Genealogy - That was easy…
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I mentioned in the Europe vacation thread that I might try to look up a little family history and visit the family the Scottish or Irish region my family emigrated from (there’s always been a family debate about whether we are more Irish, Scottish, or English). I was using the Google thing today and found an entire freaking archive of tens of thousands of people around the globe with my surname and going back to the 1500s. I went to the search bar and within 5 minutes had tracked my lineage back 5 generations to 1812 in Lanark(shire), Scotland on the Clyde River just a little southeast of Glasgow, and Southwest of Edinburgh. It’s evidently a sleepy little area except for having been the birthplace of the Clydesdale horses.
I couldn’t go any further than that because the records indicate hundreds of Alexanders and James ———— being born and dying in that region between 1750 and 1812. It seems that those were recurring first names in my lineage going back to my great grandfather and further up the line. Coincidentally, Lucas’ middle name is Alexander and Finley’s is James… Seriously, it is coincidence…
So I’m at an impasse right now, but there seem to be indications that the surname had migrated to that area from Ireland (Armagh) in the 1650s. There are still a fair number in Belfast. But there are also indications that those ———— were actually directly descended from some of the English plantations under Elizabeth 1. Interesting stuff…
I also discovered that there are a significant number of —————- in Australia, which opens up other questions…
This could become a very expensive hobby…
The Brad
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It could become expensive to your very soul, if you discover you are descended from slave owners.
I dare not open the Pandora’s box of genealogy, because if I ever discovered I had any racism in my lineage, I would never forgive my ancestors, or myself. I don’t believe I would be able to go on living a normal life. I can only cultivate and nurture this tiny pocket of time I’ve been given, and keep it free from racism and hate. It’s all I can do, and I can only hope that it is enough.
Education is extremely important.
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Cool LD! Might I ask what Google thing or whatever you used? I haven’t been online much lately is case the is a new ancestry tool available.
I’ve attempted a family tree, both for my own knowledge but also to pass down the line but it definitely is a time suck.
Horace, your approach seems to be wiser.
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It could become expensive to your very soul, if you discover you are descended from slave owners.
I dare not open the Pandora’s box of genealogy, because if I ever discovered I had any racism in my lineage, I would never forgive my ancestors, or myself. I don’t believe I would be able to go on living a normal life. I can only cultivate and nurture this tiny pocket of time I’ve been given, and keep it free from racism and hate. It’s all I can do, and I can only hope that it is enough.
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I mentioned in the Europe vacation thread that I might try to look up a little family history and visit the family the Scottish or Irish region my family emigrated from (there’s always been a family debate about whether we are more Irish, Scottish, or English). I was using the Google thing today and found an entire freaking archive of tens of thousands of people around the globe with my surname and going back to the 1500s. I went to the search bar and within 5 minutes had tracked my lineage back 5 generations to 1812 in Lanark(shire), Scotland on the Clyde River just a little southeast of Glasgow, and Southwest of Edinburgh. It’s evidently a sleepy little area except for having been the birthplace of the Clydesdale horses.
I couldn’t go any further than that because the records indicate hundreds of Alexanders and James ———— being born and dying in that region between 1750 and 1812. It seems that those were recurring first names in my lineage going back to my great grandfather and further up the line. Coincidentally, Lucas’ middle name is Alexander and Finley’s is James… Seriously, it is coincidence…
So I’m at an impasse right now, but there seem to be indications that the surname had migrated to that area from Ireland (Armagh) in the 1650s. There are still a fair number in Belfast. But there are also indications that those ———— were actually directly descended from some of the English plantations under Elizabeth 1. Interesting stuff…
I also discovered that there are a significant number of —————- in Australia, which opens up other questions…
This could become a very expensive hobby…
@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
I mentioned in the Europe vacation thread that I might try to look up a little family history and visit the family the Scottish or Irish region my family emigrated from (there’s always been a family debate about whether we are more Irish, Scottish, or English). I was using the Google thing today and found an entire freaking archive of tens of thousands of people around the globe with my surname and going back to the 1500s. I went to the search bar and within 5 minutes had tracked my lineage back 5 generations to 1812 in Lanark(shire), Scotland on the Clyde River just a little southeast of Glasgow, and Southwest of Edinburgh. It’s evidently a sleepy little area except for having been the birthplace of the Clydesdale horses.
