WOT - How far back can you go? Ancestry

3930 Views 66 Replies 46 Participants Last post by joelad, Oct 22, 2008

Rasper

Discussion Starter · Jul 18, 2008

After watching some shows on the Hitler channel. I found it interesting that to get into the SS you had to prove your German heritage back to like 1699 (200 years). I lied, just looked it up and in Wiki its: "In the early days of the SS, officer candidates had to prove German ancestry to 1750. They also were required to prove that they had no Jewish ancestors." oops

That got me thinking about my family's history and started to put together a 'tree'. I have also learned some new things never knew. Like for starters the tribe of Indian blood in my veins and that im part French too.
I can get back to about 1890 on my dads side and 1775 on my moms (French and Indian). I find this pretty damn cool :goof:

So how far can everyone else date there family's back to?

Oh and a chilling fact, if I don't reproduce my family name stops

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Templar

· #2 · Jul 18, 2008

I have an abbreviated family tree at my house that goes back to around 1520 (off the top of my head).

My father has one that goes back to about 1170.

My father's side of the family were Normans who came over with the invasion of Britain in the 1060's, and steadily moved up north into Scotland.

They were awarded three land grants from the Crown, I've been able to visit 2 of them in my travels over there.

We lost it all in 1715.

Zane Zackerly

· #3 · Jul 18, 2008

There are people on my Dad's side who are into this BIG TIME.

Lesseee...I'm related to everyone from Robert E. Lee to Abraham Lincoln.

I've got a Norman ancestor named Drogo de Monte Acuito.

No one is really sure of the exact origin of my last name, but there are lots of people with my last name in Yorkshire and Devonshire, England.

I'm Irish, English, and German as far as what my major ethnic origin would be, but somewhere I've got mitochondrial DNA from Africa.

On my mother's side, I've got a Native American ancestor but no one knows or cares what tribe.

When somebody shows me good solid proof of any of this stuff I'll believe it, but I kinda look at geneology like I do "Past Lives": how come they always discover you were Cleopatra in a past life, but never a bum?

If I'm related to some of the great heads of America and Europe like some of these people claim, I'd need to get some really good documentation to buy it.

"Oh, I read it on the internet; it must be true," or "Oh, I paid this guy $5,000 to dig up our ancestry; it must be true."

I don't buy it.

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WhiteRabbit

· #4 · Jul 18, 2008

My parents traced my dad's side back to 1520 England. They moved to Scotland, Ireland, and then the New World.

Templar

· #5 · Jul 18, 2008

We are extremely lucky to have a distant cousin who's Australian (part of the family got the hell out of Scotland and came to the States, part went to Australia/New Zealand) who's a professor at Cambridge and part time at Georgia Tech.

He had his doctoral candidates do the majority of the leg work for stuff past 1700. Free labor is always the best. :twisted:

Took about 4 of them two years to do the digging.

Rasper

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 18, 2008

Holy crap guys, thats amazing how far back you can dig. I wish I had a strong enough tree to find that all out.

xarmy96

· #7 · Jul 18, 2008

Family name is Scottish and started in 1400's, when the "Y" chromosome got to the US beats the hell outa me, 1840 OHIO I got on my side, rumors of Connecticutt and New York detours before there, German on the motherly sides as well as English, so yea, indiscriminate breeders we are, Blondes, Brunettes, and Redheads sprinkled in after we left the Scottish lowlands and Northern Irerland areas for freedom. Family Reunion is this Sunday in Michigan, looks like four generations of incestrious inbreeding, with obesity and bad teeth thrown in for fun cause Gods got a sense of humor. But the #1 thing you mentioned..........FAMILY. Thats what its all about. :grin:

Tyrvidar

· #8 · Jul 18, 2008

I have several family members on many sides of my family that are deep into this stuff as well.

Most of our US records on both sides of the family trace back into the early and mid 1800s. All southern for the most part. German, English, Irish, Dutch, Danish... Several members served on the confederate side during the civil war. My dads side of the family has traced a branch of their family back to old church records from some of the early conversions to Christianity in Denmark between the 11-13th centuries... Thanks to the Catholics they like to keep marriage licenses and all that good stuff...

We all have ancient roots, finding them is a pain in the ass.

