Genealogy Results Etc Etc
- Thread starter Beezer
- Start date
jujube
SF VIP
Well, I did find out that my "biological" grandfather did some time in Leavenworth. That's even worse than shoveling elephant poop. My "real" grandpa, the one who really counted, WAS with the circus, but not shoveling poop.
I tried Ancestry up to a point. Enough to find out that my grandfather was a Jew who immigrated from Germany to North Carolina and slightly changed his name to become more Gentile. I saw his original last name on the documents.
He has a plaque in a First Baptist Church as one of the founders. I suspected this all along. I go by my middle name, Doug, but my first and last name are ridiculously butchered Jewish names. That worked great in Miami. In Dallas, not so much.
He has a plaque in a First Baptist Church as one of the founders. I suspected this all along. I go by my middle name, Doug, but my first and last name are ridiculously butchered Jewish names. That worked great in Miami. In Dallas, not so much.
Axel Slingerland
Blues Rocker
- Location
- 10 Miles North of Weedpatch
Because Genealogy is 65% speculation and 35% poorly kept or made up records, and most of what you're told about your ancestors is wishful thinking.
dusty
Member
- Location
- central New York State
Let's take William Bradford, the Govenor of Plymouth Colony. He has over 4 million decendents because his kids had kids and so on.
By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the Mayflower, Bradford (now 30 years old) sold off his house in Leiden, and he and his wife Dorothy joined; however, they left young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building.
Dorothy fell from the Mayflower at plymouth Bay and drowned. Later William married and had 4 kids who all had kids and so on. The more decendents a person has the better the chance there is for more people to be a decendent of a famous or royal person.
I am a decendent of Bradford, Charlemange, Pepin the Great, William the Conqueor and more and I bet if we all did our genealogy we'd find more. They are just people to the world at large if they hadn't been where they were to do what they did.
I am also decended from Sarah Osborne a Salem witch who died in jail, the 2 Emerson sisters --- Hannan Emerson Duston, and her sister Elizabeth Emerson both born around 1657 ish and both led very different lives. Look them up and you will facinated.
Genealogy is now based in real science and blood relationships can be proven. DNA has opened these doors as well as the doors to solving new and cold case crimes. There are many other excellent appliciations for it as well.
By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the Mayflower, Bradford (now 30 years old) sold off his house in Leiden, and he and his wife Dorothy joined; however, they left young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building.
Dorothy fell from the Mayflower at plymouth Bay and drowned. Later William married and had 4 kids who all had kids and so on. The more decendents a person has the better the chance there is for more people to be a decendent of a famous or royal person.
I am a decendent of Bradford, Charlemange, Pepin the Great, William the Conqueor and more and I bet if we all did our genealogy we'd find more. They are just people to the world at large if they hadn't been where they were to do what they did.
I am also decended from Sarah Osborne a Salem witch who died in jail, the 2 Emerson sisters --- Hannan Emerson Duston, and her sister Elizabeth Emerson both born around 1657 ish and both led very different lives. Look them up and you will facinated.
Genealogy is now based in real science and blood relationships can be proven. DNA has opened these doors as well as the doors to solving new and cold case crimes. There are many other excellent appliciations for it as well.
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According to modern DNA testing, I am related to Viking Age Individual VK95.
Viking Age Individual VK95
Genetic Sex
Male
Time Period
900 CE to 1300 CE
Burial Location
Hofstaðir, Mývatnssveit
Iceland
About Viking Age Individual VK95
Viking Age Individual VK95 was buried in Hofstaðir, a farm in Mývatnssveit in northern Iceland. The site was excavated between 1996 and 2015. Archaeologists uncovered the remains of a mid-10th century hall—a type of large communal building that was common in Norse settlements—along with an associated cemetery and church. The church underwent several phases of construction throughout history. Based on the timing of eruptions of Katla, an active volcano in southern Iceland which has erupted at least 20 times since 930 CE, scientists know that all of the individuals buried at the site died before 1300 CE, at which point the entire cemetery was covered in volcanic ash.