I couldn’t go any further than that because the records indicate hundreds of Alexanders and James ———— being born and dying in that region between 1750 and 1812. It seems that those were recurring first names in my lineage going back to my great grandfather and further up the line. Coincidentally, Lucas’ middle name is Alexander and Finley’s is James… Seriously, it is coincidence…
So I’m at an impasse right now, but there seem to be indications that the surname had migrated to that area from Ireland (Armagh) in the 1650s. There are still a fair number in Belfast. But there are also indications that those ———— were actually directly descended from some of the English plantations under Elizabeth 1. Interesting stuff…
I also discovered that there are a significant number of —————- in Australia, which opens up other questions…
This could become a very expensive hobby…
I went down the rabbit hole of Ancestry.co.uk (as opposed to .com) - the British census and church records are pretty good for 19th Century and later, before that it gets a bit sketchy. It was very easy to use - you can pay for a subscription, and even after you cancel it your tree remains accessible.
I hate to say it, but your surname sounds a bit French to me. I found I had French ancestry from someone who escaped the Revolution in the 1700's. He was actually one of my most intriguing ancestors - somebody had written a short article about him.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
I mentioned in the Europe vacation thread that I might try to look up a little family history and visit the family the Scottish or Irish region my family emigrated from (there’s always been a family debate about whether we are more Irish, Scottish, or English). I was using the Google thing today and found an entire freaking archive of tens of thousands of people around the globe with my surname and going back to the 1500s. I went to the search bar and within 5 minutes had tracked my lineage back 5 generations to 1812 in Lanark(shire), Scotland on the Clyde River just a little southeast of Glasgow, and Southwest of Edinburgh. It’s evidently a sleepy little area except for having been the birthplace of the Clydesdale horses.
I couldn’t go any further than that because the records indicate hundreds of Alexanders and James ———— being born and dying in that region between 1750 and 1812. It seems that those were recurring first names in my lineage going back to my great grandfather and further up the line. Coincidentally, Lucas’ middle name is Alexander and Finley’s is James… Seriously, it is coincidence…
So I’m at an impasse right now, but there seem to be indications that the surname had migrated to that area from Ireland (Armagh) in the 1650s. There are still a fair number in Belfast. But there are also indications that those ———— were actually directly descended from some of the English plantations under Elizabeth 1. Interesting stuff…
I also discovered that there are a significant number of —————- in Australia, which opens up other questions…
This could become a very expensive hobby…
I went down the rabbit hole of Ancestry.co.uk (as opposed to .com) - the British census and church records are pretty good for 19th Century and later, before that it gets a bit sketchy. It was very easy to use - you can pay for a subscription, and even after you cancel it your tree remains accessible.
I hate to say it, but your surname sounds a bit French to me. I found I had French ancestry from someone who escaped the Revolution in the 1700's. He was actually one of my most intriguing ancestors - somebody had written a short article about him.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
I mentioned in the Europe vacation thread that I might try to look up a little family history and visit the family the Scottish or Irish region my family emigrated from (there’s always been a family debate about whether we are more Irish, Scottish, or English). I was using the Google thing today and found an entire freaking archive of tens of thousands of people around the globe with my surname and going back to the 1500s. I went to the search bar and within 5 minutes had tracked my lineage back 5 generations to 1812 in Lanark(shire), Scotland on the Clyde River just a little southeast of Glasgow, and Southwest of Edinburgh. It’s evidently a sleepy little area except for having been the birthplace of the Clydesdale horses.
I couldn’t go any further than that because the records indicate hundreds of Alexanders and James ———— being born and dying in that region between 1750 and 1812. It seems that those were recurring first names in my lineage going back to my great grandfather and further up the line. Coincidentally, Lucas’ middle name is Alexander and Finley’s is James… Seriously, it is coincidence…
So I’m at an impasse right now, but there seem to be indications that the surname had migrated to that area from Ireland (Armagh) in the 1650s. There are still a fair number in Belfast. But there are also indications that those ———— were actually directly descended from some of the English plantations under Elizabeth 1. Interesting stuff…
I also discovered that there are a significant number of —————- in Australia, which opens up other questions…
This could become a very expensive hobby…
I went down the rabbit hole of Ancestry.co.uk (as opposed to .com) - the British census and church records are pretty good for 19th Century and later, before that it gets a bit sketchy. It was very easy to use - you can pay for a subscription, and even after you cancel it your tree remains accessible.
