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Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

qualitygal — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:31:41 GMT

I would think that could be interesting. One of the channels had on a show, "who do you think you are?" I think that's what it was called. I'll have to look it up. Haven't seen it in awhile, not sure it'll be back.

Anyway, has anyone done the Ancestory.com thing, Or had them check your blood for nationality ID? Latter one is new to me. Still I wonder and the expense too?

Just curious.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Mustang Shar — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:06:15 GMT

@qualitygal

I have been researching my family history off on on since 1985. I'm currently a subscriber on Ancestry and have had my DNA. DNA results were surprising for me, so I totally recommend doing that and your family members

It is a huge puzzle and fun to put the pieces together.

I recommend going to www.familysearch.org and starting there as it is Free Site. Hope you try it and have some fun. I pay 19.95 a month for Ancestry

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Moonchilde — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:19:53 GMT

You might want to check out this recent thread. It discusses most of your questions in detail.

http://community.qvc.com/t5/Community-Chat/Ancestry-DNA-testing/m-p/2536207#M805696

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

SeaMaiden — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:22:53 GMT

No. I do not like my immediate family let alone want to search for ancestors.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

itsmagic — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:24:20 GMT

I really enjoyed watching that show you mentioned - Who Do You Think You Are. I hope it comes back!

I have done a little research on my family tree but nothing intensive.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

151949 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:28:39 GMT

I did but I found so many sad sad sad things that I stopped. Like my Grand mother's grandmother had 11 children - and 7 of them died one winter when they caught scarlet fever. Can you possibly imagine that? On the other side of the family - I found out my great grandparents and their children, including my grandmother, had to go to the poorhouse to live for a while. Actually my great grandmother died at a place called Little Sisters of the poor and is buried in an unmarked grave there, and I have been unable to find out where her husband died - I can't find any records. My grandmother had 2 children who died as infants from malnutrition. I guess she didn't have enough milk to feed them. I know my father's family was extremely poor when he was a child, during the depression. So, in the end I just decided it was too much information and just made me sad so I stopped looking.

...

debic — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:01:51 GMT

I'm not overly interested either. The DNA commercial is stupid IMO. We have a lot of family tree stuff all the way back to the Mayflower. John and Priscilla Alden are direct decedents. That did get my sister a part in a play in school. LOL

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

cosmic1 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:05:05 GMT

I have gotten into this and built the family tree and done the dna testing. It is so interesting and fun. I share with the rest of the family and everyone is interested.

What I like about the dna testing is when they tell you who you are related to out in ancestry and when we have common ancestors I feel like that is good validation for the family tree.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Group 5 minus 1 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:09:14 GMT

Way back in the "Roots" days I took a class called "Finding your Roots". It was ok,but both sides of my family have all been good about ancestry. One of the things the teacher said was that we all had Indian blood in us. I told her that unless there were Indians running around the island of Sicily I did not.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Nataliesgramma — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:13:59 GMT

My grandparents came from "the old country" and the places they were born don't even exist anymore.

My grandmother came here by herself from a small farming village in the Ukraine after she came back from the fields and found her family killed. She wouldn't tell us anymore than that.....

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Toppers — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:24:17 GMT

@qualitygal wrote:
I would think that could be interesting. One of the channels had on a show, "who do you think you are?" I think that's what it was called. I'll have to look it up. Haven't seen it in awhile, not sure it'll be back.

Anyway, has anyone done the Ancestory.com thing, Or had them check your blood for nationality ID? Latter one is new to me. Still I wonder and the expense too?

Just curious.

Yes, I have worked on the ancestry on my Dad's side.

I haven't done any DNA testing, but I would like to, though.

Some of my family members-cousins-got started before me on tracing family history.

I contacted each of them, and it was so much fun getting in touch with them, and comparing notes. I even got some family pictures through one of them.

They confirmed information that I already knew, that my paternal Gramma had told me years ago. I still haven't been able to confirm some of the information that she told me, though.

I don't know what happened to some of the things that she used to have-pictures and a letter from one of the family members who was tracing the family history years ago. This was a great-great aunt who had written down the family history in a letter to this Gramma.

My Gramma told me that she gave some photos and info. to my Dad. I don't know whatever happened to that info., though.

