NEw Worlders, whose family has been here longest?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by Lord Nuclear
All records of my family were destroyed by the Nazis, and the Soviets.

It's usually for the best. Many a budding genealogist has ended up discovering their family "tree" is actually a pillar.

[monolith94]

Know from experience?

[JimmyCracksCorn]

North Americans do tend to exaggerate family histories.

And while I have no doubt that some of you can trace your decendents to the original settlers of the Americas, the staggering number of people who claim it versus the real historical numbers just don't add up. For instance, when I was growing up in Massachusetts, the number of people I'd meet who claimed to have come over on the Mayflower was just literally unbelievable. There was only so much room on the ship. Or how their great great great whatever was the King of wherever. And it always seems to be backed up by some "Uncle" or "grandfather" who did all the research and looked everything up.

Face it, the vast majority of you are the result of 19th - 20th century immigration, probably from Europe.

[Jon Miller]

I have begats.. for a school project I wrote them all set of papers once (stretched a long way.. and I didn't even go back to the really distant relatives, only to 1700s or so)

JM

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by lord of the mark Now QOTM's family has a family tradition that they are descended from Rashi, the 13th century French bible scholar and Talmud commentator (given that Rashi had numerous grandchildren, and that having high status, they probably had numerous descendants, and the small size of the ashkenazic Jewish population circa 1400, this is not all that implausible) Now IIUC its a more widely held tradition that Rashi was a remote descendant of the Davidic line. Ergo, QOTM and POTM can trace back to 1000 BCE.

Pack it in boys, we've got a winner.

[Sava]

my grandfather alleges he can trace our Serbian side back to the battle of Kosovo (1389)


now I love my Deda very much but I dunno about this

BTW, he is 84 years old and still works full time... he has his own shoe repair store in Chicago

he's a freaking cyborg or something I swear...

oh yeah, he's my mother's father and he still has all his hair

I don't know about tracing back the side that has been in America. On my dad's side I know the family has been here for a long time. I'll have to ask.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
North Americans do tend to exaggerate family histories.

And while I have no doubt that some of you can trace your decendents to the original settlers of the Americas, the staggering number of people who claim it versus the real historical numbers just don't add up. For instance, when I was growing up in Massachusetts, the number of people I'd meet who claimed to have come over on the Mayflower was just literally unbelievable. There was only so much room on the ship.

200 * 2^15 = 6.5 million

[KrazyHorse]

There's probably not too many French Canadians who don't have at least one ancestor who came over prior to 1650

[KrazyHorse]

Same deal with English Americans (English English, not Scottish or Irish) in the northeast.

[KrazyHorse]

Give it 5 more generations and there won't be any white Americans with English names who aren't descended from a Mayflower immigrant.

[Solomwi]

1664 in Rappahannock Co. VA on my dad's side.

[Lul Thyme]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
North Americans do tend to exaggerate family histories.

And while I have no doubt that some of you can trace your decendents to the original settlers of the Americas, the staggering number of people who claim it versus the real historical numbers just don't add up. For instance, when I was growing up in Massachusetts, the number of people I'd meet who claimed to have come over on the Mayflower was just literally unbelievable. There was only so much room on the ship. Or how their great great great whatever was the King of wherever. And it always seems to be backed up by some "Uncle" or "grandfather" who did all the research and looked everything up.

Face it, the vast majority of you are the result of 19th - 20th century immigration, probably from Europe.

As Krazyhorse explained, thats where youre wrong.
For another example, actual studies have shown that over one person in two in France is descendant from one of their King.

It is even believed that everybody on Earth has a common male ancestor from a few thousand years ago maybe with maybe VERY few exceptions.

[Lul Thyme]

Actually you are both right and wrong.
It is true that most of them are mostly the product of 19th century immigration.
That is not incompatible at all with having an ancestor on the mayflower.
You have 1024 great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grand parents (assuming no in-breeding).
It would be VERY suprising if among those, NONE had any ancestor from the Mayflower...

When people talk about their FAMILY\ANCESTOr
They don't have a clue.
They just talk about one or two main line, usually the male one.
Most ppl have VERY diverse background if you look even a few (less than 10) generations back...
Im considered pure French Canadian.
But my father is a genealogist, and I can tell you
My great-grand mother was Irish.
If you go up 2 generations further, I have a native-american ancestor...
If you go further, it gets even more complicated.
Same for everybody

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Lul Thyme
It is even believed that everybody on Earth has a common male ancestor from a few thousand years ago maybe with maybe VERY few exceptions.

Outside sub-saharan Africa, that is.

~70 000 years ago, and one female ancestor

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Lul Thyme
Actually you are both right and wrong.
It is true that most of them are mostly the product of 19th century immigration.
That is not incompatible at all with having an ancestor on the mayflower.
You have 1024 great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grand parents (assuming no in-breeding).
It would be VERY suprising if among those, NONE had any ancestor from the Mayflower...

I thought I already said that...

I never claimed that anybody was mostly Mayflower blood. That would be virtually impossible after all these years.