How far back did you guys trace your paternal and maternal line?

Question

How far back did you guys trace your paternal and maternal line?

Answer 1

It is an odd question as I dont know why people are interested in other peoples family history but I have traced part of it back to 1790ish, although havent yet had the time to trace it back any further.  Another part of a line stopped in the late 1800s when someone had a child out of wedlock. Most of them at present are around 1830 when the UK census stopped as not had time to look in Christening records yet.

Answer 2

Hey, I like this type of question.  It gives people hope that they too may be able to trace their ancestry back away.

My Grandparents were born in the early 1860s; their Grandparents were born in the 1770s - 1780s, so that is only 4 generations ago!

On my Dad's side, I have gone back to the early 1400s in Germany. On my Mom's side, I have gone back to before Christ to some of the Caesar's (and further back to Turkey, Israel, Egypt...)

Through DNA testing, I have proven that, while the names and dates may not be exact, the ancestral sites are.

So, keep looking.

Here are some places to look:

You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history.  Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department.  Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc.  Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).

Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers.  They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you).

A third option is one of the following websites:

http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.geni.com/

Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.

Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.

Good luck and have fun!

Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won't show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA.

I used www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.

Answer 3

I can only trace my paternal line to a great great grandmother who is full-bllod Cherokee. I'm trying to find out more.

On my mom's side, I know I had a relative on thew Mayflower.

Answer 4

My father was the fourth-great-grandson of a man with the same name who was born in Scotland or Northern Ireland in the 17th century and came to Pennsylvania as an old man about 1728.  I don't have a brother, but the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons of my father's brothers have that man's Y chromosome (barring any of those nasty little secrets that NothingUseful likes to remind us of).

And my sister and I have the mitochondrial DNA of a woman named Catherine Elizabeth Watson, who was evidently born in Virginia in the mid-18th century and who married a British officer who, according to a published family history by a distant relative, "stayed in America after the Revolution."  (Read between the lines.)   They had a daughter Rebecca who had a daughter Rachel who had a daughter Alcinda who had a daughter Sophia who had a daughter Mary who was my maternal grandmother.

If you're not talking about strict paternal or maternal lines, I've traced every branch of my family tree back at least to the 18th century and a couple of them (thanks to the research done by others) quite a bit farther.  An extensive book on the ancestry of my other grandmother traces her line back to the Middle Ages, connects it with royalty, and traces it on back to antiquity.  Fun to contemplate, but, yeah, sure.