Ethnicities and Family Genealogy

[Arrian]

Originally posted by MrFun


Wow, that's awesome.

I've been to a cemetary in Devonshire that has an entire row of my family from the 16th-19th centuries...

"So-and-so, lost at sea"
"So-and-so, lost at sea"
"So-and-so, lost at sea"
"So-and-so, lost at sea"
"So-and-so, lost at sea"
"So-and-so, lost at sea"
"So-and-so, lost at sea"

Come to think of it, it was only the men. I wonder where our women were buried.

-Arrian

[MrFun]

All those men who got lost at sea simply because they did not want to ask for directions . . . . . .

[Jon Miller]

The French part, despite being rather small part of me, is the ony I can trace back the farthest, to the 13 Century.

JM

[Winston]

No offense or anything. But I have to say I'm skeptical about all those claims of tracing back to the 12th-13th century. There's more to establishing a link to ancestry than just the similarity of names, or hailing from a certain region. If you want to be taken serious, there has to be a positive, verifiable linkage between "offspring" and "parent" ancestors for each step you move back in time, something which is not easily accomplished for most families.

My deceased father spent years and years tracing our family roots, and only ever got to 1657 (year of death) - for one single ancestor, and he was not able to establish any linkage further back. Despite having access to all available publicly archived records in the relevant area. All other "traces" ended several generations "before" (that is, more recently than) 1657. And again this is not at all unusual, or exceptional. It's the way it goes for most families outside nobility and the like.

[Winston]

I should add that getting as far back in time as possible was not the purpose of my father's study - that was to extensively document the history of each individual ancestor and their families - but he did try, until all sources were exhausted in the mid-17th century.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Winston
No offense or anything. But I have to say I'm skeptical about all those claims of tracing back to the 12th-13th century. There's more to establishing a link to ancestry than just the similarity of names, or hailing from a certain region. If you want to be taken serious, there has to be a positive, verifiable linkage between "offspring" and "parent" ancestors for each step you move back in time, something which is not easily accomplished for most families.

My deceased father spent years and years tracing our family roots, and only ever got to 1657 (year of death) - for one single ancestor, and he was not able to establish any linkage further back. Despite having access to all available publicly archived records in the relevant area. All other "traces" ended several generations "before" (that is, more recently than) 1657. And again this is not at all unusual, or exceptional. It's the way it goes for most families outside nobility and the like.

All it takes is to be related to nobility.

JM

[Winston]

Which I included as the exception to the rule.

However, it does not negate the need for establishing verifiable linkage.

[Sandman]

So, how well do you know your own family's genealogy?

Don't know it well at all.

How much of an interest do you have in your family's genealogy, if at all?

None whatsoever.

Any interesting facts/stories related to your family's history that your family has passed down?

Not especially.

[Jon Miller]

Well, I might be able to go as far back as that (13th century) if I count the Dutch (?) (nobility) person who I am probably related to, but that wasn't verified.

And I will admit that (one of) the native americans isn't verified.. as they weren't married and the native american was the guy.

(She ran off with him, and came back with a kid, who was my ancestor, or something like that)

Jon Miller

[DanS]

What service did your sister use, Mr. Fun?

[Victor Galis]

Originally posted by MrFun



She shelled out some money and did the test through a company, using her saliva from inside her cheeks.

I could kinda guess that already based on my own experience, I meant which company?

[lord of the mark]

All of my known ancestors (going to the late 19th cent, and one line with some strong indications, back to the early 19th c) were Ashkenazic Jews (Jews who were from eastern/central europe, and from a Yiddish cultural background)

Im 50% galitzianer/50% litvak (IE half of my ancesters came from the culture zone SOUTH of the Pripet Marshes which includes southern Poland and Ukraine and half from North, the area that today is divided among Lithuania, Belarus, etc but is historically the territorty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - the Jewish cultures are divided by differences in Yiddish dialect, in cuisine, and in their historic approaches to traditional Judaism - the Litvak more legalistic-rational, the Galitizianer more mystical)

Ive never had genetic testing. I have reason to believe I have cohen ancestry (the priestly class) but dont know i have the cohen haplotype. I presume like most Jews i have european gentile ancestry as well, but its probably way back. Like most ashkenazic Jews, im probably descended from therelatively small group of Jews who came up from the western Med lands during the dark ages to France/western Germany, and later migrated east to Poland.


For those focusing more on geographic origins in modern nations - 50% Poland, 25% Belarus, 25% Republic of Lithuania.


QOTMs family has a tradition that they are descended from the medieval torah scholar Rashi. As Rashi had numerous grandchildren, and they were prominent (which in the circumstances of the time means they probably had plenty of descendants) its not at all improbable - ive never asked them how they trace it - I presume they trace directly to some relatively prominent 19th c rabbi, who in turn has an "accepted" geneology back to Rashi. Its my understanding thats its traditional that Rashi had descent from the line of King David, (though i havent found details on this).

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Winston
No offense or anything. But I have to say I'm skeptical about all those claims of tracing back to the 12th-13th century.

Depends on the culture and history of a country.

In China, there is a tradition of maintaining a family tree listing names of men in the clan, their birthdates, and occupations. I'm 23rd generation in the clan.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by DanS
What service did your sister use, Mr. Fun?

She told me which company it was, but right now, I can't recall. I will get back to you and Victor on this after I talk with her again.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
All of my known ancestors (going to the late 19th cent, and one line with some strong indications, back to the early 19th c) were Ashkenazic Jews (Jews who were from eastern/central europe, and from a Yiddish cultural background)

Im 50% galitzianer/50% litvak (IE half of my ancesters came from the culture zone SOUTH of the Pripet Marshes which includes southern Poland and Ukraine and half from North, the area that today is divided among Lithuania, Belarus, etc but is historically the territorty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - the Jewish cultures are divided by differences in Yiddish dialect, in cuisine, and in their historic approaches to traditional Judaism - the Litvak more legalistic-rational, the Galitizianer more mystical)

Ive never had genetic testing. I have reason to believe I have cohen ancestry (the priestly class) but dont know i have the cohen haplotype. I presume like most Jews i have european gentile ancestry as well, but its probably way back. Like most ashkenazic Jews, im probably descended from therelatively small group of Jews who came up from the western Med lands during the dark ages to France/western Germany, and later migrated east to Poland.


For those focusing more on geographic origins in modern nations - 50% Poland, 25% Belarus, 25% Republic of Lithuania.


QOTMs family has a tradition that they are descended from the medieval torah scholar Rashi. As Rashi had numerous grandchildren, and they were prominent (which in the circumstances of the time means they probably had plenty of descendants) its not at all improbable - ive never asked them how they trace it - I presume they trace directly to some relatively prominent 19th c rabbi, who in turn has an "accepted" geneology back to Rashi. Its my understanding thats its traditional that Rashi had descent from the line of King David, (though i havent found details on this).

Sounds like you have in-depth knowledge of your family's genealogy.