Countries/Continents of Your Ancestors!

[SnazzyNazzy]

I got my National Geographic christmas catalog yesterday, and there is something in there I am dying to try. I was wondering if anyone here, has tried it.

It's the http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/genographic-2.0-kits/geno-2.0-next-generation-genographic-project-participation-and-dna-ancestry-kit

There is a disclaimer on there about women not being able to get a direct paternal deep ancestry, because of the Y chromosome thing. It says that women will learn other things about their paternal side.

I'm kind of torn about getting it though. The side I'm most curious about is my paternal side, and that seems to be sort of a wash. I'll probably get it for myself for my birthday, because I'm really curious about it.

[clueliss]

@SnazzyNazzy if there is a male on your father's side you might have them do it to learn about your father's side.  I can back into my father's side because I had mine done and then my mother's both via ancestry.com  (So I know the trace region of Eastern European has to come from him because it is not on my mother's, I can also deduce that the 2% english I have can be linked to my mom based on her % of english).  

[SnazzyNazzy]

@SnazzyNazzy if there is a male on your father's side you might have them do it to learn about your father's side.  I can back into my father's side because I had mine done and then my mother's both via ancestry.com  (So I know the trace region of Eastern European has to come from him because it is not on my mother's, I can also deduce that the 2% english I have can be linked to my mom based on her % of english).  

All the males in my paternal line, are all dead. My paternal grandpa died before I was born, my dad died in 1996, he only had a sister, and she adopted her kids. Barring my kids, I'm the only leaf left, on that particularly short branch of my family tree. Seeing as how my paternal grandparents were uber devout Catholics, you woulda thunk, that they would have had more than two sprogs.

I might waste the money, and get one for all four of us, because god forbid, one of my kids doesn't get to do one. I figure, if I can see what my boys thing is, and see what my husband's is, I can deduce what some of my paternal side is. 

[Maggie Mae]

All the males in my paternal line, are all dead. My paternal grandpa died before I was born, my dad died in 1996, he only had a sister, and she adopted her kids. Barring my kids, I'm the only leaf left, on that particularly short branch of my family tree. Seeing as how my paternal grandparents were uber devout Catholics, you woulda thunk, that they would have had more than two sprogs.

I might waste the money, and get one for all four of us, because god forbid, one of my kids doesn't get to do one. I figure, if I can see what my boys thing is, and see what my husband's is, I can deduce what some of my paternal side is. 

I'd get one for both (hypothetical, in my situation) kids just as an accuracy check. 

[SnazzyNazzy]

I'd get one for both (hypothetical, in my situation) kids just as an accuracy check. 

I plan too. I also plan, when the results come in, to pull a "Maury Moment", and say "You are NOT the mother". I love trolling my SnazzySprogs, because they fall for it every single time. I know payback is a bitch, and they are probably going to pull some whoppers on me, but I just can't seem to stop myself.

[morri]

mines boring, germany and france.(I am german)

My daughter has got scottish ancestry going back to maxwell castle in scotland.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

One last post and then I have to run - but I'll go back and read this whole thread when I get home.  I love this stuff.

Dad's side: My dad was born in Neuwied, Germany.

1. Germany - Rhineland-pfalz - Neuwied (Heddesdorf) and Koblenz.  (brick wall at Gramma.  Know her dad's name and that's it.)
2. Germany - Bochum westfallen.  Grandpa was a Ruhr Pole - born in Germany to Polish immigrants.  (brick wall)

Mom's side:  

1. IL, IA, MO, IN, TN, NC, VA, PA, Barbados, Switzerland, Scotland, Germany, France, England, Wales, Ireland, Iceland (way - way back) - Gramma (family rumors of possible native american, but almost every family in that region of TN has those rumors and no documentation exists.)  
2. IL, IA, OH, MA, CO, Ireland (County Cork), England.  

Ironic that culturally we were raised with our dad's ethnic traditions but we know almost nothing about his family past his parents.

 

 

 

[nastyhobbitses]

My ancestry is a lovely tour through Europe:

Mom's side:

Italy (Naples region) and Poland (Krakow area, I believe)

Dad's side:

Austria/Hungary (it was a weird part of central Europe that sort of bounced around between empires, but I believe it's in Austria now), Belarus, and Russia

I'm only one-quarter Italian, but I think that part of my heritage had the largest impact on my cultural upbringing, besides Judaism (which was brought in by every non-Italian ancestor). Some of it may be that my mom was raised in a part of New Jersey with a strong Italian-American cultural influence and my dad spent a decent amount of time studying abroad in Italy, so I was always raised eating tons of Italian food and learning about Italian history and culture.

I did get a kick out of my dad once saying of a business trip to Minsk, Belarus, "I can see why my grandparents left."

[Quivering Uterus]

French Canadians unite! Dad's family came from France to Quebec, and dropped into the US by way of New Hampshire. Mom's family is primarily Scottish- German.

