Genealogy

Hi Jim Huff, & everyone out there,
Hey, pretty neat! Do you know any passed down stories about your ancester, Edward I,"Long shanks"? Also, Thank you for your kindness on my comment about your ancester. I'm sure that my ancestors on the Scot side didn't think much of my ancestor on the English side. Actually they, the Bostwicks, were Norman French before going to England and becoming British subjects. Bostwick had been Bostock then. Any other Norman invaders out there?
Also I used to tease my Grand Dad by telling him that since he was scots on his Dad's side he must be at least part Viking as well. That got his dander up! My Mom's people were all Vikings, you see. Well, my brother got our Dad to do the DNA test to see where it lead...Really cool information is coming in on that, so do it yourself if you can. We found out that I was right about our Highland Scots side having a bit or what is called "Icelandic Scots" and Pictish in it! The Vikings had stayed in the North Highlands and the islands between Ireland and Scotland as well as the lands between such as Denmark, etc. So my kidding turned out to be quite correct. We also had a DNA match with the Spencers of England, AKA Princess Diana's family name. Oh my, oh my! Also a match to Mac Gregors and the Mac Donald Clan that originated in the Isle of Skye. There are two Mac Donald Septs. They married into the Henderson and Adam clans in a little hidden glen, (the name escapes me at the moment)that was eventually raided by Low Land Scots for the English; not many were left alive, only the ones who escaped to hide out in the high crags. Also a match with a Scotsman in South Africa contacted my brother. So, if you run into a dead end, try the DNA route and you will find matches you didn't know about to get you going again. The more people who do the DNA search, the more matches will be found! We found out about so many life stories in this search and it is the personal stories of the real people who lived in those times that that have really touched our hearts. If you have a special story please tell it to us!

I have been thinking about getting into the DNA analysis. Sadly enough, the shortest branch on my family tree is my Huffs. I go back to a Benjamin Hough born in Virginia in 1781 and hit a brick wall there. 25 years ago I thought I had found his parents and ancestry but I have since proven that I was incorrect about that. Several people have added that incorrect tree to their genealogy and posted it online. I have explained to them how it is incorrect but they seem to feel that an incorrect tree is better than no tree at all. The Internet is a wonderful place to spread and post misinformation. Too bad, but that is how it is.

Yes, Googling will find a lot of info: some right, some wrong. Caveat Emptor!

I will probably one of these days try the DNA route.

It is my mother's mother's genealogy that goes back and connects to several famous people hundreds of years ago, but I'm afraid my father's branches don't go far. Where did you do the DNA testing? I would probably go through Ancestry which is expensive but does have an exponentially-increasing amount of information and historic records. Beware the LDS site; I have found a lot of bad information posted there.

Unfortunately, once someone posts bad info, everyone else picks it up and adds it to their tree. After a while, it takes on a life of its own, especially in this age of the Internet.

I have many roots in early Massachusetts circa 1620-1640. Anyone go back to there?

I read an article recently about DNA geneology and found it amazingly deceptive and expensive. The capabilities of the several companies engaged in this business are limited by the technology. They can identify geographic areas of origin and some affiliations but the further back they go the lower the percentages of affiliation. They typical report apparently offers a percentage of affilitation with some recognizable people, but the further back they go the greater the number of shared DNA sequences we all posess.

The article interviewed several users and found that some are less forthcoming about the reliability of their reporting methodology than others. They typically list several famous people you have some connection to in diverse areas and yet cannot give you specifics about direct lineage. ie: "here are some folks you've heard about that you have a connection to." Not the names of children who begat other names of children and so forth until you get to your immediate neighborhood.

True. The DNA analysis will not give you names far back. It will give you clues. The problem with most "brick walls" on the family tree is getting back through the 1700s in this country. Records of marriages and births, etc., just were not kept, especially on the "frontier" such as Ohio, Tennessee, etc. If you can get back to New England, such as several of my branches do, they were great record keepers which is a big help.

There are a couple "possible" branches of my Huffs. DNA analysis would give a clue as to saying no they are not possible or yes they may be. That could direct my search or allow me to once and for all quit "barking up those trees." I trust Ancestry.com to be a fairly competent organization so I will probably go through them.

