How far back can you trace your family history?

[Tippiechick]

I am related to FDR and Zachary Taylor through the line of Isaac Allerton. My 13th great-grandmother was Sarah Allerton, 14th g-g Isaac Allerton, 15th g-g Isaac Allerton, Mayflower pilgram.

Thus, Isaac, Jr., being from 15th g-g Fear Brewster and Isaac, Sr. I am also related to William Brewster, Mayflower pilgrim, 16th g-g.

Also, Sarah Palin has been traced to Brewster now through Patience Brewster. Just thought I would throw that out there for what it is worth...

[swedishkd87]

What an interesting thread! I haven't gotten very far, although my grandma on my dad's side did quite a bit of research.

Mom's Side-
mid-1800s from Sweden, Norway, and Germany

Dad's Side-
early 1700s from Germany and Norway

[ZetaGirl22]

We REALLY havent gotten very far. My family on BOTH sides are fairly recent immigrants to the US. My paternal great grandparents ALL came to New York from Ireland around 1910. So I'm third generation American on my dad's side. My maternal grandparents came to Michigan from Latvia in the late 40's after WWII. The Soviets were taking over Latvia at the time. They didn't actually meet in Latvia. Mutual Latvian friends in Michigan set them up! So I'm second generation American on my mom's side. I actually went to Latvia when I was 14. My grandmother's sister is MUCH younger than she and has a daughter about 2 years younger than me. It was cool to hang out with her, though she spoke VERY little English, and I spoke VERY little Latvian at the time. I saw her about a year ago when she visited. She speaks IMPECCABLE English now. I still speak very little Latvian LOL! I have LOTS of family still in Latvia. It's a beautiful country and I hope to go back some day.

[GeekyPenguin]

Is it bad I like my illegal Irish immigrant side better than my "we fell off the Mayflower" side?

[agzg]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

Is it bad I like my illegal Irish immigrant side better than my "we fell off the Mayflower" side?

Nah - They're fun. Just don't ask them about old school Irish wakes - my dad tells a story involving drinking with the departed and playing cards that I think scarred me for life.

[ZetaGirl22]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

Nah - They're fun. Just don't ask them about old school Irish wakes - my dad tells a story involving drinking with the departed and playing cards that I think scarred me for life.

LOL theres nothing like an old school Irish wake! Anyone ever seen Angelas Ashes? Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Try an Irish wedding too.........lord what a mess...........LOL! DH is Irish in heritage as am I on my dads side. We had an Irish wedding, and it was my DAD'S Irish relatives, all in their 70's and 80's that were causing the ruckus............Drinking and singing and getting PISSED that the bar in the banquet area wasnt serving Jameson. They kept sneeking down into the restaurant to order glasses of Jameson.......and the younger crowd with the Irish Car Bombs..........lordy. Our last song was Danny Boy. They got quite a kick out of that.

[honeychile]

I receive a lot of "buying opportunities" emails from various genealogical publishing companies my mother or I patronize. This was from the Genealogical Pointers Company, as a sales blurb for a CD on Mayflower lineages:

"We could hardly let the month of November go by without running a segment on the Pilgrims. You'd be surprised just how many Americans have Pilgrim ancestors. If you can trace at least one of your family lines back to 17th-century New England, you may find yourself among the estimated eight million living Americans of Mayflower descent. In other words, roughly one out of every 35 Americans is of Mayflower ancestry. How would you like to have those odds the next time you play a lottery?

"The sheer number of Mayflower descendants is all the more remarkable when you consider that only 26 of the 102 Mayflower passengers left progeny. Moreover, if you are trying to connect to one family out of the many thousands of families who were a part of the entire first generation of New England immigrants, your odds of having Pilgrim ancestors get even better."

Thought I'd throw that into the mix, with Thanksgiving this week. And no, I can't link to my email. Even if I could, I wouldn't.