How far into history have you traced your family tree & were there any surprising revelations for you?

My family tree is clear back to the late 1700’s. I have a former president, rock star, country singer, and noted author that was the biggest surprise of all.

My family in Eastern Europe were all murdered by the Nazis during the Summer of 1941. There is no one left to ask, but I heard from my dad’s cousin before she died that on my dad’s mother’s side we were peach orchardists in Odessa.

@pdworkin There are various ways of tracing ones family history whether there are surviving members or not. I’m sure it offers a fascinating insight. Although I would enter such a venture with a slight degree of trepidation. Your family left a profound & eternal legacy no doubt.

My maternal grandfather’s line traces back to the 14th century in East Prussia. My father’s line to an immigrant from Shropshire England in 1668 to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, The colony paid his passage and gave him a land grant to serve as a Captain of Militia during the “Indian Troubles” known as King Phillips War. My great-great-great grandfather was the 19th Vice-President of the US. My great-uncle on my mothers side was a General in the Waffen SS, disappeared after the fall of Stalingrad. His younger brother, my grandfather, served in the Kaiser’s Army in WW1 and the US Army in WW2. My fathers stepfather commanded the 10th (Mountain) Division in Italy in WW2.

@ucme – What are ways of tracing a family tree? I would like to know.

Got back to the 18th century indirectly through the IGI.
My Grand-mothers name on my mothers side was very unusual so that helped.
On my dads side the name is just too common, so only managed as far as my grandfather.
Found lots of interesting stuff, but I’d have to get in touch with Irish records to see more

@Leopardgecko Well in England anyone can contact there local council or parish if they wished.

I only know bits and pieces about my ancestry. One was a teacher and advisor for a king, another, The Crazy Count, killed his grand mother, sold her belongings and fled to the US, where he died in Leigh County. Another was a witch and sentenced to run the gauntlet.

We haven’t traced it back pretty far, but it was interesting to find out that I had Jewish relatives from the Czech Republic. I never knew that I had any Jewish relatives. It was also interesting to find that my mom’s family in Russia (which is around the St. Petersburg area) was not too far from where my dad’s family in Russia was from. No big revelations, though. However, despite the fact that I share a name with a royal family, I’m not related… :( Well, that’s what they say, anyway…

@oratio There’s a rollicking movie in there somewhere. If you chip away the rough edges~

I have information dating back to the 1600’s from my mother’s side of the family. Many came to Virginia from Wales. Several ancestors were in the Confederate Army.

Some ancestors then moved on to Kentucky and Illinois. My great, great, great grandfather was a farmer in Illinois. He had land surveyed by Abraham Lincoln. As a remuneration Mr. Lincoln received two small dressed deer-skins, which he used for facing the front of his pantaloons.

I was told that my ancestors were mostly farmers, teachers, preachers, or wine, women and song men who liked to gamble. Back in the early 1600’s, one was injured so badly in a drunken brawl, he died within a few hours. something to be proud of, eh?

@jonsblond Could’ve been a lot worse i’m sure imagine those variables makes you shudder.

I know my mother is, if she’s telling he truth.

Back to England and KING Henry VIII. my greatx5 grandfather was on The Mayflower and stepped onto Plymouth Rock. how about that?

@pdworkin You would be surprised how many Jewish records in lands devastated by the Germans, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Germany itself, survived the second World War and are open for examination. There is a project on Jewishgen.com which is devoted to taking surviving Jewish records from Poland and Russia, transcribing them and adding them to existing databases.
My Morgan forebears came from Riga, then Russia, now Latvia, and the State Archives there were able to trace my great-grandfather’s 18 siblings and prior generations back to the late 1700’s.

As to the family, it seems like everyone and I mean everyone in the 19th century was a tailor, a cutter, a shoemaker or a furrier. All professions open to Jews in 19th century Russia.

The remarkable thing about my wife’s family is that she is descended from a passenger on the first group of Puritans who landed in Boston in 1630.

SRM

@pdworkin @srmorgan The SS were fanatics about preserving records, almost as much as they were about killing “untermenchen”. The archives that they collected up were found neatly stored away at the end of the war.

The knowledge about my family tree ends with my grandparents. And I have no desire to find out more, as I find it highly irrelevant.

That we have no Native American heritage as we were told….............in great detail I might add…....................it was all a hoax….........a lie of great proportions.

Pocahantas (apparently), Henry Clay (directly descended from), Charlegmange (not really a big deal, about 5 million other people are related to him), some Vikings, Confederates, Indians, and even a slave or two, plus plenty of musicians from the Bayou. That’s all my mom’s side. On my dad’s side, my lineage goes back to a trumpeter in the Italian army, and way further back to the founders of a town in Italy that my surname comes from. I’m visiting said town next year :-)

I’m a mutt.

I am apparently a distant cousin of Bob Dole.

An ancestor owned part of Martha’s Vineyard in the 1700s. It would be nice if that had come down to me.

surprised!
My surname may not be the real ancestors name?
( adopted surname?)