There are many genealogy scamsters out there trolling the Internet. Much like those outfits that set up booths at Malls around Christmas who will sell you a coat of arms for your family. Coats of Arms were given to individuals -- not families.

In the late 1800s there was a genealogy scamster named Gustave Anjou. For a stiff price he would find you a most distinguished family tree. Any tree that can be traced back to him is nothing but crap. He even invented schools and churches from which he referenced sources. There are many Gustaves still operating today!

I have been into genealogy for over 35 years and have seen some amazing misinformation published. Just because something was written 100 years ago does not make it correct.

Chances are, most all of us probably connect somehow back to the European royalty, but it is establishing these connections through the 1700s back to Europe that is hard. Many people who came to this country back then wanted to just plain forget their European roots -- they left there for a reason! You cannot trace too many of the Mayflower passengers back to their roots in Europe.

Genealogy is nothing more than an interesting hobby. How about you, Ron? Are you related to Verne Albright, father to "My Little Margie" on early TV?

I am decended from Kathryn Queen of Scot's..........

My roots go into Mass that far back JimHuff, the Winthrops actually.

I have gone back quit a bit on the tree, most of it on both grandmas side is all royalty, Presidents and actors/actress Hatfields and such, most of the people I know are correct, none the less, it is a great hobby and interesting, I just wish I knew how to download a GEDCOM with out messing up the current PAF or risking the chance of losing it, I know I would hit the wrong button and wipe it out, so I am just doing one by one.

I've done a family tree that includes 7 generations so far--what I've found to date is that I'm related to---my family.

While the details are fuzzy in my memory, several clients who paid big bucks for the DNA analysis were given a list of famous people and place names which were from multiple continents. When you go back far enough you are related to far more people than you can imagine. The comment made in the article about this was that when you are looking for ties and following the threads into the past, it gets too large to be meaningful and we end up finding connections all over the planet.

IAIA, too funny, I am related to myself too.

Really, thats interesting. What is your relationship to yourself?

I'm just now reading this very interesting thread. For my ancestors from other relatives doing past research, they have found that I am some ho relted to Eric the Red, from my dad's side. Also from my mom's side I am related to a Bavarian Duke don't ask me to spell the name its to hard to even pronounce

Looking at it just does not sound right, I phrase things a bit differently I suppose.

I have really enjoyed doing genealogy research. I have a tip: try to locate a maiden aunt in your family. Sometimes they have amassed a lot of information. Then you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Just connect what you know from yourself backwards to their research.
I heard from a distant cousin on my maternal grandmother's side who lives in Vancouver. She has ooooodles of information, including stuff on the family black sheep.
My most famous relative might be Sarah Charlton who married a widower, George Bains, Jr. She raised the ancestor of Lyndon Baines Johnson. There you go.

For those of you who are interested in the DNA testing.

http://www.FamilyTreeDNA.com

Is the primary DNA house when it comes to genealogy.

Dave

I'll have to check that our, Dave. I haven't serious considered DNA testing enough at this time to do it but it is on my list of things to do.

Anybody here with roots that go back to Van Buren Co., Iowa? That is where my folks were born and raised. I am connected to many people from that area.

A fun thing I do each morning is check my family tree for births, deaths, and anniversaries. My GGG Grandfather, William Glandon, died on this day in 1848. Guess I should wear a black arm band today. On a happier note, my GGGGGG Grandfather Johann Jacob Vollmar was born on this date 287 years ago. Happy Birthday, grandpa!

Daniel Boone was the brother of one of my great great (can't remember offhand how many greats) grandfather.

A good way to further your research is to write an inquiry to the genealogical society of the towns your ancestors lived in. Often they will do a certain amount of time of research for free and charge a nominal fee after that. I've gotten marriage, divorce, birth, death, funeral, cemetery, and court records that way plus newspaper articles, obituaries, photographs of headstones, etc.

Descendant of Edward Doty on the Mayflower. My grandmother, who had no other info except that which was passed down, said we descended from the Plantagenets. According to what I've found, that is true. That means coming from aLfred the Great, Richard the Lionhearted and those later crazy ones. Actually have Plantagenets on two sides. There are Norman invaders in there too. So nearly all are from British Isles and one Cherokee about 1800.