Thats all for now, anyone seen my axe? I gotta get back to building my long ship.

benEzra

· #9 · Jul 18, 2008

French Hugenots and lots of English on my mother's side (back to the 1700's), but on my dad's side I can trace back to the Norman conquest---but so can probably half the USA, so there aren't any bragging rights involved I suppose, but it's really neat to be able to trace your line that far. Templar, we're probably about 50th cousins or something. :mrgreen:

My wife is 1/2 English (can trace her ancestry to the Mayflower, since she's from New England, 1/4 Danish, and 1/4 Portuguese. Her grandmother emigrated from the Azores, and my wife can still cuss in Portuguese. :twisted:

caddy%

· #10 · Jul 18, 2008

my grandmother used to be real heavy into geneology (sp?). she traced my grandfather's side all the way back to... jeez, i want to say 700-800's. she gave me a copy of all her work, but i can't seem to find it. ( i'll keep looking, and post if i find it. it's pretty cool.)

all i know is i have viking blood in my veins!

praise Odin! :twisted:

Rasper

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 18, 2008

praise Odin!

:lol: :lol:

My mom has a book she had done of our history, said she'd send me that in the mail. Along with my baby book that has a tree in it. Im glad someone keeps some records, this is neat stuff!

Sidecarnutz

· #12 · Jul 18, 2008

Geez.... You guys with your family trees!

The flu pandemic at the end of WWI killed off quite a bit of my family.
Had a great Grandpa who died of a heart attack dancing the Charleston with a young lady dance instructor at a retirement home after WWII. (My Aunt loves telling that story.) Had every adult male in the family die over a five year period in the early 60's. Shot down down in 'Nam, shot on duty as a Policeman, killed by a drunk driver, cancer, you name it. Dropped off like flies. Left me and my little brother the "name keepers" according to my step Dad. Add the fact that much of the family was made up of psycho jerks who hated each other and didn't ever talk and much family history died with them. For example. I have a half sister who grew up 8 miles away from me. I never met her until accidentally finding her on the internet just after my Mom died in '03! The families kept us apart all those years. Most all the jerks have passed now. The rest of us are united and enjoying each others company again!

Family tree? Ha!! :grin: Mine is a patch of weeds! :roll:

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warpiper

· #13 · Jul 19, 2008

My surname I have back to 1688, Ettringen, Rheinland, Prussia. I am not likely to get further than that as the records were destroyed by an allied bombing raid. My grandfather was not so thrilled with the info, he fought against the Germans with the 28th Infantry. He was told we were Scots/Irish, which we are on his grandmother's side.

My mother's family is more interesting, it has a pirate and several English knights and kings.

I have spent a great amount of time researching it though. Doing it right takes a lot of effort, you can't just take everything you find on the internet at face value and pop it in a book, you have to put in the work.

wgallc

· #14 · Jul 19, 2008

Hmm, don't know exactly.

A Union soldier interjected himself into our (paternal side) family while hospitalized in SC. My maternal great-great-grandmother was his nurse. No one knows the circumstances, good, bad or otherwise. His name is lost to history. He left, she stayed.

Another southern gentleman, whose name I bear, made her & the rest of us 'legitimate' by marrying her prior to childbirth. Scots-Irish, which we claim.

Mother's side, English, pure blood, 1 land grant from King George on the Edisto River around 1640, 2 enlisted Colonial soldiers(brothers) which received pensions from the new US government. Most all land gone by 1865-66.

Dutchkma

· #15 · Jul 19, 2008

So how far can everyone else date there family's back to?

20 Minutes.

EXPcustom

· #16 · Jul 19, 2008

Re:

On my dad's side we can trace lineage to Austrian Czar Franz Joseph I

I guess the guy had alot of bastard children that we can trace our lineage to.

I hope the SS will accept my application to be an officer. :mrgreen:

JoeMomma

· #17 · Jul 19, 2008

My Grandparents were really into this stuff. On Grandma"s side, they got back into the 1500s in England with the Cloptons at Kentwell.
On Grandpa"s side, the family name of Ritterspach, and Von Flocken went back to the Baverian part of Germany.
My Dads side of the family is not close, but 3 generations back, a Maternal Grandmother was Cheerokee Indian.
I'm a true American mongrel..... :smile:

my65pan

· #18 · Jul 19, 2008

I know I'm English, Irish, Scottish, French, and Cherokee. When you consider that just 8 generations back you have 256 grandparents it's pretty hard to claim just one. :grin:

sdcromer

· #19 · Jul 19, 2008

My ancestors left Baden, Germany, in the 1400's to avoid being hung as horse thieves. They fled to Britain and founded a little fishing village on the coast of Norfolk. Emigrated to Charleston, SC, in the early 1800's.

Kalash

· #20 · Jul 19, 2008

1600's on my mother's side. My uncle's into geneology. I'm a "Son of the Revolution" & "Son of the South". My family has fought in every conflict & war since before our country was founded except the latest two, Iraq 03' and Afghanistan.

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