Mom's family were doccumenters - I have a box of tin types, imigration papers with wax seals etc. Also I inherited a bed, dresser and wash stand. Eastlake for those who like antiques. My Grandfather and his siblings were born on the bed. New mattress, lol. P.S. I don't get any weird vibes from it, except a book that was knocked off a piano that was in that bedroom late at night when I slept there, but that's for that other thread, lol.

[morri]

I think it is exciting how all these colony descendants have such a wide spread history. My oh is Safrican so he also has a bit of British/european mixed ancestry

[Blahblah]

I am 7/8 English, 1/8 German so far. Mix of London and Midlands for the Brits.

My great grandfather (mother's paternal grandfather) was German. I haven't gone any further back yet on that line. I'm just dabbling in the UK records and not up to tackling foreign language records yet.

[boston2495]

You guys are all fascinating me with this stuff. It is so interesting thinking of how world history is reflected in peoples' genealogical makeups.  I really love genealogical research and hearing about other peoples' experiences with it, so I'm glad I found this thread.

I'm an American but have all Irish ancestry. I always thought that was kind of funny since it's not like we're fresh off the boat or anything - I'm 3rd and 4th generation American from different lines, and all the branches of my family have been here for at least 110 years, yet somehow Irish people kept finding other Irish people over the generations. Granted, we live in an area with one of the heaviest populations of Irish ancestry outside of Ireland, but still! Needless to say St. Patrick's Day is a biiiig deal in my family!  

For those of you who have done genealogical research into Irish ancestors, I'm currently hitting a roadblock and can use some advice. One of my great-grandparents (born in Ireland) is a big mystery and basically all we know is his name, a possible birthday, and the fact that he came here on a boat from Ireland. We don't even know if he had siblings that could have possibly come over, too. (Never mind the fact that a great majority of my parents' generation knew and/or lived with him - no one thought to ask these questions when he was still living, argh!) I haven't had any luck finding birth records from Ireland from the 1880s, when he was born, and was wondering if anyone else has. It seems as though there aren't a lot of records from that era online, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right places - I've mostly been using Ancestry.com but I've been finding that it comes up weak when it comes to Irish ancestors before 1900, at least for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

7 minutes ago, boston2495 said:

You guys are all fascinating me with this stuff. It is so interesting thinking of how world history is reflected in peoples' genealogical makeups.  I really love genealogical research and hearing about other peoples' experiences with it, so I'm glad I found this thread.

I'm an American but have all Irish ancestry. I always thought that was kind of funny since it's not like we're fresh off the boat or anything - I'm 3rd and 4th generation American from different lines, and all the branches of my family have been here for at least 110 years, yet somehow Irish people kept finding other Irish people over the generations. Granted, we live in an area with one of the heaviest populations of Irish ancestry outside of Ireland, but still! Needless to say St. Patrick's Day is a biiiig deal in my family!  

For those of you who have done genealogical research into Irish ancestors, I'm currently hitting a roadblock and can use some advice. One of my great-grandparents (born in Ireland) is a big mystery and basically all we know is his name, a possible birthday, and the fact that he came here on a boat from Ireland. We don't even know if he had siblings that could have possibly come over, too. (Never mind the fact that a great majority of my parents' generation knew and/or lived with him - no one thought to ask these questions when he was still living, argh!) I haven't had any luck finding birth records from Ireland from the 1880s, when he was born, and was wondering if anyone else has. It seems as though there aren't a lot of records from that era online, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right places - I've mostly been using Ancestry.com but I've been finding that it comes up weak when it comes to Irish ancestors before 1900, at least for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

My grandpa's line came over about the same time - the problem is as I understand it the Irish weren't allowed to own land in Ireland, and in many areas church records were destroyed or not kept due to the crack down on Catholicism.  (If you're people are protestants or from what is now northern Ireland I know nothing.)

Records for the poor flooding America due to the famine aren't great.  My grandfather was 2nd generation and his parents came over from Cork in the mid-1800s.  All I know is the area he came from still has the largest population of his last name in Ireland - but we've got no records prior to him coming here.  I have census records for them showing born in Ireland and a little biography of two of his kids in some small town paper for their weddings which mention the parents coming from Cork.  

There are many people researching this line (huge family) and everyone is stuck at the arrival in America.  

Anyway - not helpful but just that what I've read there aren't a lot of records online due to the fact that there aren't a lot of records that still exist...and a lot that were never created in the first place given the status of the Irish in their own country. 

If people had money or legal trouble it's easier to find records...but if they lived basically outside of the legal system it's really hard for some populations.  

[clueliss]

Irish ancestry can be further clouded by - as is my understanding - by families being renamed - in Ireland  I'm aware of the last name Smith being issued to folks to use instead of their real family names.  

You might try checking Cyndi's List (there is a website as well).  to see what resources they might list.  

https://www.facebook.com/CyndisList/?fref=ts

 

[Blahblah]

I have a 2 X great grandmother born about 1846 in Limerick. I know this from the UK census after she moved to uk and married my 2 X great grandfather. I can't find anything from Ireland. Surname is Clancey. No idea whether that is an original Irish name or has been changed at any point.

