Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My parents were into it big time which was mildly interesting to my younger self.... probably because my Dad discovered that one ancestor was killed by a bear in 18th century Pennsylvania and another by his California Gold Rush mine claim partner.
Mom, bless her heart, said she traced one of her lines back to Charlemagne. Lol
My parents were into it big time which was mildly interesting to my younger self.... probably because my Dad discovered that one ancestor was killed by a bear in 18th century Pennsylvania and another by his California Gold Rush mine claim partner.
Mom, bless her heart, said she traced one of her lines back to Charlemagne. Lol
Mom could well be right, as half the population of Europe is said to be descended from Charlemagne! (and by deduction, a similar portion of people with European ancestry in this country and others such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia).
So you have lots of "royal" cousins. Including me, possibly.
My older family members and connections made this "royal blood" claim for my paternal family, and the line in question does go back to the right time and place, and includes lots of English knights and ladies once you get back to the 14 and 1500s. Pretty thin strand of bark connecting our present-day members to that ancient part of the family tree, however.
For what it's worth, we're more closely kin to Frank and Jesse James! Not something our elders ever mentioned, unlike Charlemagne.
I'm supposedly descended from Charlemagne too...I've also got Vladimir the Great, some Eastern Roman Emperors and several other rulers in my lines. No real way to prove any of it but it's still cool
Mom could well be right, as half the population of Europe is said to be descended from Charlemagne! (and by deduction, a similar portion of people with European ancestry in this country and others such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia).
So you have lots of "royal" cousins. Including me, possibly.
My older family members and connections made this "royal blood" claim for my paternal family, and the line in question does go back to the right time and place, and includes lots of English knights and ladies once you get back to the 14 and 1500s. Pretty thin strand of bark connecting our present-day members to that ancient part of the family tree, however.
For what it's worth, we're more closely kin to Frank and Jesse James! Not something our elders ever mentioned, unlike Charlemagne.
My son IS related to the James brothers lol
I have them in his tree at family search but I'm not sure if I did the branch on ancestry.
I have them in his tree at family search but I'm not sure if I did the branch on ancestry.
Zerelda James, the brothers' mom, was related to some very "respectable" Southern families and was said to be a morally impeccable (if also a rather flamboyant, thrice-married) lady. Those various related families have lots of present-day members and descendants, now widely scattered throughout the South and beyond. Jesse James' pseudonym, "Mr. Howard", was drawn straight from the Maryland Howards, thought to be some of Zerelda's kinfolks and a highly respected and prominent family.
Mama tried...
Actually, after the death (by murder) of his brother Jesse, Frank James went straight and lived a "respectable" life. Not sure he was ever charged with his earlier crimes.
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
3,259 posts, read 4,330,509 times
Reputation: 13476
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jill_Schramm
One of my closest friends has really gotten into tracing her ancestry and genealogy. She has sent in DNA to at least two different places, gotten the results which have been pored over. She also takes a fairly intellectual approach reading books on European ancestry in general.
I would like to get into this at least a little, so I can share with her, but frankly, I just don’t see the appeal or and am even a little put off by it.
Here are my objections which may seem silly as I really do not know much about the field/hobby. Maybe someone can set me straight?
1. I don’t think knowing my ancestors is going to tell me any more about myself or really enhance my life. Already I feel kind of different from the relatives I know I have and think a fair portion of them are well ... kinda crazy. Do I want more crazy in my life? Um ... not really?
2. When I was growing up, I saw genealogical accounts of both my mother and father’s side of the family. My father’s side even had a little book made up. I didn’t really think it was that interesting at the time. I mean I know that my mother’s family is basically all German and my father’s family was a mix of English, Irish, Scottish and Swedish. Ok, so? My friend’s response to this is that I don’t really know the truth. I don’t know about the quality of the research that went into those books. But let’s say the genealogical research based on DNA showed that I had some distant relatives in, I don’t know, say ... India. So what? It doesn’t make me a different person ... it doesn’t really even make me part Indian because I didn’t grow up in that culture.
3. Are those companies even totally legit? How do you know the little maps of where your ancestors lived are actually accurate?
4. The maps my friends was so excited about look really vague to me.
5. isn’t this a tad narcissistic?
So, why are you so into this? Can you explain to me what makes this a great hobby?
I've never understood the thinking behind creating so many threads on forums, and to me that seems a bit narcissistic, but to each his own.
I have them in his tree at family search but I'm not sure if I did the branch on ancestry.
Hello, distant cousin - sort of. I am directly related to Jesse James through my mother's father! And yes, I am the descendant of various southern families so that really isn't a surprise. I bet there are tons of people who are related to the James' family now.
Sorry for the interruption.....can someone explain how the "reputation comments" work? I have gotten several of these and can see which thread they're from and who is giving the "reputation" comments. my last one came from this thread and I can see "great post, thanks for sharing. lilymae521" but I don't know how to respond, or to even how give some comments to others. can someone tell me how that works please? many thanks. and thanks to lilymae for your kind comment
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Lol
Not something our elders ever mentioned, unlike Charlemagne.
