I know that you can trace your genealogy and see who your ancestors are. How many years back can you go?

Question

This feature gives you a certain amount of words so i didnt get to finish my question:

is there a certain point in which you can't be traced to an ancestor that some of your others are?

Answer 1

I'm trying to search back from what part of Africa my ancestors came from and where were they enslaved.

Answer 2

I have records of my ancestors to the 1650's.

Answer 3

It will vary by each line.  On one, I can only get back to my great-grandfather.  On another, I can only get back to my great-great-great-grandfather.  On others, I can get back to my 10th and 20th great-grandfathers.  I just depends on the availability and quality of records, the regions involved, even the historical significance of the individuals.  People who served in various government bodies, were of royal heritage, from upper class families, or who achieved significant events in their life and so forth are pretty easy to trace back pretty far.  People who were just farmers or Native Americans are much more difficult.  Still, no matter what, ALL lines will come to an end because there comes a point in time when our reserach reaches the point that written records cease to exist.  Man did not always record things the way we do today.

Answer 4

Every single person (and their ancestors) are unique individuals, so the answer is never the same for everyone. What is relevant is the exact person, WHERE and WHEN they lived or died.  There is also the involvement of "long" or short generations.

Example.. YOUR grandfather may have been born in 1935 in Missouri, married young, as did all his family before, who lived in the US for 200 yrs.  AND.. none of his ancestors ever lived in a county where the court burned (with the records), etc.

I come from lonnnnng generations.  My mother was born when her father was in his 60s (last child of his 2nd marriage).. he was born in the 1830s in Poland.. where WW2 and other factors destroyed most of the records.

The other factor is your determination. One line I worked on my ex husband's side had been searched for 50+ yrs (and I had the letters to show that).  No one figured it out.  I used documents that they never considered, and "cracked" it.

Over all, most experienced researchers know that prior to a certain time frame in Europe, there ARE no valid records, UNLESS you happen to get into a royal/ noble line, that kept personal records for documentation.  Some people think they can trace back to Adam and Eve. I don't agree that their conclusions mean anything.

No solid yes/no answer.  That is what makes it fun.

Answer 5

There are many limitations to tracing ancestry; lack of records before about the mid-1800s is one.  Accuracy of records is an even bigger problem (that includes the ones being made now).  Most genealogy "records" from earlier times were either family records or church records.  Family records were the more accurate of the two, and are still far more accurate than civil records.  One of the many problems with church records was that people had to pay to have a record made; for poor people, that was an impossibility. Also, churches, although supposedly "non-profit" would make records reflect whatever the wealthy said; i.e., if a duke or whathave you claimed some child as his own, the church records would reflect that, irregardless of the truth.

I, personally, have gone back more than 2,000 years, but only in 2 thin lines; my most recent breaks are with my great-grandparents.

So the answer is, hey, no one can trace ALL of their ancestors (after all, without in-marriage, it would double each generation...by 34 generations ago, it would take more people than are alive today for that ONE GENERATION.  So, basically, since the time of Christ (or Julius Caesar, if you prefer) EVERYONE on earth has a common ancestor.

Answer 6

A lot of people can get back to the 1600s.  If you manage to connect into a royal or noble line you can get back a lot further.

Answer 7

I can trace one line as far back as the 1530s, but it is cloudy on most of them before the 1600s.  There are a couple of lines that I can't trace back before the early 1800s.

It can get really hard since records weren't kept, or kept sloppily, spellings are wrong or off, and some use just nicknames.  Some of the records don't give the wife's name and only list her as Mrs.  

While it's interesting it's really frustrating at times too.

Answer 8

The further back in time you go, the harder it is to find information; however, it's not impossible.  In the USA, you can get back to 1790 census records.  State archives also have records going back in time.  On the east coast, you can get into the colonial time period.  Sometimes, church records will go back to the time the church was established.  When it comes to jumping overseas, you can search ships lists, go to web sites for the country, hire a genealogist, etc.  

Sometimes you will find someone else who is connected to your family who has gone back further than you and is willing to share information with you.  I find it difficult to trust the accuracy of internet information when no source is listed or else they claim they've gotten back to Adam and Eve.  I hope this has been helpful.  As to my personal, I have only been able to go back to the early 1700's.

Answer 9

We all hit dead ends. You know who your 3rd great grandfather was, but not his wife's maiden name or his parents. On another line you may get to your 2nd great grandfather, or your 4th.

If

You are white

You live in the USA

Your ancestors lived in the USA

Your name isn't Smith or Jones or Miller

You have access to the census

then you can get to people alive in 1850 on most lines, usually. If you are black, and everything else I listed is true, you can get to people alive in 1870.

If your ancestors came over after 1850 you can usually figure out what country they came from.

If you are not in the USA, your results may vary. Some people in England can walk down to the local church and get back to 1603 in an afternoon, then take the Vicar out for a pint of warm beer. Some Jewish people can't get back before 1945 because the Germans torched all the records when they destroyed the synagogues.