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.
Like, one of my ancestors only has a first name and no maiden name. Let's assume she's native, what tribe would she most likely be from? (born 1736 in Rhode Island by the way)
What do you mean she has only a first name? In the records? Or what you've been able to find? What is her first name? Most likely her last name is unknown and not established in any record.
Highly unlikely she was a Narragansett or Wampanoag.
Apparently in the south, alot of people are part Native American or Black , and they don't even know. Is that the same case with New England? Or was that because it was less economically developed and had slavery?
Not likely. New England was settled by families in tight knit communities rather than single men. I'm sure a bit of inter-marriage happened but it was much less common than the south. Few whites with part black ancestry due to the much smaller black population. The settlement patterns were very different from the south.
From what I have read if you are descended from really early settlers there is a good chance that you will be part Native American because they and the whites were a bit more "friendly" to each other in those days. It was only later that the whites distanced themselves from Native American Indians.
One of my ancestors was from Northampton Massachusetts in the middle 1600s.
A member of my family was able to do much of her research on our genealogy through The Latter Day Saints (Mormons) resources. They have excellent records.
We have our genealogy traced back to 1385.
From what I remember I don't think that's true at all.....The Natives were a curiosity, and they assisted the Colonists during harsh times...but it was always done from a safe distance.
From what I have read if you are descended from really early settlers there is a good chance that you will be part Native American because they and the whites were a bit more "friendly" to each other in those days. It was only later that the whites distanced themselves from Native American Indians.
One of my ancestors was from Northampton Massachusetts in the middle 1600s.
A member of my family was able to do much of her research on our genealogy through The Latter Day Saints (Mormons) resources. They have excellent records.
We have our genealogy traced back to 1385.
Just do not confuse the LDLs microfilmed originals with user submitted data. The user submitted data, particularly the IGI, is riddled with inaccuracies.
As far as the early whites intermingling with the Indians- no. They were only initially friendly and then the Great Pequot War occurred. Vast majority of the NE Indians were wiped out but they also managed to wipe out and torture many colonists. Later, when blacks and Indians were held as slaves, there was intermingling between those two groups and many blacks have part Indian ancestry.
What are the odds that I could be distantly related to someone influential in history? Like one of the founding fathers, or one of the revolutionary war generals?
There's really know way to know unless you do the research.
Quote:
Apparently in the south, alot of people are part Native American or Black , and they don't even know. Is that the same case with New England? Or was that because it was less economically developed and had slavery?
Actually, there's more people who have a Native American legend in their heritage that winds up not being true. And I'm not so sure there are that many people who are part black and don't know it as there are a lot of people who have black distant relatives and don't know it.
Quote:
Does state correlate to where in England they immigrated from?
Not really, no.
Quote:
Like, one of my ancestors only has a first name and no maiden name. Let's assume she's native, what tribe would she most likely be from? (born 1736 in Rhode Island by the way)
Let's not assume anything until you have more concrete facts. How do you know she had no maiden name, how do you know her maiden name isn't simply unknown and lost to history?
Quote:
But how likely in your opinion is it that I could have an ancestor who's native?
Given the amount of people who think they do but don't, unlikely.
Trying to figure out the statistical likelihood that any one person might be descended from a Native American, a black person, or someone famous is moot and not the way to go about doing genealogical research. It isn't going to tell you what your heritage actually IS so if you want to know what it is, you have to do the research.
What are the odds that I could be distantly related to someone influential in history? Like one of the founding fathers, or one of the revolutionary war generals?
Apparently in the south, alot of people are part Native American or Black , and they don't even know. Is that the same case with New England? Or was that because it was less economically developed and had slavery?
Does state correlate to where in England they immigrated from?
Thanks
If you are related to the colonists, you're likely related to several presidents.
I recently did a DNA test on Ancestry and I got some interesting results, including learning that my family is unusually diverse genetically for my background, having Greek/Italian, Spanish, German, North African, North Asian, Spanish, Finnish and Eastern European Jewish blood in me.
What are the odds that I could be distantly related to someone influential in history? Like one of the founding fathers, or one of the revolutionary war generals?
Apparently in the south, alot of people are part Native American or Black , and they don't even know. Is that the same case with New England? Or was that because it was less economically developed and had slavery?
Does state correlate to where in England they immigrated from?
Thanks
Where does the information that you have ancestors who were New England colonists come from? Have you actually researched your family tree, starting with yourself and working backwards through your parents?
Some, not "a lot", of Southerners have Native American of African ancestors that they are not aware of. Some are finding it out by doing DNA studies, though the absence of DNA from a particular ethnic group does not completely rule out an ancestor from that group. An individual just may not have inherited any DNA from that particular person.
Edited to add: when you do your research, you will find many women whose maiden names are missing. It does not mean they did not have one; we just cannot find it in the available written records. It certainly does not imply the woman was Native American.
............I grew up close to Plymouth and I'd estimate that based on only who ive spoken with, at least 35% from the Plymouth area could trace their ancestry back to at least one Mayflower passenger. Of those who i know whom have had their trees researched, 2 friends could date back to the Mayflower on one side w no native present and one dates back on both sides w no natives present.
Granted this is a very small sampling but it might give you some idea. IMHO, the Pilgrims probably kept to themselves and were snobbish about their interactions.............
The Mayflower returned to England in 1621, leaving 54 Colonists in America (102 had left England). They didn't call themselves Pilgrims, though, they called themselves Saints, and in fact not all the Colonists were Saints; some were Strangers, as they were called. Of the 54 colonists who survived that first year, 30 were Pilgrims and 24 Strangers; 33 adults and 21 children. None of the original passengers opted to return to England.
There was another wave of Saints who arrived in '22, but there were only 35 of them. Most people confuse the Pilgrims with the Puritans. But the Puritans were much less forgiving and more demanding of their neighbors, and landed about 20 years later. Puritans burned witches and wore black; Saints were more like modern day Mennonites in that forgiveness, tolerance and hard work was the norm..
Pilgrims were the sworn enemies of Satan, whom they believed ruled the Catholic Church, The Anglican Church, and the rest of the world. For a Pilgrim to marry outside his religion would have been strange, indeed, for those first few generations.
Here's an easy, short read for you. I read it twice!
But how likely in your opinion is it that I could have an ancestor who's native?
I don't know why you'd assume she's Native. It depends to some extent on the class your ancestors were from in Europe. Some only would associate with others of their "station". The chances you're related to any Founding Fathers or anyone like that are fairly slim, too. But that's not a big deal. Some of the colonists were movers and shakers in their own right, founding new towns that are still there, organizing successful businesses, spawning kids & grandkids who settled the West and founded towns out there, that eventually grew into cities.
Stop looking for major headlines for yourself, and just enjoy the process of discovery. You'll learn a lot about what life was like across the generations as you work through it. It's best to approach it without preconceived notions.
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.