One of my cousins told me that she could only go back about two hundred years, and then got "stuck," because she thinks that the family couldn't be traced any farther here, in the U.S.

Most of my family ancestry on my Dad's side was Irish and British, so it would take a lot of time to keep researching it.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

goldensrbest — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:26:57 GMT

Yes,i have i have quite alot of one side of the family, and some on the other, several years ago,my husband ,and i went to salt lake city,to research ,the American Indian side, but sadly did not discover much, they said the records of American Indians were not really recorded much.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Toppers — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:45:09 GMT

Yes, I have done some research on some of the ancestry on my Dad's side of the family.

It confirmed some things that my paternal Gramma told me, years ago.

I haven't done any of the DNA testing, although I would like to try that at some point in time.

Some of my cousins had started doing family research before me. I got in touch with them, so that was a lot of fun. I was able to get some family photos through one of them.

Unfortunately, some photos and other info. that my Gramma had, she had given to my Dad and he never mentioned it when he was still alive. I don't know what happened to those things. I seemed to be the only one who was interested in the family history.

One of my cousins had told me that she was only able to trace our family back to about two hundred years here in the U.S., before getting "stuck," as she thinks that they came from Ireland. So, we would then have to try looking overseas for that info.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

rhinovodka — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:45:44 GMT

My father has done a lot of research way before the internet days, so a lot of the history is written down. He used to drag us to graveyards a lot when we were kids looking people up. I have done some more research on ancestry.com and most of my family came from England (which I already knew). The most recent immigrants were in the early 1900's from Bohemia/Czech Republic (my father's mother's family). I have never done the DNA testing only because I know some of my history already but who knows, maybe there are some surprises?

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

Moonchilde — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:52:27 GMT

@rhinovodka wrote:
My father has done a lot of research way before the internet days, so a lot of the history is written down. He used to drag us to graveyards a lot when we were kids looking people up. I have done some more research on ancestry.com and most of my family came from England (which I already knew). The most recent immigrants were in the early 1900's from Bohemia/Czech Republic (my father's mother's family). I have never done the DNA testing only because I know some of my history already but who knows, maybe there are some surprises?

I found that family stories were wrong, which is often the case. But for all that the details were wrong, the basic ancestry I knew was mostly correct. Like many, I had assumed my family (on both sides) had arrived in the 1800s. I was shocked to learn I have a Mayflower ancestor in one side, and the other side arrived not long after. Never would have dreamed that.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

halfpint1 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:44:08 GMT

All I know is that my mother and family came over from somewhere in Russia. They came to Canada.and later Minnesota. I never met some of my uncles or my first cousins. They are scattered all over the U S. No one talked about their life.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

goldensrbest — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 18:18:57 GMT

Once you get into it,it takes over your life, it is just so enjoyable finding out your history.I just sent off dna for testing.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

scotnovel — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 18:33:26 GMT

Yes I have done a lot of research on ancestry, other sites, and even at the National Archives in Edinburgh, Scotland. My uncle got me started and as it turns out several other family members were doing research as well. I also made contact, through ancestry, with a relative I didn't know existed. Her Great Great Grandfather and mine were the same. My Great Grandmother and hers were sisters and we were able to share info on different parts of our family tree.

I used to volunteer at a local archives that also had access to Ancestry and other national info. One day I was doing some work there and heard a man talking about a town in Maryland. That town was the first place my Great Great Grandfather settled when he came to America. I started talking with this gentleman who grew up there and he actually put me in touch with yet another relative from that same side of my family tree and he was able to point me to our great great grandfathers' grave (which had no marker). Since then we have put a marker on that grave and I have provided him with the location of our great great grandmother's grave which is in a different state.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

maestra — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 21:31:30 GMT

Research on a branch of my mother's Scots family has gone to 1812, Paisley, Scotland and further back, to supporters of William Wallace (Braveheart) (13th century) at the battle of Sterling Bridge. We backed Mary, Queen of Scots (Roman Catholic) (16th century) as rightful heir .We also were Jacobean supporters @ Culloden in 1741.

Our clan MacLachlan, is an ancient one.

In hindsight, not too many 'winning 'choices were made. Oddly, most of the people in the sept or clan branch, are educators in 1 capacity or another.

Re: Has anyone searched out their ancestors?

GCR18 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 23:23:11 GMT

No, it doesn't interest me.