Tell me all about your ancestors....

[hotdog1846]

My ancestors are from Iowa. It's the "old country".

Seriously, my generation is the first generation to be born outside Iowa since the 1870s, and now we're scattered all over the world.

Now, going back ... the Norwegians were the last to arrive in America, in about 1872, and they skipped right to Iowa. Some came from Etje, Norway. There's a *lot* of history on them, but I haven't assimilated it all.

The Germans' history is a little fuzzier; they probably emigrated in the early 1800s and went to Iowa in the 1850s by way of Virginia and Ohio.

The English line, from which comes my last name, arrived in Iowa in the 1850s, but arrived in the colonies sometime between 1608 and 1650. They settled in Virginia, then a branch split off and went to the Eastern Shore in Maryland by 1658. About the time slavery was heating up as an issue, in the mid 1850s, that branch left Maryland (a slave state) and settled in Iowa (a brand-new free state). Kind of odd, because that branch did own slaves.

There's evidence that line (again, which bears my last name) had a castle in Worcestershire County, England, built in the 1300s, and were considered "land barons" (whatever that means). There's nothing left of the castle now except a mound around which is a city park, with a plaque.

I've seen most of the family haunts in Iowa. Someday, I'll go to England and see my "castle".

 

[JOHN B]

Mixture of Irish, Polish, and a bit of German. Family surname was on the second ship after the Mayflower....the Fortune.....

 

[kevbo]

Swedish
German
Irish
Bohemian
Spanish
English
Apache
and on, and on

I'm a Heinz 57, really...

 

[bankside]

I've always had an interest in genealogy (family trees and all that) so I thought it would be interesting to share whatever we know about our ancestors, and if you're American / Canadian / Australian, whether you know which country they emigrated from.

Mine are mostly Scottish through and through, except for one great-grandmother that came from Norway and one great-grandfather that came from England.

What about you?

British isles mix. How many generations have to be Canadian before we cut the cord? Some of them go back to United Empire Loyalists.

I'm just brown.

I reject the notion of ethnicity, race and nationality.

I reject the notion of categorizing people's colour by the actual amount of pigment in their skin. Thus I too am brown.

I found out that one of mine fought in the War of 1812 and wound up marrying "up" (VERY unusual and verbotten in those days) the slightly older daughter of his regiment's commander! He must have been a hottie!

Oh he's practically a Canadian then...

 

[ViennaExpat83]

My grandfather was very interested in genealogy and all that, since he had an aristocratic title. He explained the family history a couple of times to me, but it is 15 or so years since he died and I have forgotten almost everything.

Supposedly around the time of the crusades (11th or 12th c.) a minor French nobleman came to participate in the crusades to liberate Portugal and Spain from Muslim domination. For fighting he received an estate and title in what is today Portugal and decided to stick around.

The family produced mainly court officials and military officers. In the renaissance they got into the administration of the new Portuguese colonial empire.

For the rest of time till recently they mainly were landowners as well as industrialists and most of them lived a life of leisure. In the 18th century there was some intermarriage with German and Austrian aristocratic families, which can be clearly seen in my second degree cousins who are all blond and blue-eyed.

The most interesting part for me are the "eccentric bachelor" ancestors. I have heard several stories from great-aunts about their uncles and great-uncles, who seem to have been gay. Since they men of means and leisure they spent a lot of time abroad, especially in Paris and North Africa, and seem to have been up to naughty stuff. There was a particular story about one of those bachelor ancestors, who died in the early 20th century and left a huge sum of money to his "valet". So, it seems to run in the family...

 

[gsdx]

British isles mix. How many generations have to be Canadian before we cut the cord? Some of them go back to United Empire Loyalists.

I'm one "of them", thank you very much. Check out Post #10: http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5579566&postcount=10

I'm proud of what my ancestors accomplished and the challenges and hardships they encountered and conquered.

I could tell you an amazing story about a 12-year-old boy (the son of my 7th great grandfather) who did what no boy today would even think of doing, but you would probably call me a liar.

 

[sexsomniac]

To the best of my knowledge I have no ancesters that lived in/on Mainland China.

Gery, you might have chinese lineage considering Vancouver is literally a chinese city of Canada. Ya you heard it right. I was listening to the radio the other day and this lady from china, said she's been living all her live in Van and didn't learn to speak English because she could go about her business without English. Besides, I could see the tinge of Chinese blood on your look.

To Op: I think I might have chinese ancestor as well as indian. Not sure though.

 

[Kyanimal]

I'm one "of them", thank you very much. Check out Post #10: http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5579566&postcount=10

I'm proud of what my ancestors accomplished and the challenges and hardships they encountered and conquered.

I could tell you an amazing story about a 12-year-old boy (the son of my 7th great grandfather) who did what no boy today would even think of doing, but you would probably call me a liar.

I would be VERY interested in hearing that story, Neil!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[G-Lexington]

I'm German.

...that's all I know. It appears I'm at least fifth- or sixth-generation American, but it seems every branch I take leads back to last names that begin with K and are hard to say without spitting.

Lex

 

[geloge]

I love the Basques. (Drunk on cider ATM).

Do you love Basques? they are supposed to fuck once in their life?
I don't have any ancestors from Euskadi or at least I don't know about that, they are all from the west.

