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Old 05-16-2021, 05:24 PM
 
8,238 posts, read 6,532,392 times
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It seems a good number of people think they are special or blue blood if they find something similar to this: "it was found that one of the cousins was on the Mayflower, and a signor to The Mayflower Pact' which I find laughable and ludicrous, but it can be an interesting pastime for some, but also seems narcissistic for some.

History in all its forms is important, but I find dwelling on genealogy not to be necessarily worthwhile.
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Old 05-16-2021, 05:44 PM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,731 posts, read 25,902,439 times
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I've been doing genealogy for over 40 years and I love it. I traced my husband's kin back to Robert I (Robert the Bruce) so now he goes to Scottish festivals wearing a kilt lol. His family was easy to research, mine not so much. I'm 1/2 French Basque and 1/2 Scandinavian. About a decade ago I met a man online from Northern England whose Grandfather had been part of a rescue team who responded to a ship in distress, the ship was sinking and by the time they got to it the only survivor was my Norwegian Grandfather who was a 17 years old at the time. He saw my Grandfather's name on a site where I had posted my family tree and emailed me. The village were hosting a commemoration of the event and invited myself and my family to attend. We spent a week there and had an absolutely wonderful time. I still remain in contact with some of the people I met there. I've also met several relatives from France who I didn't even know about and have been to France twice to visit with them and will probably go back later this year.
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Old 05-18-2021, 09:25 AM
 
Location: East Coast of the United States
27,261 posts, read 28,327,256 times
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A large part of what we are is genetic, in my opinion.

So, I like to find out about the lifestyle and behavioral traits of my ancestors to understand myself better.
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Old 05-18-2021, 12:14 PM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,666 posts, read 60,237,699 times
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I just think it's cool to know more about the history of our families and ourselves - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I have an ancestor who sailed with Captain Cook on the Endeavor. He wasn't famous, he wasn't that important, but I love the one note next to his name in the log - "Wild and drinking." Heck yes.

I also love that my great grandmother used to carry pails of food to the men working in the fields, but she loved to read so much that since this was her only "alone" time, she would drape the pail handles over her arms, and walk the trail by memory, holding up a book and reading the whole way there and back. She wasn't rich or important either, but I absolutely love that image.

She also walked barefoot and I like that too.
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Old 05-18-2021, 01:16 PM
 
Location: Glasgow Scotland
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I never knew my father so I think it more or less started there to try and find out more about him.. but I love history and the past so it does interest me..
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Old 05-18-2021, 09:42 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,637 posts, read 28,438,190 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matisse12 View Post
It seems a good number of people think they are special or blue blood if they find something similar to this: "it was found that one of the cousins was on the Mayflower, and a signor to The Mayflower Pact' which I find laughable and ludicrous, but it can be an interesting pastime for some, but also seems narcissistic for some.

History in all its forms is important, but I find dwelling on genealogy not to be necessarily worthwhile.
Your impression of people thinking they are special or blue blood is probably a relic from the past. Before people had the ability to travel very far from home and most especially before the internet, those who knew their family histories were usually the rich. The rich could pay someone to hunt down ancestors.

So back then the few people who knew anything about their ancestry might brag about a Mayflower passenger or a connection to royalty or to a famous military hero and so on. Ordinary people who couldn't afford to pay a researcher were probably impressed by these connections and they had nothing to counter with. If they'd had a paid researcher they might have ended up having more kings and heroes and founding families than the rich.

Today, finding an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower can be a fun surprise but it's not the big deal that it used to be. There are an estimated 10 million Americans living today who descend from the Mayflower Pilgrims. It's relatively easy to trace your ancestry now that records are easily available online and people who find a connection to something or someone famous don't consider themselves superior. It was probably the case at one time, something to brag about, but things have changed.

This thread demonstrates the multitude of reasons people delve into their family's history and it's not usually about trying to find something to brag about or to make them feel superior to others.

You are correct in saying that it's an interesting pastime for some people but it's not very accurate to still think that very many genealogists are narcissistic. Read the thread if you want to know. We're digging into our family history for many different personal reasons--maybe part of it is just a remnant of the built in hunting instinct!
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Old 05-19-2021, 08:05 PM
Status: "A solution in search of a problem" (set 13 days ago)
 
Location: New York Area
34,448 posts, read 16,536,029 times
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Default Franklin's Voyage

This article, in the New York Times a day or two ago, focuses on genealogy. The fatal voyage of Franklin through the Canadian Arctic has long been a source of morbid fascination. This should interest readers of this thread.His Ship Vanished in the Arctic 176 Years Ago. DNA Has Offered a Clue.

For more see Northwest Passage - Sir John Franklin's Fatal Voyage.


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Old 05-19-2021, 09:27 PM
bjh
 
59,746 posts, read 30,182,081 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
Your impression of people thinking they are special or blue blood is probably a relic from the past. . . .
I wonder if it's envy?
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Old 05-20-2021, 09:30 AM
 
Location: NJ
23,790 posts, read 33,254,238 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jbgusa View Post
This article, in the New York Times a day or two ago, focuses on genealogy. The fatal voyage of Franklin through the Canadian Arctic has long been a source of morbid fascination. This should interest readers of this thread.His Ship Vanished in the Arctic 176 Years Ago. DNA Has Offered a Clue.

For more see Northwest Passage - Sir John Franklin's Fatal Voyage.



I've seen them recover the ship on one show, wish I could recall what show it was. It was within the last year.

Hopefully they can ID the rest of the remains. I wonder what they do with the left over DNA and if they're making a big database with it? I doubt they delete or destroy the DNA information. That would have been my question. I'd at least want the RAW DNA file so I could upload it places.

Same article but on yahoo with no paywall for anyone interested in reading it. It says it was originally on NYT

His Ship Vanished in the Arctic 176 Years Ago. DNA Has Offered a Clue.
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Old 05-20-2021, 12:18 PM
 
Location: NJ
31,771 posts, read 40,472,612 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jill_Schramm View Post
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?
im with you. i couldnt care less which pieces of dirt my grandparents happened to come from. we are all individuals.
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