[George Foster]

My parent's ancestors were English on my father's side and Irish on my mother's side. Both immigrated to here in the early 1800's and both sides settled within 50 miles or so of where I now lived. My wife's ancestors are German and Scottish.

 

[hedgehoghunter]

I remember mom was involved with the genealogy of her family . It was interesting as she studied a lot of the Mormon records. Her family was dated coming to this country in the late 1600's .She was able to follow the path they took in VA to present time . She was a Daughter of the American Revolutionary War and a Daughter of the Confederacy. The last member on her side that I'm aware of the fought was her brother which he was a Hell Cat pilot during WW2 to later become a Federal Judge in Washington DC .We don't hold that against him even though he was a damn lawyer. When mother passed a lot of history of her family passed as well. I gave my sister all of the family photos I knew she wouldn't throw them away. We have family photos on tin it was interesting but it was just a picture with no name or importance to me. A picture with no name.

 

[george in KY]

I always thought with a name like Coleman I would be Irish but turns out my ancestors were Danish /Cherokee.

 

[acpchuck]

My wife's uncle made genealogy his life mission. Moved to Ogden Utah in the early 90's just to have access to LDS genealogy records (he was not LDS). Traveled to Europe several times to track family lines. Put together a huge family tree with the oldest ancestors dating to 1093.

I learned more about my Mom's side of the family going through her personal effects last year after she passed. Didn't know she had a lot of this stuff and I would have enjoyed talking to her about this.

I will share what I know with grandkids but they probably won't be that interested. Think it is just human nature when younger to think about what is going on now and will happen in the future. It is not until we get a lot older that we want to know more about our past.

 

[Doug Roberts]

My older brother, Ed, spent years chasing our lineage. He was able to document family as far back as the Jamestown Colony. We had a great great grandfather who allegedly went to the IN state fair and was never seen again. Ed thinks he found him again in Texas records with a whole new family. We have a way-back relative named Julius Gibbs who had a stage coach stop in what is now KY on land granted to him by the governor of Virginia.

Julie has traced her family back a little way, also. For those who don’t know, her last name is Baade. It's pronounced BAY-dee. The older family members recall it being pronounced BAH-da. There is a cemetery near Whitehall, MI which they call the Baade family cemetery. Most of the tombstones are in German. Interesting note: She found that on D-Day there was a General Baade on both sides. Photos of the US Gen. Baade are on display in a section of the Lincoln Co, Nebraska Museum dedicated to the North Platte Canteen. The canteen is worth a look for WWII buffs. The North Platte Canteen
She also found a relative or two who spent some time in prison. I suspect we've all got a horse-thief or two hanging in the family tree. When you're doing genealogy, you get what you get!

 

[FBecigneul]

I’m moved this from the Friday Morning thread to here as it seems more appropriate here.

There were a couple of interesting notes on Jan’s side of genealogy. One was a Tom Guynea or Guyna depending on whose spelling you believe. He was a New York actor after migrating from Ireland. He was a bit of a tipster, as well. He was on a board between two step ladders watching a parade and fell off the ladder and met his demise at an early age. The other interesting one was her great grand father, William Carpenter, who was a prisoner at Andersonville. He survived Andersonville and was released when Andersonville was liberated. He then walked back home to Marshall, Michigan and lived there only a few years before passing away. I suppose the prison life took a toll on him. I told Snuffy Smith of Macon, Georgia while at the Shamrock Match one year of that side of Jan. This was after he told us we should stop at Andersonville while on the way to Mickey Coleman’s place for a match the following weekend. I told him we intended to as all I needed way another excuse to hate Southerners. His jaw dropped and he told us of how those no good Yankee scum Captured his grandfather at Spotsylvania, Virginia and sent him to prison in Oneida, New York. After the war he refused to sign a paper to never again take up arms against the Union and so rather than get a train ride he walked back home to Macon, Georgia. Well, we both had awakenings as they were both captured at Spotsylvania, one Southern, one northerner and both walked great distances home. Can you imagine not being in great shape after prison for multiple years and walking through what was probably still enemy territory with no food and no water. Maybe stealing a chicken at night, not being seen, no freeways to follow.

 

[TinMan]

My mother and father both were born in the US, but both of their parents were from northern Italy, up around Venice. Both were from large families, seven kids in one and eight kids in the other. In his family, my Dad was the youngest and the oldest an uncle who was maybe 15 years older. When that uncle was maybe 12 or so, was sent back (by ship) to Italy to visit the grandparents. While in Italy, WWI broke out and he couldn't get back to the US. HIs grandfather was a carriage maker and wheelwright. So, that uncle stayed in Italy until after WWI was over and apprenticed with grandfather. When he got home, he was maybe 18 or so, had never went to high school, but had learned woodworking from the grandfather and was a skilled woodworker and carver. Getting back to the US, he needed a job, and got one working at a furniture factory. Meanwhile he forgot all the English he learned in grade school while in Italy. The furniture factory was staffed mostly by people from Sweden who spoke in broken English. When my uncle re-learned English while working, it was from a bunch of Swedish coworkers who spoke with broken English. My uncle was an Italian who spoke English with a Swedish accent the rest of his life. He lived to 101 years old, and was a highly skilled woodworker and woodcarver.

 

[FBecigneul]

European boundaries constantly changed during both World Wars. I have an adopted cousin born around 1943-4 in what was thought YugoslavIs. When doing searches for his tree, He couldn’t find his hometown. His geological studies found his home town is now in Italy.
My grandmother’s maiden name was Berger And she lived in the Alsace=Lorraine area. I all depends on when you look that up it went back and forth from Germany to France and back. When she was born around 1850 her hometown was in France and so her maiden name was pronounced Bear-Jay. Had she been born as a German it would be pronounced Bur-ger.

 

[Bruce Eakins]

The Eakins side landed in South Carolina from Ireland. Next generation moved to Henderson, KY, From there to Texas (north of Dallas). From there to Oregon. Decided they didn’t like it, packed up and drove their cattle back to Oklahoma. Great great grandmother had given birth to my great grandfather while there. They were worried about how strong he was for the trip, so she stayed another year and headed out with baby with a team of mules. She made it to Pueblo, CO where one of the mules died. No money, so she spent winter there and took in laundry. Bought a mule and came in to where rest of family was. She was about 5 foot tall and weighed maybe 110 pounds.
Mary was her name and my great grandfather was Jess who made the trip with her.
They don’t make them like that anymore.

 

[CarlP]

Legend has that Dad’s side of the family came from England in 1801. My guess is that they settled in Virginia and Kentucky and immediately started digging coal and planting tobacco which they continued doing until post WWII. Mom’s family is from Southeastern KY also. Dad’s family came up here from Knox county when he was 10 years old.
My wife’s family only has a few generations born in the US. She is a mixture of German and Irish. We have her great-great grandparents immigration papers where they came here from Germany in 1894.
No major notable folks in my lineage that I’m aware of, although both my Dad and my Uncle Dale have won first-place trophies at the BBB.

 

[FBecigneul]

We see where Little Redhead Eakins got her “spunk”.

 

[45tajjat45]

Would Mary be Jess's mother?

 

[Bruce Eakins]

Yup ^^^^

 

[45tajjat45]

Dinah, myself and everyone l have shared this with are simply astounded, flabbergasted and totally amazed. Our nation as a whole, doesn't have point 01 of the sand, grit or gumption Mary had. A real WOMAN OF THE YEAR.