BTW, some of them are from Asturias, famous for the cider.

Recent DNA studies suggest that most modern-day Britons have ancestral roots in Spain.

It seems that my ancestors are the ones who never left Spain.

If we are going back in History or best in Prehistory we all have ancestors in Africa, that for sure.

 

[gsdx]

I would be VERY interested in hearing that story, Neil!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

Okily dokily. Here we go then. I can't even imagine them doing this. If I didn't know the story was true, I probably wouldn't believe it myself.

As I mentioned, my 7th great grandfather, Obediah, was the first white settler in the town I used to call 'home'. He'd been expelled as a Loyalist from the new United States after the Revolutionary War and travelled north into Upper Canada (Ontario), settling with his family in Adolphustown (southwest of Kingston) where he worked shares for 4 years.

Most of the land there had already been homesteaded and there were few prospects remaining for a decent future for his family.

Finally, in February of 1796, Obediah and his eldest son (12-year-old John, my 6th great grandfather) packed up a wagon with some supplies, utensils, and meagre furnishings, and hooked the wagon to a team of 2 oxen. With a single cow tied to the back of the wagon, they set out through the snow and cold, heading northwest along the Bay of Quinte until he reached Presqu'ile. They were the only white people for miles and miles around.

Obediah stayed long enough to help his son build a small log hut and a shelter for the cattle, then strapped on a pair of snowshoes and walked back to Adolphustown to obtain a homesteading grant for his property, leaving his son to tend the homestead, care for the cattle, and deal with the natives who lived on Presqu'ile a short distance away.

John was left alone, hunting for and gathering what food he could find for both himself and the cattle, and clearing land and chopping the trees into logs for when the rest of his family rejoined him and built a more permanent home.

Six weeks after leaving his son alone, Obediah returned by boat with the rest of his family and his homesteading grant. His direct descendants still live on the original homestead and in the town he founded.

In this photo, you can see the position of the homestead (hidden by the hill, lower-right) and the spot where Obediah and his wife were buried. (One final interesting note, Obediah's wife was Mary Taylor of New York's 'Lord and Taylor' fame.)

 

[bankside]

I'm one "of them", thank you very much. Check out Post #10: http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5579566&postcount=10

I'm proud of what my ancestors accomplished and the challenges and hardships they encountered and conquered.

I could tell you an amazing story about a 12-year-old boy (the son of my 7th great grandfather) who did what no boy today would even think of doing, but you would probably call me a liar.

I'm one of them too. And I'm glad we evicted the Americans from the Empire for their inferior tea-making standards. A bunch of coffee-drinking bastards with far too many ties to France, if you ask me.

Ummm. I believed your story until you called him Obediah. LOL just kidding - a fascinating story of youthful independence. I have some interesting relatives too, but I won't post the story here for the privacy of all involved. Well, dead people don't have privacy but I'll skip the post anyway.

 

[Kyanimal]

Okily dokily. Here we go then. I can't even imagine them doing this. If I didn't know the story was true, I probably wouldn't believe it myself.

Wow! Thank you, Neil! That's pretty damned Awesome!!

That just goes to show true Human endurance, and ingenuity! Times certainly were a lot different then, and that is reflected in the caliber of the people who were living them. They ALL did what they had to do, including the kids!

And, though times are much different from that now, we still have to do what we have to do. But, we've also come to expect a lot less of ourselves. And that, I think, is a pity!

Today we seem to look for what we are "entitled" to, more than what we can earn for ourselves. In those days, it was not a matter of choice. You either earned it, or you didn't get it.

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[tommyj]

Originally Posted by tommyj
I found out that one of mine fought in the War of 1812 and wound up marrying "up" (VERY unusual and verbotten in those days) the slightly older daughter of his regiment's commander! He must have been a hottie!

Oh he's practically a Canadian then...


yes - from Albany area...

 

[gsdx]

yes - from Albany area...

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[Inevitable2012]

My family can only trace our ancestors back to my great-great grandfather. My family came from France. My grandparents still live there but MY parents moved to the United States when I was three. I visit them often in Nice.

 

[Johnbarrowmansbitch]

On my dads side, the family name is traced back to the 15th century papal court in Italy. Im a decsentant of two Della Rovere popes.

 

[essenceofthedark]

Recent DNA studies suggest that most modern-day Britons have ancestral roots in Spain.

Or Norway/Sweden/Denmark

The vikings DID infest Dublin and other cities/places in Britain. After they grew tired of plundering and such, it wasn't unusual if some of them settled there. Or in France...

 

[wastingmymind]

Filipino. I have a few Spanish great-grandfathers and one Chinese great-grandmother. There's speculation within my father's side that one of our last names have Central European origin, which maybe true because I looked up the name and white people showed up.

 

[leopoldo]

On my fathers side English @ Scotish not sure what % of each. Thanks to my brother, who has done some research, I know more about my mothers side. She was 1/2 Irish, 1/4 German and 1/4 Mexican. Her Irish grandfather and grandmother were cousins, but were not married to each other. Their families both came from Ireland to Texas when it was part of Mexico. During the Texas war for independence they were on different sides. The grandfather's side went to live in Mexico after Texas became independent and he was born there. He and my Mexican great grandmother came to Texas when they got married without her fathers permission.