Do you know anyone whose family tree traces to american forefathers?

Question

What do they think about being from that family tree?

Answer 1

I have ancestors (at least 3) who came over on the Mayflower. Others founded Germana, Virginia; Germantown, Pennsylvania; one ancestor was the city clerk in a Connecticut town back in the 1600s (and provided great records for genealogical research).

It is not that they were "so prolific"; on my tree, a generation ranges from 35 years (females) to about 40 years (males). I was 40 when my oldest son was born. My grandparents were born BEFORE the Civil War; theirs BEFORE the Revolution. For most people it is about 25 years to 30 years for a generation. From 1620 till 2008 is 378 years, so say 10 to 19 generations.

Here's how many ancestors you need for different generations:

10.             512 512 - 1,023

11. 1,024             1,024 - 2,047

12.          2,048                2,048 - 4,095

13. 4,096             4,096 - 8,191

14.          8,192             8,192 - 16,383

15.        16,384              16,384 - 32,767

16.        32,768           32,768 - 65,535

17.        65,536           65,536 - 131,071

18.      131,072         131,072 - 262,143

19.      262,144         262,144 - 524,287

20.      524,288            524,288 - 1,048,575

The first set of numbers is how many ancestors it took to produce you from the 10th generation back to the 20th generation back. The second set of numbers is the Ancestor Numbers for each generation.

So, if they each had only 2 children, each and every person living back then would have more than a half million descendants now living. As there were thousands of people living back then, obviously not every one left descendants...

Answer 2

No, but did have a relative who fought with Washington!  I think it is something to be glad of, that  my ancestors stood up for their freedom.

Answer 3

The colonial settlers were pretty prolific, so yeah.. MILLIONS OF people today can trace back to early America.  I started researching my kids ancestry 25+ yrs ago, and I have yet to finish finding all their immigrant ancestors (all being colonial families.. not just one family).  Not everyone has bothered to do the research, so many persons probably have early ancestry, and don't have a clue about it.

Sometimes my kids get a kick out of what I have found, but in general, they are like anyone else.. living today.  

I can only speak for me.. but anytime I solve a question (my family or someone here), it is a challenge and fun. It doesn't mean much to me, if they were colonial Americans or came from Poland in the 1880s.  One is not 'better' than the other.. it's the thrill of the chase.

Answer 4

My mother-in-law traces back to the idiot who fell off the Mayflower half way over and had to be rescued. She's a direct descendent of not one but three of the Salem witches (it does explain soooo much about her). The daughter-in-law of two of the witches (also her greatxgrandparent) was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay colony for showing up for services on Sunday completely nude in protest of the tax for not showing up for Sunday services.

Three generations after that, the line got expelled from the US for being Tories (Loyalists to the Crown) during the American Revolution. According to their sworn statements, they were stripped of everything they owned and put on a boat (which used to be theirs before the confiscation) and were sailed up the coast to Nova Scotia and dropped there. They didn't have a penny to their name and only the clothes on their backs. The British helped them relocate to the Niagara district in Ontario where they started a new life. But ironically, 2 generations later they were back in the US having snuck into Michigan because they didn't like life under the British.

This conglomeration of misanthropes explains so much about my *cough* lovely mother-in-law.

Answer 5

I've got a bunch, along with the ships and dates of their departure and arrival. Most of them were in miserable condition, indentured, but all of them could read and write. Within one generation, they all began to prosper. The earliest one came to New Amsterdam in 1638.

Some pushed for separation of church & state, others for political independence from Europe. They took up arms, tossed tea overboard, and generally created chaos for the King of England.

Fortunately, since they did things that were written about, and since they wrote about things, I've found them to be extremely fun to research.

My more obscure lines are just as important --- one misplaced piece of DNA and I wouldn't be here-- but learning about the lives and life-styles of these people is a blast, and my founder families left plenty of interesting records.

All of them were patriots, and hated big authoritarian, restrictive governments. I'm thankful for their courage and hard work.

Happy hunting.

Answer 6

Reese Witherspoon sept I don't technically know her, if that doesn't count then no.

Answer 7

ME- whoot whoot! well as far as I can tell- my family surnames- Fleming, Burgess, Prunty, Maddox. and yes I am so proud. and listening to them. I am sure they are ALL very upset about the state of affairs around here lately. So it is my duty to carry on. for the fight of America. SECURE OUR BORDERS> ENFORCE OUR LAWS>LEAVE ALONE MY RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

Answer 8

My friend, Jessica, is a direct decendant of George Washington. She brought in this big genealogy thing one day. Everyone thought it was pretty cool, but even after she found out, she was still just Jessica.

Answer 9

Yes, on my maternal grandmother's side of the family, they were all colonials, some going back before the Mayflower to Jamestown, one was in the Virginia House of Burgesses.  My father has some lines that were colonial.  

It really is no big deal.  I'm 73 now, but for years I got up and went to work every day. Put my garbage can out once a week.  There was a time when I mowed my own lawn, even a drainage ditch adjoining the property(I live in a low flat area and we keep our ditches mowed like they are part of the landscaping and don't wait for the city to do it).  I do my own housekeeping although with arthritis I don't do it as thoroughly as I use to.  I now hire a man to do my lawn.  He is 6 ft 5 and is also great for cleaning the ceiling fans in the house.  

I plan to get a new car this year. The one I drive is a 95.  

I have 3 cats and a 16 year old Pekingnese named Paddy that is blind in one eye, old and arthritic like me.

Edit: I might add that according to my father we had 5 at Bunker Hill, one seriously wounded,  because Ireland was the cradle of the English Army.

Answer 10

Yeah, I have a ton!  My earliest (that I know of) came in 1633, and then they kept coming... mostly to Virginia and Massachusetts.  I have about 13 guys who fought in the American Revolution... and a few who were loyalists and went to Canada after the war (but their descendants wound up back here anyway).  

I think it's really cool, and I love to imagine what life was like for them, and what our country was like during their lifetimes.  And I always wonder what they'd think if they could see it today!  I'd love to have them visit and give them a tour.  Wouldn't they be shocked!!