How Far Back Can You Trace Your Roots (Britain, descent, Americans)

[Manolón]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

There weren't calvinists of any significance in Virginia. Those folks lived in parts further North. Colonial Virginians were mostly Church of England, and some Presbyterians, along with a few Huguenots and some German lutherans out in the Western counties.

--------

I bet there were many members of the lesser nobility. Most of the nobility were poor, some could only eat meat from their hunting grounds. Some were as miserable that they were forced to live in the court as "courtisans" or prostitutes, or try to marry to a significant member of the bourgeoisie.

In many cases, the heir and inheritor of the title paid the trip to America to all his brothers just to get rid of them.

You must remember that at those times, 95 percent of the population could not travel to America because they did not have the money. They could not even arrive to the port, so the people that went to America at that time were not poor, they were no servants except those with indentured contracts.

And yes, I bet that a lot of the early setters of the American colonies descendend from the nobility. You must also remember that at that time, women were a trifle at the hands of nobility and bastards were quite abondant.

America was a good place to send bothersome bastards, pregnant courtisans and younger sons of big titles, sometimes they had 10 sons or more, and some could be placed as priests, in the military, nuns, and the rest were sent to the Americas.

I'm sure that as an average, there's more "blue blood" among those Americans that in Europe.

I'm not sure about how "heathens" appreciated blue blod, I 'm sure that Anglicans an Hughenots were not diferrent, but other confesions may have frown upon nobility. I know there was an American nobility before Independence.

But for example, "Count Washighton" sounds fully unamerican.

[CAVA1990]

[quote=Manolón;21877824But for example, "Count Washighton" sounds fully unamerican.[/quote]

Trivia question: The Washingtons, well before George, changed the spelling of their name from what?

[Pivot Point]

On my mother's side: 1520 Bordeaux, France.
My mother was born there, and lots of relatives still lives in the region.

On my father's side: Early 1700s Litchfield, CT

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Trivia question: The Washingtons, well before George, changed the spelling of their name from what?

The original name was de Wessyngton which was a name adopted by William de Hurtbern when he gained control of the Wessyngton aka Washington estates in England (currently part of Tyne and Wear city/county). That name dates to 1183, but the family changed it to Washington in 1539 when they moved to Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire. George could trace his lineage directly back to William via his great-grandfather John Washington who had emigrated to Virginia.

My sister and cousin are very into geneaology and have so far traced our family back to the Huycks who were some of the original Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam/Manhattan.

[nightbird47]

Both sides, to the early 1600's, with quite a few Scots involved as well as English. There are many missing but ironically the two big mysteries are fairly recent, with great grand parents and theirs. On my dad's side, my great grand mother married an Scots Irisis, from Ireland, date of arrival et all missing. They had Matilda. He left for work one day and never returned. Apparently there is a large family secret which died with her since everyone knew she knew why and understood, but never told.

On my mother's side, my great grand mother married an Irishman names Smith. They had kids. That's where it get murky. My mom AND my grandmother insist she married twice, the second husband English, both Smiths. Grandma's siblings didn't look like her. Their father was barely over five foot tall and their mother not even. She was 6' 1". Martin was said to be a very tall, blond man. She and her siblings didn't at all look like them. And she names her father on all the census froms as English, born in England. If only the name wasn't Smith.

Next thing I want to find out about the early arrivals is where they came from and under what terms.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by NJGOAT

The original name was de Wessyngton which was a name adopted by William de Hurtbern when he gained control of the Wessyngton aka Washington estates in England (currently part of Tyne and Wear city/county). That name dates to 1183, but the family changed it to Washington in 1539 when they moved to Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire. George could trace his lineage directly back to William via his great-grandfather John Washington who had emigrated to Virginia.

My sister and cousin are very into geneaology and have so far traced our family back to the Huycks who were some of the original Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam/Manhattan.

Yes, it was Wessyngton. My property was part of Little Hunting Creek Plantation that great grandfather John at one time owned. I believe it was originally owned by the Lees. Some of my ancestors emigrated to VA before the Washingtons.

[Avshar]

We have traced our roots on my Mothers side as far back as 1021 A.D. in England. Our family is descended from the Stanley's. Our family was directly responsible for the coming of the Tudor kings and queens that ruled England from 1485 until 1603. At the battle of Bosworth Field my relatives Lord Thomas Stanley and Sir William Stanley brought their forces to the battle but waited till near the end to decide who they would support. When the two commanders of the opposing armies finally met each other towards the end of the battle and Richard the 3rd was about to kill Henry Tudor the Stanley's finally charged into the fight and helped kill Richard. Up till then our family had remained out of the rebellion and supposedly supported Richard but with Richards plans to overturn a land dispute settlement his brother, the previous king, had settled seems to have made the decision on who to support at the opportune time quite easy. We are still trying to go back further than 1021 but it seems we may have to go to England to do so.

[topher5150]

On my father's side 1600s-1700s in the Netherlands

[tyvin]

I'm currently on Ancestry.com and wow what I found. My mom's side ends with her grandfather and mother coming from Leeds England. On my dad's side it goes to my 5th grandfather born in 1742. He was a blacksmith. There is lots of talk about keeping ahead of the Cherokee removal program. On both sides they are Cherokee and then half then Cherokee again; there's lots of land owned by everyone...I haven't figured it all out yet. I knew my own father was Cherokee (never met the man though). On the tombstone of my 5th grandfather is the Freemasons symbol at the top (because he was blacksmith possibly?).

There is one story that talks about how my great ancestors waited 30 years to move to an area of land they owned to avoid possible government interference (that's what I get from the story; I have to investigate further).

I know documentation of people that belonged to the Cherokee Nation is sparse. I doubt that any of my ancestors signed in the rolls either.

Ancestry.com works particularly well if people have been tracking down leads etc... There are many members of my extended family who are very interested in it hence all the info was right at my fingertips...I thank them.

I'm going to try to go back as far as I can and then sort it all out.

[snofarmer]

The earliest origins of the family is in Scotland though the name goes back to Norman time, or about 1200.


Dawyck, The family castle in Scotland (Dawyck), Peebles, Scotland
In 1296, William le Veche signed the Ragman Roll, an act of Edward I providing forht eloyalty of Scottish nobility and gentry.
Lady Janet married John Veitch in October of 1576 in Peebleshire, Scotland. Her 3rd great-grandmother was Lady Joan Beaufort, the granddaughter of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, who just happened to be the son of Edward III of England, and our link to royalty. There you have it, our royal blood.
and as said that and $2 will get us a cup of coffee.