How far back can you trace your family history?

cheerfulgreek · #1 10-15-2008, 04:06 PM

If you were to create a family tree right now, how far back could you go?

RaggedyAnn · #2 10-15-2008, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

If you were to create a family tree right now, how far back could you go?

greek or biological?

knight_shadow · #3 10-15-2008, 04:08 PM

My dad does genealogy stuff for fun, and he was able to go back to the late 1800s on his side of the family. My mother's side would be a little bit more difficult, though, because of where she's from.

ETA: I guess I should have asked that question, RA

cheerfulgreek · #4 10-15-2008, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

greek or biological?

biological.

cheerfulgreek · #5 10-15-2008, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

My dad does genealogy stuff for fun, and he was able to go back to the late 1800s on his side of the family. My mother's side would be a little bit more difficult, though, because of where she's from.

ETA: I guess I should have asked that question, RA

I can trace my mom's side pretty far, because it's mostly in Greece, but my dad's side gets kind of complicated.

AGDee · #6 10-15-2008, 04:13 PM

My mother's aunt traced that tree of the family back to the Lewis & Clark expedition.

RaggedyAnn · #7 10-15-2008, 04:31 PM

1650 on my paternal father's father's side
1756 on my paternal father's mother's side
so far

knight_shadow · #8 10-15-2008, 04:34 PM

^^^ That's amazing. I wish I could get information from that far back, but AA records and history weren't documented too well until a certain point.

ComradesTrue · #9 10-15-2008, 04:37 PM

Maternal Grandfather: 1500s to France, at least that is what I have been told. I have never seen the tracing.

Paternal Grandmother: late 1700s to Pennsylvania. We have a bound book that lists everyone back to that time and a single ancestor, along with interesting stories along the way. I am 9th generation.

Others: hasn't really been tracked

RaggedyAnn · #10 10-15-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

^^^ That's amazing. I wish I could get information from that far back, but AA records and history weren't documented too well until a certain point.

Roman Catholics actually track everything from your church of baptism. Say you get confirmed in another church and move and get married in a third. All of your information gets put on your original Baptismal certificate in the church of origin. That's actually where we lost track on one side. There was a fire and the church lost it's records.

dekeguy · #11 10-15-2008, 04:47 PM

Hard documents or family legends?
Documentary-Mom's side AD1490 Normandy. Before that family tradition has it that we wandered down from Denmark (maybe with Hagar the Horrible?).
Documentary-Dad's side AD927 East Prussia into Brittany and then Scotland. Before that there are lots of family stories. Not that Dad's side is arrogant but I think they half believe they were present at the Creation to give advice and guidance.

PeppyGPhiB · #12 10-15-2008, 04:50 PM

I'm told we had family members on the Mayflower, but I haven't seen the tree. I do know we were also the royal family of Ireland at one point long ago, when they had royals.

epchick · #13 10-15-2008, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

Roman Catholics actually track everything from your church of baptism. Say you get confirmed in another church and move and get married in a third. All of your information gets put on your original Baptismal certificate in the church of origin. That's actually where we lost track on one side. There was a fire and the church lost it's records.

That's interesting! It makes me wanna go back and look at all that information to trace my roots.

SuperblySigma · #14 10-15-2008, 05:15 PM

My earliest relative came over to America from England in 1623. My mom has the tree somewhere. Yep, she's a DAR.

Dad's family is not as well documented, so with the exception of one line, it's only traced to my great-grandparents from the (assorted) Old Country.

My Sigma family? I can go from my great-great grandbig to my great-great grandlittle... damn!

Kevin · #15 10-15-2008, 05:27 PM

My maternal grandmother, who compiled a pretty extensive geneology claims that she traced us back to Roman times. I think that's a crock, personally.

She does, however, have complete family records going back to the old country, which for us, is apparently, the Netherlands primarily, then a bunch of other stuff. I'm darkly complected, a fact which my grandmother claims is my "black dutch" ancestory.

I never have had the opportunity to figure out what the hell she means by that, but a Wikipedia search says that in the Oklahoma Territory, a place my ancestors settled, natives would call themselves "black Dutch," and invent ancestries in order to avoid their native American status, which in turn allowed them to do things like purchase land. So maybe I'm Indian and half of our genealogy is just made up?