How many generations or years can you trace your ancestors?

[Anonymous]

We have hit a wall in 1800s with DH family on ancestry. com. Its as if Italians are not into making family trees on there

[Anonymous]

just to my great grandparents. But I do not really care about that kind of stuff at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have hit a wall in 1800s with DH family on ancestry. com. Its as if Italians are not into making family trees on there

I don’t have much on my Italian side either and I would never ever trust the random trees on ancestry—people are crappy researchers. If your family emigrated in the 20th century, they likely had to identify their home village and a contact name in the old country on the ship manifest. From there, your best bet is likely Catholic Church records that are maintained by parish. I’m not aware of any good site that really does a good job with digitization or the Italian parish records. One of my relatives went to the village and visited a couple church grave yards until they found the right one.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:1750s from Germany. I am proud of my Teutonic heritage.

Whatever for?

Why wouldn’t PP be proud?

Well, you know death and destruction?

NP. That's kind of bigoted. Germany has made many positive contributions to world culture in music, philosophy, art, engineering and science.

The United States hasn't been less genocidal than Germany. We just didn't lose a war and get held to task for it.

Aren't we kind of doing that now to ourselves? Acknowledging that settlers nad the gov committed a genocide, was not democratic and used the disguised of fighting to democracy and freedom to invade, murder, and achieve economic prosperity?

DP I say this as a white person whose ancestors weren't enslaved for centuries (so I realize this viewpoint would be different if I had descendent from those who managed to survive such a horror): I don't really understand the need to be proud of ancestors. I imagine that most whites had ancestors whose views, whether on women, child labor, race relations, religious differences, death penalty, whatnot, would repel us. Most of us did not have a Bach or Kant or Goethe among our ancestors to point to. Okay, I admit if I did have one of those giants among my relatives it would make me kind of proud, or at least enjoy telling others, not that I had anything to do with their greatness.

I find genealogy fascinating because I'm interested in history. I can trace ancestors back to the 1600s in Ireland and central Europe. I can't admit to any real affection for these people I never knew, just curiosity about their lives, about what compelled them to emigrate and then move around the US, and about what traits might have been handed down through the generations. I imagine they had difficult lives, though ordinary for their times, and that some of them probably had talents that they didn't get to nurture. And that they had loves and loss and struggles like most people. I know none of them ever got ahead in life financially. And I can also acknowledge that I bet they would be as upset and horrified by who I am today (I gave up the faith, I married someone dark-skinned, with whom I lived for years before we married) as I would be of their world views.

[Anonymous]

Back to the mayflower

[Anonymous]

I would love to know what paperwork the person claiming to trace family back to 1100 has. That made me laugh so hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charlemagne but I know it’s a lie, everybody in Europe wanted to go back to Charlemagne.

Ha! If we go back far enough, we are related to each other.

[Anonymous]

I am neither ashamed nor proud of my ancestors. I had nothing to do with anything they did, for good or for will. Our country is not supposed to be about lineage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am neither ashamed nor proud of my ancestors. I had nothing to do with anything they did, for good or for will. Our country is not supposed to be about lineage.

for good or for ill

[Anonymous]

I have a set of great grandparents who came through Ellis Island with their eldest 2 children in 1907. They wanted to start fresh here, so they used fake names. There are no records in their native country for the names they used on the passenger manifest when they came. My grandfather was born a few years after they came to the US. His father died when he was 6 and his mother died when he was 15. We’ll never know their stories, but we’ve lived the American dream thanks to them. They couldn’t have imagined the privilege that their great great grandchildren now enjoy.

[Anonymous]

I know the names and dates of all 16 of my great-great grandparents. Of those 16, there are two that I don't know even the names of their parents. Then there are three others that I know their parents but no further. For the other eleven, I can go back further. In several cases back to the 1500s.

[Anonymous]

On my father's side, back to the two that came from Scotland and England in the early 1700s. My mother and I, back to the flight that we landed in at JFK. (Well, actually way further back than that because country of origin does everything in triplicate and keeps it forever).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to know what paperwork the person claiming to trace family back to 1100 has. That made me laugh so hard.

Glad I gave you a good laugh. Like I said, my mom is into that stuff. She got it from ancestry.com. There’s William FitzGerald born 1098 in Berkshire England Born 1098, his parents Geraldus DeWindsor born 1070 Berkshire England and Neat Verch Rhys born 1073 Llandyfeisont Wales. I have no clue where the records came from.

Latest it goes back is Trancred DeHauteville born 1045 in Normandy France. I have no clue if these are correct, but it’s what ancestry says. I’m 4th generation born in DC as well.

[Anonymous]

1600's. my family came to Charleston Sc in the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can trace my Hispanic family back to 1600s (Mexican catholic records are great) and my husband’s family to 1600s as well. My interest is how world history relates to family history. How did a Virginian farm boy end up in Michigan married to a French-Canadian girl? He was a POW during the War of 1812 and was held near Fort Detroit. Why did a 16 year old French girl travel to New France on her own during the 1600s? She was a Fille du Roi. Historical events influenced family decisions such as when to marry, when to have children, and where to live and I use it to make history relatable to my kids.

Me too!