re: Genealogy & Ancestry

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Have any of yall done Ancestry.com

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Did a DEEP dive on Ancestry.com around 2018. Took me about a year, but did both sides of my family-- mom and dad, traced a lot of lines all the way back to Europe, where I'd quit. Loved doing it and learned a lot.

Some lines just dead-ended. The one that bugged me most was the main paternal line on my dad's side (my surname line). About the mid-1800s we just hit a dead-end on that line; we knew that line was Acadian, but nothing back before then could be verified.

My college-aged daughter used the same Ancestry.com account and did my wife/her mom's side of the family to complete her other half.

I eventually drew on the computer a HUGE family tree for my each of my grandparent's trees (4 in all); even at small print it is a poster about 5 ft. by 3 ft. (printed it on my work's plotter). For Christmas that year I gave my mom and dad each a copy of their tree maps and a binder with Ancestry.com data sheets for all persons listed on it. They both loved it.

Also, with the data and info I found, I was able to go on Findagrave.com and on a few trips up north, saw gravesites of many of my ancestors.

Learned a few interesting things in my research:

-- Have two Native American ancestors , Micmac indians from up in Acadia part of Canada (Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick).

-- Other than those Native American ancestors, NONE of my ancestors came over from Europe on anything but a sailing vessel. My family goes back FAR in North America.

-- Had ancestors that fought in BOTH sides of the Civil War.

-- Had ancestors who owned slaves, but WAY back during colonial times, not the typical southern plantation masters.

-- Had ancestors who fought in many early wars-- as I mentioned Civil War, also War of 1812 and even the American Revolution. Actually saw some of their graves up north.

-- I found out I had some Swiss heritage, and one ancestor who was "Italian" (before there was an actual Italy), a mercenary from Lombardy working for the French who changed his name from "Giuseppe Carlini" to "Joseph Carlin".


The most off-the-wall thing that happened deals with how the common information on ancestors is shared, sometimes including trees (limited information). In doing the research I came across something that indicated one of my dad's siblings must have been married before or something and had a different child that I didn't know about. When I mentioned it to my dad and stepmom, they sheepishly said, "well, never married". Turned out my uncle fathered a child out of wedlock when he was in the service and I had a cousin I never knew about.

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I did it, I'm white. I think it has gotten kind of ridiculous with the breakout of England & Northwestern Europe into 6-7 smaller regions...

This thread reminds me of that K&P skit where all the black people linked back to Thomas Jefferson.

The last thing I need is my uncle Daryl giving his DNA to "Findmyrichgreatuncle.com" only for me to wake up one random Wednesday morning and find out I'm a serial killer.

I'll just remain unresearched, thank you.

GENI.com is pretty useful.

If you submit DNA, expect to get a call from your long lost love child of that hook up you forgot about.

That’s not how it works

Good point.

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Are you from Oklahoma?

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Louisiana. My dad’s side of the family has relatives that hail from South Dakota. I believe it’s the Sioux.