[nana sew dear]

I had my DNA done at the beginning of this year.  I am 53% Western European (that, for some reason includes a fair bit of the British Isles), 28% British (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), 9% Irish, 4% Scandinavian, 4% Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Andorra, Portugal, some Greece, Italy, 1% Finland/Russia, and 1% Northern Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and some bits of the Middle East.  It has been fascinating! 

I have found the countries of Germany, Ireland, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, England (lots), Scotland and Wales in my searches for relatives and they are all represented on my family tree.  Having said all of that, my family has been in America for between 3 and 4 hundred years. 

I love hearing everyone's family stories.  It's history on a relatable level.

[Guest]

I am Irish and French Basque on the one side, and Russian but having originally come from, or having some Iraqi mixture on the other side. Today I am American, both sides of the family came here in the early 1900's.
 

[feministxtian]

I am German, 2nd generation born in the US on my father's side and Spanish/Cuban, first generation born here on my mother's side. I think my father's mother was from Dresden and my father's father was from somewhere in Bavaria. My mother's mother was from ? and her father was from Barcelona. I have tried to track my maiden name (it's rather unusual) and found like two other people with the same last name here in the US, one in Minnesota and one in North Carolina and haven't found any in Germany. I've not really traced my mother's family in Spain although I know both last names. 

[Smash!]

Interesting topic! I envy you from the US a bit for having ancestors from all over the places. It reminded me of the stories I heard in school where the local communities encouraged the poor people and (and paid for the ship) to leave for the states so their village could get rid of them.

I'm quite boring when it comes to ancestors. My family has been swiss for generations, except for my grand grand mother being of french decent. Of my mothers side there's a rumour that one of our female ancestors was a gypsy. My grandfather had black hair and his skin got really dark in the summer. The same is my sister (despite me being very light). So it would be very interesting to take this DNA test and find out if this rumour is true.

[Guest]

Interesting topic! I envy you from the US a bit for having ancestors from all over the places. It reminded me of the stories I heard in school where the local communities encouraged the poor people and (and paid for the ship) to leave for the states so their village could get rid of them.

I'm quite boring when it comes to ancestors. My family has been swiss for generations, except for my grand grand mother being of french decent. Of my mothers side there's a rumour that one of our female ancestors was a gypsy. My grandfather had black hair and his skin got really dark in the summer. The same is my sister (despite me being very light). So it would be very interesting to take this DNA test and find out if this rumour is true.

It is pretty cool having ancestors with various histories, as many in the US have. But I have to admit I sometimes envy others whose families were able to remain in the same place, and have ties going back centuries, and some even further. To look around and know that what you see is basically what your ancestors saw, to grow up learning your history and culture, it's not what we have here in America. We do have history lessons, mainly Western history, and even then much of it is left out. And people who weren't from the West have an even harder time learning their history. So I envy others ties and knowledge of their history. The internet is changing things, and now at least we can all learn on our own if we have the time and know where our ancestors came from. Some peoples origins were lost in time. Hopefully DNA testing will help those who don't know find out where they came from.

[ADoyle90815]

My mom's side is Anglo-Irish and other British Isles, first living in Virginia during the colonial period, and my dad's side is mostly Irish Catholic, with relatives coming because of the potato famine, although one ancestor left about a generation after the worst of the famine hit, and that was because he didn't want to become a Catholic priest as he was the second son in his family. That particular ancestor came through Boston, not Ellis Island when he arrived, before taking the train across to southern California.

[cindyluvs24]

My great grandparents all emigrated to the US from different parts of the Russian Empire.  Some went to Boston, some to Newark, NJ, and I ended up on the Jersey Shore.

[meep]

Mother's side: German (Bavarian), Austrian; going way way back - English, and Native American.

Father's Side: Mexican (including both Native Tarascan and Spanish/Basque at some point due to the family last name). 

[MarblesMom]

Mine are mostly from England and Ireland.

DNA testing shows 65% GB and 20% Ireland roots and they also located 556 4th cousins or further out - like anyone needs more relatives....

[melon]

My mother was from Germany.I really don't know much about her side of the family.

My father's side.England ,Wales,Scotland,Ireland and France.

I had ancestors that were French Hugenots.

One side of the family came with William Penn.

I have an ancestor that was on the Mayflower.He died the first winter and he was an indentured servant.

Also,before they settled in America,I have ancestors that went to Leiden,Holland/the Netherlands.

Another ancestor fought in the Civil War,for the Confederates.He was wounded and was in a Military Prison,they would draw lots.He drew one.He was a great favorite among everyone.He was told he could go home...they figured he would not come back....it took two weeks to go,and he told his father of his fate,his father told him with tears to go back...he did,and he was pardoned.

He never married.He suffered with seizures,and had a scar from his wound..that he could fit a marble in.

My ex SIL traced our family tree,I have a lot of famous ancestors ,too.