Who Are You People?

[Arwen]

Looking for other genealogy fans.

Do you know the crack that is Ancestry.com?

Do you drool over pictures sepia-toned and cracked?

Do you dream of times when you can pin your family members down for questions about what they remember?

Is a dead-end the most frustrating thing in your tree?

When you find a skeleton in your closet, do you want to take him or her out to share with the world?

Come on! I know you're out there.

So who are you people?

More importantly, who are your people?

SLynch61 on Ancestry.com

[Jet]

German speaking Russians
from a village called Sewald on the Volga River.
Came to the states just before the revolution.

[ravfem]

i've sometimes wondered about my ancestry, especially as i get older. But, i know nothing at all beyond my paternal father's last name and my maternal grandmother's maiden name & home town.

i'm no longer in contact with any of my bio-family so i can't ask anyone about it.

[Rockinonahigh]

Hellow Arwen,fancy u should bring this up.Once I ask my grandpa about our italian herritage and all he ever said for years that we were a bunch of rum runners and moonshiners.I never really belaeved that anyhow so over the years I have found out a fue things.1- His family really dose or did own a winery in italy called Lombard winery.2- He was the younger son but didnt want to deal with other nafarious things in italy nor did he want to wear the cloth.- There is some family connection in NY,Chicago and Cali wich so far I havent gotten hold of anyone from the addresses that are 40 or more years old.3-Most of his side of the family is in the resturant buisness or liquor makeing /sales in some way.Infact a fue of my cousins hear own the Blind Tiger and the Chaicago night club.
On my grams side is a bit sketchy..but I do know she is from gypsy linage in italy so in doing my best to find out more about that.I do know from one of my elder 2sd cousins thet she had several siblings.I have the idea that the family just wanted to stay hidden for lots of reasons...my nose is out of joint big time looking fro ansers.
When they came to the U.S.A. he came thrue the port of New Orleans and she came thrue Ellis island...still more work to do.

[Rockinonahigh]

I should add the I know even less about my bio fathers side of the family other than.His name and that his mother last name was Roderreigezz(sp?) and that she was from Missippie and has or had family from Smackover Ark.I have ask that side of the family for any info I could get but,no reply at all.

[Arwen]

Originally Posted by ravfem

i've sometimes wondered about my ancestry, especially as i get older. But, i know nothing at all beyond my paternal father's last name and my maternal grandmother's maiden name & home town.

i'm no longer in contact with any of my bio-family so i can't ask anyone about it.

You might want to do a trial membership on Ancestry.com You would be AMAZED at what you can find. Because you are not the only one searching, you see. So you might find your paternal father and his paternal father and be able to start from there.

[Arwen]

Originally Posted by Rockinonahigh

I should add the I know even less about my bio fathers side of the family other than.His name and that his mother last name was Roderreigezz(sp?) and that she was from Missippie and has or had family from Smackover Ark.I have ask that side of the family for any info I could get but,no reply at all.

L.W., that spelling is most likely Rodriguez but your dyslexia will be challenging since you do need the closest possible spelling when in doubt.

If you put in your bio father's name and what you think the DOB is (even just the year will work), you may find him on ancestry.com

[Rockinonahigh]

Arwen..I have no idea when the old fart was born,I have my birth certifiacate but all it has is my bio parents name but no age or dob..the thing is 63 yrs old gess they didnt need that info then.I often wonder who I look like,what they were like just so many things..sorta like im missing something and cant find it.But I will check on ancestry.com for more info.I also have there marriage licence but got no more info than what I had.

[Arwen]

Originally Posted by Rockinonahigh

Arwen..I have no idea when the old fart was born,I have my birth certifiacate but all it has is my bio parents name but no age or dob..the thing is 63 yrs old gess they didnt need that info then.I often wonder who I look like,what they were like just so many things..sorta like im missing something and cant find it.But I will check on ancestry.com for more info.I also have there marriage licence but got no more info than what I had.

You can take an educated guess though. Like...It was 19xx when I was born and my dad was probably in his 20's so he was born circa 19xx -20.

[Random]

I love genealogy..

I've lucked out as one of my mother cousins did a tree about ten yrs ago and keeps adding too it..

Lol.. I've also lucked out in the fact that my mother and father's families have been intermarring for a couple generations... (interesting note... the only ones with blood from both families are me and my younger brother ) so, I also have information on my paternal grandmothers family...

[PearlsNLace]

Cool Thread!

I have a lot of dead ends in my tree- a Great great grandmother who ran away from her tribe. Which one? We have no idea.

A Grandfather who was adopted. Sort of. No official information on his family of origin.

Oh, wait, and then there is the understanding that my grandmother is actually not my grandmother, but the woman forced to raise my mom- the baby my grandfather brought home after being birthed (and named after) his mistress. It took 40 years, but my grandmother treats my mom like a daughter now. But, then, who was my actual grandmother? What became of her?

My Dads line might be easier to trace, although my Great grandpa hired a company once to do that, and he got ripped off BIG time.

My paternal great grandma just rolls her eyes when I ask questions. She has never understood my want/ my need to KNOW who my ancestors are.

I dont have any understanding of how to begin.

