affected.

Yeah, my mother's oncologist was very patient in explaining some of this stuff to me when she was sick.