I hate to say it, but your surname sounds a bit French to me. I found I had French ancestry from someone who escaped the Revolution in the 1700's. He was actually one of my most intriguing ancestors - somebody had written a short article about him.
My surname’s origins are fairly easy to determine. While nowhere near as common as Baker or Smith, the name still denotes the trade. The name for the trade has Anglo Norman and French etymology, so there are likely some similar sounding surnames in French.
The most interesting possible family member that I have found so far was a woman executed for being a witch. She even made Wikipedia!
She told investigators about her pet who she said was a ferret named "Satan" or "Bid". The ferret she said had asked to be fed and this she had done on a number of occasions.[1] The ferret was said to have fed by biting and sucking her blood from her left cheek.[2]
During her questioning she implicated two other women named Elizabeth Whale and Elizabeth Mott who she said had used her familiar, Bidd. The accusations did not result in any further action against them.[1]
She was charged in line with the 1563 Witchcraft Act which defined the penalties for people found guilty of witchcraft. In time 31 people were found guilty and only one was a man.[3] The 1563 Act in England required that the death penalty could only be used where the accused had caused the death of another. In Prentice's case she said that had asked her familiar to hurt a child but the familiar disobeyed her and the child died. This justified the death penalty.[1]] -
Of course, the issue with this course of research is that it strictly tracks paternal ancestry at every juncture. I’m finding it far harder to track my mother’s lineage.
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Of course, the issue with this course of research is that it strictly tracks paternal ancestry at every juncture. I’m finding it far harder to track my mother’s lineage.
@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
Of course, the issue with this course of research is that it strictly tracks paternal ancestry at every juncture. I’m finding it far harder to track my mother’s lineage.
That's why the Ancestry site is so useful - it's amazing how many different surnames come into your family. My paternal name runs out of data quite quickly, but there are other families with records that go way back
I have an ancestor who's Christian name was 'Smith', and then she married a man whose surname was 'Smith'.
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@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
Of course, the issue with this course of research is that it strictly tracks paternal ancestry at every juncture. I’m finding it far harder to track my mother’s lineage.
That's why the Ancestry site is so useful - it's amazing how many different surnames come into your family. My paternal name runs out of data quite quickly, but there are other families with records that go way back
I have an ancestor who's Christian name was 'Smith', and then she married a man whose surname was 'Smith'.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
Of course, the issue with this course of research is that it strictly tracks paternal ancestry at every juncture. I’m finding it far harder to track my mother’s lineage.
That's why the Ancestry site is so useful - it's amazing how many different surnames come into your family. My paternal name runs out of data quite quickly, but there are other families with records that go way back
I have an ancestor who's Christian name was 'Smith', and then she married a man whose surname was 'Smith'.
Oh, I get it. But man, it is expensive. If I was to use it, I would want to limit it to a 2 month type of membership and just binge for 2 months then cut it.
I’m very impressed with the job that somebody with my surname has done in researching and creating the site. I’ve not seen another like it, and they didn’t limit it to just their immediate branch. Or even separate tree. I could see the surname coming from multiple different lineages…
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
Of course, the issue with this course of research is that it strictly tracks paternal ancestry at every juncture. I’m finding it far harder to track my mother’s lineage.
That's why the Ancestry site is so useful - it's amazing how many different surnames come into your family. My paternal name runs out of data quite quickly, but there are other families with records that go way back
I have an ancestor who's Christian name was 'Smith', and then she married a man whose surname was 'Smith'.
Oh, I get it. But man, it is expensive. If I was to use it, I would want to limit it to a 2 month type of membership and just binge for 2 months then cut it.
I’m very impressed with the job that somebody with my surname has done in researching and creating the site. I’ve not seen another like it, and they didn’t limit it to just their immediate branch. Or even separate tree. I could see the surname coming from multiple different lineages…
@LuFins-Dad said in Genealogy - That was easy…:
Oh, I get it. But man, it is expensive. If I was to use it, I would want to limit it to a 2 month type of membership and just binge for 2 months then cut it.
Yes, it's over-priced. I did a lot of work on it for a few weeks, then it got less interesting, so I've stopped the paid membership. I'm going to pay for another month soon and will do some more.
One thing I found very useful (and interesting) was the ability to look at other people's family trees that include your ancestors. They also show how easy it is to make a mistake - references to some of my grandparents and great parents were sometimes incorrect in terms of Christian names which I knew for a fact.