[NJFemmie]

My parents were polish POWs who came to the US after WWII.
They met in a German DP (displaced persons) camp where they married and had my two oldest brothers. They came here in 1952, had a few more kids and the rest is "history".

[Toughy]

According to my paternal grandmother's 'Cattle Book' (yes it is a ledger book with 'cattle book' on the front cover...it was used to list livestock way back when, she used it for our family genealogy)........we used to read that thing all the time and ask her questions..........when she died....laughing......my sisters and I got that book and my dad's & uncles' box of marbles (from their childhood) out of her house before anyone else showed up.........funny what is important.........

She has traced us all the way back to the 1600's when my ancestors from England and Ireland (there was an O' in my last name when we were in Ireland....I've seen the documents) first came to this land. I am eligible to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.....I was a member as long as my grandmother paid the dues....I refuse to have anything to do with them.

My maternal sides goes back at last to the late 1700's early 1800's (and probably longer considering where they were) to what is now Illinois and Arkansas. My grandmother said her grandmother was 'black dutch' (whatever that means) and Cherokee (half and half).

My maternal grandfather was Scot and Irish.

Parts of my family have been in New Mexico for around 120 years.......both sides.

I have no relationship to being an immigrant.....no connection to Europe at all. My family has been on this land hundreds (and some thousands) of years.

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by Toughy

My grandmother said her grandmother was 'black dutch' (whatever that means) and Cherokee (half and half).

Hi Toughy,

I am also a quarter "black dutch"....and there are a few theories about what that means. Here's a site that lays out the primary theories... happy researching...

[Arwen]

Originally Posted by Toughy

My maternal sides goes back at last to the late 1700's early 1800's (and probably longer considering where they were) to what is now Illinois and Arkansas. My grandmother said her grandmother was 'black dutch' (whatever that means) and Cherokee (half and half).

My maternal grandfather was Scot and Irish.

Parts of my family have been in New Mexico for around 120 years.......both sides.

I have no relationship to being an immigrant.....no connection to Europe at all. My family has been on this land hundreds (and some thousands) of years.

Toughy, my great grandmother was referred to as Dutch or so we thought.

Turns out it was Deutsch or German. Kid you not. You might want to check that country instead of Holland.

And, um Toughy? If your maternal grandfather was Scot/Irish, you kind of do have a connection to Europe...through the British Isles as it were.

[Arwen]

Originally Posted by PearlsNLace

My Dads line might be easier to trace, although my Great grandpa hired a company once to do that, and he got ripped off BIG time.

My paternal great grandma just rolls her eyes when I ask questions. She has never understood my want/ my need to KNOW who my ancestors are.

I dont have any understanding of how to begin.

Sounds like you have some sleuthing fun ahead of you.

I've run into the Irish black hole that is New York City. I can't get my Lynch line across the pond. LOL Still working on it!

[Arwen]

Originally Posted by JustJo

Hi Toughy,

I am also a quarter "black dutch"....and there are a few theories about what that means. Here's a site that lays out the primary theories... happy researching...

Very cool as I am Black Irish (which means somewhere waaay down the line I probably have a Moorish ancestor.)

[Cowboi]

I am Scots-Irish on my Dads side of Family. Spanish on my Moms side.

[Hack]

I'm half German and half Polish. Both sides emigrated to the US shortly after the US Civil War and homesteaded in Ohio and Michigan, eventually settling in northern Lower Michigan. My German ancestors are listed on a ship passenger log from a ship that left the northern part of Germany, which now is part of Poland (post-WW II). The log is on file at the Michigan Historical Center. My Polish ancestors came from the Poznan region of Poland.

Wickedly weird story. My parents got a call from a guy in NYC once who was doing family tree research. His wife's family had the same last name as my dad's family and traced back to the same area of Germany, but my dad didn't know of any relatives in NYC. He gave the gentleman my name and number, saying I had done some digging around in the state archives here, and may know more. The guy and I compared notes on the phone, and discovered that the ancestors did indeed trace back to the same area of Germany, but we couldn't find a connection. He asked if he could email me some old family photos, and I said sure. Later that night, I checked my email and opened up a photo the guy sent me. It was taken in the late 1800s, and was of the family who first came to NYC from Germany. The family was a mom, dad and a few kids. The dad looked JUST like my dad. I mean, the spitting image. It was freaky!! I emailed the guy back and told him this, and he replied with some more information...that the guy opened a cigar shop in NYC when he emigrated here. My dad is a big time cigar afficionado. To this day, that picture freaks me out.

Jake

[Diva]

This is a great thread!

I have a double whammy in that I am adopted.

My adoptive Dad's cousin did a major research project on his side of the family and it is in book form. It goes up to his great great grandparents and fortunately, I have it from there.

Unfortunately, I can't find that book!!!!

I have my Mom's side back to my great~great grandparents.

I know my birth mother's name and some of her relatives ~ I actually have pictures of my bio great grandparents (Arwen, you may have seen them on the wall in the Girl Room) who came across the pond from Ireland. I have my birth father's name only.

I would like to get started ~ if only for my daughter's benefit. And I'd also like to do her father's side, too, as I know he won't.

It's a fascinating subject to be sure! Thanks for this thread!