Genealogy: How far back have you gone?

[Jadzia]

I've never really had the interest to research back hundreds of years. But I did compile a family tree some time ago purely from the memories of living relatives, which went back to the mid 1800s, or 5 generations above me.

It was less of a family tree, more of a family creeper, because I charted all known descendants too, with whom I share a common ancestor on that tree, which spanned about 200 people. And in all that lot, there was only one instance of inbreeding.

 

[DanTheGrey]

About the end of the 19th Century. My mother's family is tight lipped because of racism regarding the Native/Metis marriages from around the turn of the 20th century. My grandmother systematically destroyed anything once she started having children and my grandfather was an orphan.

On my dad's side, both my grandmother and grandfather's sides of the family left sometime between 1908 and 1911 from England and neither side ever had anything to do with relatives back there ever again. Other than paternal grandmother's side of the family being involved in owning a stationary store and having ties to privateers and my paternal grandfather's side having a tradition of bureaucrats and pharmacists there's no real information to go on.

Basically tracing the family tree is pointless now anyways since my wife doesn't want to have kids (which I'm fine with) and as an only child it all ends with me. Doesn't seem like a good use of my time to track down.

 

[TGTheodore]

Mother's side traced back to 1707 when three brothers came here from Switzerland. Also, Oscar winner Wallace Beery is a cousin of mine as is his nephew, Noah Beery, Jr. who played Rocky on The Rockford Files.

Father's side, all I know is back to my great-grandfather, mid-1800's, although I am related to the painter El Greco, who had the same last name as my grandfather's originally was before emmigrating.

--Ted

 

[Small White Car]

This dude's grandfather is one of my direct ancestors.

That makes me 2nd cousins, something-removed from J.S.B. The name lasted all the way to my mother, but she was one of three girls who were all married so the name stopped there on our particular family tree.

My mom and aunts went to his home-town in Germany one year and they put them in a parade on his birthday celebration! So apparently, I could get into a parade in Germany if I really wanted to!

 

[SeerSGB]

Got back to my great-great grandfather; who came over from Ireland with his younger sister and father in the 1850/late 1840s. Threw my hands up and gave up after a while, mainly cause my family-- both sides-- are the "we don't talk about that" and "Oh, them...yeah we disowned them, they're not family anymore" types.

Apparently I pissed in a lot of Cheerios when I found out-- by accident-- that my great-grandmother was half-cherokee (big deal ~shrug~). A lot of people in the family knew, but it was "we don't talk about that in the family, it's not her fault she was what she was."

 

[Neopeius]

Fun reading!

I've traced back to the mid 1800s, all Ashkenazi Jews. Apparently, on my mother's side, I can trace back to the 16th century, but I haven't translated the book that has the family tree from Hebrew.

I've traced my wife back to the late 19th century--she's a German, English, Irish mutt. I think all of her ancestors were farmers, and it was probably that way for centuries.

My most famous relative is still alive--Vitaly Ginzburg is my great great uncle-in-law. Look him up!

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Several years go I sat down with an old relative of ours who knew our family tree (on my father's side) inside out. We went back several generations, and as it transpired, that was when I learned that my family in fact originally hailed from Indonesia (and not from Guildford after all).

I have since learned that several past members of my family had served in the Sri Lankan military during the 19th and 20th Centuries, including my mother's father (whom my mother keeps telling me I resemble), who fought in WW2. Apart from that, I've not really known much about my family background, it being rather obscure and all.

I've also done the "family creeper" thing, and am surprised to learn there are so many of us around the world, more than I realise, especially in Australia and isolated parts of the US. I'm still the only person able to continue the family name, however.

 

[Candlelight]

Barring mistakes (ie: barking up the wrong "tree"), mid 8th century on my father's side.

That's pretty cool - you take the cake!

 

[Chaos Descending]

Thirteenth Century here.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Mother's side traced back to 1707 when three brothers came here from Switzerland. Also, Oscar winner Wallace Beery is a cousin of mine as is his nephew, Noah Beery, Jr. who played Rocky on The Rockford Files.

Cool. I just saw him yesterday on an old episode of Wanted: Dead Or Alive. Great character actor.

 

[bod]

I think I might have posted some of this info before.

For the last two tears I've done quite of lot of my family tree. The furthest back I have gone is to Abraham Temple born England 1603. He arrived in Salem MA about 1636.

My GG Grandfather came to Scotland from America in 1881. He worked on a steamship. He married a Scottish woman & became a British citizen. His father Merrill Temple, fought with the Maine Infantry during the American civil war. He died of injuries received at the battle of Baton Rouge.

The furthest back I can go with my Irish roots is to the early 1800's. These are notoriously difficult & expensive to trace as the records office was burned down in about 1923.

With my Scottish roots I'm constantly digging & have many lines to research. Furthest I have been back so far is mid 1700's.

I love this stuff, distant relatives from all over the globe have been contacting me & sharing information. I especially love getting old photographs & putting a face to a name.

 

[What's his face]

Only 2 or 3 generations but I do know that on my maternal grandfather's side I'm a direct descendant of Philemon Wright.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philemon_Wright

Philemon Wright (September 3, 1760 – June 3, 1839) was a farmer and entrepreneur who founded Wrightville, the first settlement in the National Capital Region of Canada. Wrightville later became Hull, Quebec.

So my great-great whatever many grandfather was responsible for first colonizing the area that became our country's capital.

 

[Candlelight]

Oh wait, just found out I'm a descendent of Jesus.

So that would be... 1st century.

Brilliant!

 

[Balrog]

My grandfather on my father's side did a good amount, and traced a line back to the Mayflower and William Brewster.

 

[Omnius]

According to my aunt's genealogy webpage, I can trace my oldest ancestor on my mother's paternal side back to the 1744, the year he died. He had his first child in 1712, so I'd guess his year of birth (which is unknown), is possibly around ~1696. He lived in a village not more than a few miles away from the village where I was born .

 

[Sledder]

I'm not so interested in how far back I can get but more interested in gathering as much as I can on my various ancestors and their descendants. Some of my lines go to the 1600's but I'm very proof oriented so I don't just like to attach to a line I find out there and go with it if I haven't researched it myself.

In my family tree (which includes my wife's family) I've got 36,943 people right now.

 

[RevDMV]

Well with all the well know philanders, how accurate can any of this be past a generation or two.

 

[Sledder]

Well with all the well know philanders, how accurate can any of this be past a generation or two.

The use of DNA testing in genealogy is getting very popular. From all indications philanders aren't that big a part of the equation if many people with the same surname who are distantly related can show through their DNA a connection to the same male ancestor many many generations back.

 

[FordSVT]

My earliest documented ancestor was Flaithbheartach Ua'h-Anluain, Lord of Ui-Niallain, of the southern part of Ulster in Ireland. He was murdered in 983 AD. Another descendant is Donal O'Hanly, Bishop of Dublin from 1085 to 1096.

In actuality, my lineage goes back to Niall of the Nine Hostages, one of Ireland's most powerful kings, and the Three Collas, but that's pre-written history.

 

[Danoz]

Not sure entirely, but my mother has done some pretty intense genealogy research for her DAR admission. All we know about my father's side is that they were very, very poor and immigrated from Ireland.