Genealogy and Family History

[NineTails20]

My paternal grandfather's line stops when the Census info ends - his family were Romany so obviously they were not inclined to be on record for anything unless they HAD to be and spent their lives on the move from one area to another.

Another odd thing is that my maiden name is French from up near Calais and likely to have crossed the Channel with William as many men went with their Lord to fight at Hastings. That Lord was on my other grandfather's Tree so when my parents got married it was almost like a full circle - two families of different status from the same town joined 880 years later; Strange

Mum's surname is said to have come from a Hiberno-Norse Prince in Kilkenny, Dad's is undoubtedly German. And I have more English nobility on that side than on my mum's. Her side is a mix of Irish and Scottish.

 

[NineTails20]

You know what really upsets me about my American roots? Almost every will and testament spanning the late 1600s through to the 1800s mentions the deceased leaving (and it KILLS me to type this out, please don't hate me) N***o boys or girls to their families. And I hate it. I hate the fact that my ancestors were slave owners, it disgusts me.

 

[Melian]

My dad did this. He's reconnected and met his Maltese family. He also found mums father and his family. I also met dad's family who live in London. (Was doing something not far from them, so met up)

 

[Lanie]

You know what really upsets me about my American roots? Almost every will and testament spanning the late 1600s through to the 1800s mentions the deceased leaving (and it KILLS me to type this out, please don't hate me) N***o boys or girls to their families. And I hate it. I hate the fact that my ancestors were slave owners, it disgusts me.

I often think this when i see that my husband ancestors are viking, norman blood, especially lords etc. It makes me think that perhaps the intercourse wasnt consensual as the vikings and normans were known to grape and pillage. Its a horrid thought but has alot ot potential to be true.

 

[NineTails20]

I often think this when i see that my husband ancestors are viking, norman blood, especially lords etc. It makes me think that perhaps the intercourse wasnt consensual as the vikings and normans were known to grape and pillage. Its a horrid thought but has alot ot potential to be true.

It's awful reading them back. One ancestor had SIXTEEN slaves, and divided them between his family as easily as if they were sweeties.

 

[Rita Chevrolet]

I often think this when i see that my husband ancestors are viking, norman blood, especially lords etc. It makes me think that perhaps the intercourse wasnt consensual as the vikings and normans were known to grape and pillage. Its a horrid thought but has alot ot potential to be true.

I was reading all this stuff about how some viking ancestors had "married" these women then taken them off to a New Life with them, thinking here of Brian Boru's granddaughter who was taken to Brittany and also of King Malcolm of Scotland's daughter who was married off to another Norseman and brought to Normandie. I wonder if these were actually marriages for love or whether they were abducted or taken as some sort of a deal, effectively as slaves rather than wives? Sadly we will never know the truth of it but imagine the depair of those girls being handed over to some beastly monster of a viking marauder knowing you will never see your family ever again? Horrible

 

[under the ivy]

I did my family tree on a free trial on Ancestry during 1st lockdown. Got all the way back to 17th century Germany! Other side of my family seem to be based in the Somerset area which might explain why I like my cider

 

[Neonmoon]

I’ve been doing family tree research for a number of years now. It can open up so much!!
I’m Scottish and my husband is English, turns out his ancestors came from my area and mine came from his! He even used to pass a statue of a lady going to school and it turns out to be my 5th great grandmother. I also do a part time side job helping others with theirs so if anyone needs any assistance I’m more than happy to help!

 

[Rita Chevrolet]

Companions of the Conqueror (act. 1066–1071) | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (oxforddnb.com)
This contains lots of info about William the Conquerer's family/friends who accompanied him; I have found loads of my lot on here

 

[Anasnake]

Did some digging on ancestry a few years back. One of mine, a cobblers son in the 1700’s, found a very famous treasure whilst messing about in the river. We went to see it in the British Museum and I couldn’t help but think ‘that’s mine’ !!!

 

[FakeSmile]

Does anyone have any tips for when you hit a block on Ancestry or if there’s any other websites to try? I seem to have hit dead ends on most of my lines during the late 1700s/early 1800s but would love to get back further if I can!

 

[Red hair]

I did ancestry test and then uploaded that to https://mytrueancestry.com/en It then links to archeological finds to link your DNA to, including royalty. Very interesting, it has a pay structure but you can get some interesting stuff without paying.

 

[NineTails20]

I did ancestry test and then uploaded that to https://mytrueancestry.com/en It then links to archeological finds to link your DNA to, including royalty. Very interesting, it has a pay structure but you can get some interesting stuff without paying.

I did that one as well, I have a ton of Viking DNA waaaaay back.

 

[NorthernValkyrie]

Was anyone excited by the release of the 1921 Census?
I discovered an aunt I had no idea of and she doesn't appear on any family trees of anyone my family is related to A new rabbit hole!

 

[Rita Chevrolet]

I've also been looking at my husband's lineage too; So far he's got the sheriff who executed Lady Jane Grey, the family of Catherine Parr, William Shakespaere's grandparents and Sir Isaac Newton - my lot still outshine his though

 

[NorthernValkyrie]

The British part of my family never expected to be much else but British isles before doing DNA. They discovered a large amount of Scandinavian-inclined blood. Talk about setting the cat amongst the pigeons!

I've also been looking at my husband's lineage too; So far he's got the sheriff who executed Lady Jane Grey, the family of Catherine Parr, William Shakespaere's grandparents and Sir Isaac Newton - my lot still outshine his though

That's an impressive group! Slightly awkward that Lady Jane's executioner ended up being related to the Parr family, hope the former wasn't a devout Catholic because otherwise, the heart palpitations from the Protestants!

 

[Rita Chevrolet]

I found on his line a Puritan family whose children were given names such as Obedience, Purity and Desperation - why would you name your son Desperation I wonder???

 

[NorthernValkyrie]

Desperation?!? What a depressing name to (not) live up to. Hopefully the family called him Percy. Why on earth would you do that to a child?
It's a name like that that makes me not wonder why some people were, say, Alberthnot, and known as Harry, including on most official paperwork.

 

[LuckyCharm]

Nope. My partner has exhaustively done his family tree (thousands of people)and virtually everyone for centuries is within a 10 mile radius from a tiny handful of villages. All mostly poor agricultural workers. One fella made it to Australia. One as far as Bristol. It's hard to go really far back with his, the records are just not there beyond a certain point.

Same with mine, I got to the late 1400’s and nobody had moved out of the county I still live in now! I may try and expand it though.

 

[50sGirl]

I found on his line a Puritan family whose children were given names such as Obedience, Purity and Desperation - why would you name your son Desperation I wonder???

One of my distant ancestors married a lady who was called fan Fidling!