Family history

[Landdownunder]

As you guys gals and convertables know ive got a interesting family tree or forest depending on information as it comes to hand.

Another hand written letter unearthed today by sister or half sister to be precise now suggests my father was ukranian rather than hungarian as first thought.

Matches DNA from ancestory dot com that showed 32% baltic 33% russian 30% nw Europe then rest with dashes of swedish danish welsh??

Interesting.

Also in this letter two of the 3 siblings given up for adoption 2 are full brother/sister

[blackpowder]

Sometimes I think I'd like to know more. Be interesting if any notable stuff.
But name changes after coming here and generational name changes in Scandinavia make it hard.
You using any other source than ancestry?

[Blaithin]

I started researching family tree stuff a year or so ago. Sometimes you seem to find out a lot, sometimes you seem to go in circles.

Mom’s side has a “Russian” GGGrandfather. Censuses call him everything from Russian, to Prussian, to Polish, depending on the year. A sons letter to a history book calls him an exiled Polish Count.

Then on Dads side, like blackpowder, I have the issue of names. No one knows how they ended up with the last name they did when they came through Ellis Island. Prior to that they went from Nielson to Peterson and on and on. Those resources in Scandinavian are not in English so they’re harder to traverse, although Dad helps with the Norwegian ones at times.

Some of the actual best records I have are of the Metis line. The government wanted to know where they were and they offered them Scrip so there’s quite a trail for many of them. Although they can be a struggle due to census takers bastardizing their French names into English form (Dumas into Thomas for example) and many of their children all had the same or similar names which can make it confusing to sort who’s who. Also they started trying to deny their heritage at a point so the “half breed” suddenly became “Prussian” like her husband on the censuses.

I did a DNA earlier this year on ancestry and it’s pointed away from the Métis line my research has shown and down another one. Either someone was adopted or other people are going with the more infamous names and just saying those are their relatives instead of doing deeper research. DNA says I’m related to them and their potentially improper family trees are saying I’m related to people I haven’t found myself to be related too.

It is interesting some of the things that pop up in not too far away generations that you just never heard. I have a number of extremely long lived Nuns on one branch. A Reverend on another. Apparently an association with the Black Donnelly’s on a different branch. I find it quite interesting finding grave sites of ancestors who you’ve never heard of but actually aren’t buried that far away.

Definitely a never ending rabbit hole.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Your family tree is more like a forest, that is probably a good thing. Out in the small town where I'm from, most of the family trees are more like a ladder.

I have a sister and a brother who at one point shared the same in-laws.

[WiltonRanch]

I did an ancestry dna thing several years ago. Interesting I found a cousin which I figured out who the father was but succinctly told by father to not utter a word unless I wanted a family shitstorm.

Ive heard about how dodgy these dna tests can be for determining your heritage but interestingly the test said I had ancestors originating from Argyle Scotland. Sure enough reading the family bible my great grandmother had written down where her side of the family had come from in Scotland and it was right around Argyle. Otherwise Scottish and Irish genealogy can be a mess as people travelled back and forth regularly and throw in Britain to boot. Lots of my ancestors came from Ireland but were protestants with English or Scottish names

[fjlip]

It's always interesting. Mine is E Poland, Baltic, present day Ukraine, parents on both sides. I have had 4 contacts from my cousins, both sides, due to DNA connections on Ancestry. I am totally sold that they are accurate. Recommend them, understand your roots. Wife with W European, France, Belgium, Dutch, Metis % has over 9000 possible matches, has yet to try contact any.

[Blaithin]

They call them ethnicity estimates for a reason. Hard to really prove how much percentage came from each area. Even siblings can vary greatly depending on which DNA they got from which parent.

I find the estimates very interesting and fun to know, but they don’t accomplish much beyond that.

The family matches are more secure. Those are a different ball game. If you’re coming up related, you’re related, it can just vary by a couple generations either way I believe.

[shtferbrains]

My nephew and a cousin did a lot or research on our family tree and had most branches well documented about as far back as records were usable.
It used to be easily available on the web, all you needed was one name to get started.
It seems every time I look now it gets buried deeper and deeper behind paywalls like Ancestry.

Edit: All the genealogy records I have been watching are on a lesser known geni.com

If you start at the people heading on the banner seems to be free.
Probably only useful if someone is entering data for the people you are searching for?

[blackpowder]

I enjoy watching Finding Your Roots on PBS.
But they've got huge resources.
I don't find a lot on web.
Once a family member makes an entry on Ancestry, right or wrong it then can lead you astray.

[WiltonRanch]

Funny anyone goes back far enough you’re related to some famous people. Found out one side traces their roots back to the Mayflower pilgrims and the Bush family. Even then super interesting to find out about all the people who left the USA after the revolutionary war to settle in Canada. Some folks put UEL at the end of their name to denote they were American origin but still supported the empire.

The Métis lineage would be super interesting to research. Talking with some people of Métis decent and the stories of the ancestors is Hollywood movie worthy.

[oldjim]

As you guys gals and convertables know ive got a interesting family tree or forest depending on information as it comes to hand.

Another hand written letter unearthed today by sister or half sister to be precise now suggests my father was ukranian rather than hungarian as first thought.

Matches DNA from ancestory dot com that showed 32% baltic 33% russian 30% nw Europe then rest with dashes of swedish danish welsh??

Interesting.

Also in this letter two of the 3 siblings given up for adoption 2 are full brother/sister

It can get a little confusing due to borders in Europe shifting with each war, etc. My father in law came across a paper that said his parents were Austrian yet the town they were from is in Ukraine now. The old Austro-Hungarian empire covered much of the area that is now broken down to individual countries. The church in Scandinavian countries kept detailed records of the population and there's many genealogy societies over there that will assist anyone trying to trace their ancestry.

[shtferbrains]

If you see Scottish and Metis there is a fair chance you might encounter the Hudson Bay Co.
Many workers came from the Orkney Islands where there is a Germanic influence

Manitoba still has all the payroll records with name's going back to 1700's but as Blaithin pointed out they weren't to fussy about getting them correctly recorded.

Cumberland House is one of the oldest settlements in western North America going back to 1774. 250 yrs this yr. Many of the Metis there have Scottish names.

The Spanish had the first European settlement in California at San Diego in 1769.

[Blaithin]

Saint Boniface Society will do a Metis genealogy up to 15 generations back. I believe they’ll touch onto HBC and NWC records if they’re in the family.

[url]https://shsb.mb.ca/overview/?lang=en[/url]

[makar]

[

The Spanish had the first European settlement in California at San Diego in 1769.[/QUOTE]

Russians in 1812.