The remains of 170 individuals were excavated from the ancient cemetery, approximately half of whom were buried in wooden coffins. Through DNA analysis, Viking Age Individual VK95 was identified as genetically male. Burials within the cemetery were organized by sex and age, with adult women buried in the northern half of the cemetery and adult men in the southern half. Children were buried separately, closest to the church.
Viking Age Individual VK95
Genetic Sex
Male
Time Period
900 CE to 1300 CE
Burial Location
Hofstaðir, Mývatnssveit
Iceland
About Viking Age Individual VK95
Viking Age Individual VK95 was buried in Hofstaðir, a farm in Mývatnssveit in northern Iceland. The site was excavated between 1996 and 2015. Archaeologists uncovered the remains of a mid-10th century hall—a type of large communal building that was common in Norse settlements—along with an associated cemetery and church. The church underwent several phases of construction throughout history. Based on the timing of eruptions of Katla, an active volcano in southern Iceland which has erupted at least 20 times since 930 CE, scientists know that all of the individuals buried at the site died before 1300 CE, at which point the entire cemetery was covered in volcanic ash.
The remains of 170 individuals were excavated from the ancient cemetery, approximately half of whom were buried in wooden coffins. Through DNA analysis, Viking Age Individual VK95 was identified as genetically male. Burials within the cemetery were organized by sex and age, with adult women buried in the northern half of the cemetery and adult men in the southern half. Children were buried separately, closest to the church.
fuzzybuddy
SF VIP
- Location
- The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I have to agree. It seems everybody is somehow related to Charlamagne, Henry VIII, or DaVinci.
Some of the "research" on genealogical sites is questionable, at best.
mike4lorie
SF VIP
- Location
- Brockville, Ontario, Canada
I find all this stuff awesome, I tried to do some of the Familytree stuff and got pretty deep into it, but that is my adopted family... have no idea of my birth family... But love reading Success...
StarSong
Awkward is my Superpower
- Location
- Los Angeles Suburbs
What many of us learned via Ancestry spit tests: What's written in the family Bible, or handed down as family folklore, ain't necessarily so.
dusty
Member
- Location
- central New York State
Do you have any of the original paperwork that was with your adoption? Do you know where you were when you were adopted? What age? And, most importantly does it matter to you enough to find out who you really were when you were born? If it were me I couldn't not know but that's just me.
seniormoment
New Member
I subscribe to MyHeritage. Pretty Good Site. They have a tool where you can colorize and animate photos. I did this with my Polish grand parents. It was kind of cool and spooky at the same time. They have alot of AI tools that look for connections to find more ancestors for my family tree.
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
I remember my grandmother being quite upset when a young cousin was gathering the information for our family tree because her first child was several months premature, premature births were not uncommon years ago. 
I think the elephant poop guy does waaaaay better than my great-great-grandfather who had emigrated out of Ireland in the mid-1850s, landed in Canada, settled in Kingston, Ontario, and was illiterate the whole time. He was a carter, a seamen (on Lake Ontario) and a general unskilled worker his entire life.
Hell, he might've even shoveled elephant poop at one time. Let me check out whether or not Kingston had a zoo at that time.
jujube
SF VIP
I'm just glad I learned about the...uh....irregularities in my paternal family tree before I did the spit test. I probably would have asked for my money back after I saw the results. Like, who the heck are all these people that they say are my second, third and fourth cousins?
Yay! I'm a Viking!
Yay! I'm a Viking!
StarSong
Awkward is my Superpower
- Location
- Los Angeles Suburbs
I didn't learn until I did the spit test. Lots of cousins from the great unknown. Given my mother was an only child, and my grandmother's husband was often out to sea, but suddenly left my GM when my mother was born, it wasn't hard to put two and two together.
Another historical relative from the Viking Age
Viking Age Individual VK141
Genetic Sex
Female
Time Period
980 CE to 1160 CE
Burial Location
Galgedil, Funen
Denmark
About Viking Age Individual VK141
Viking Age Individual VK141 was one of 61 individuals whose remains were recovered from the Galgedil cemetery on the island of Funen in present-day Denmark. The cemetery was used throughout much of the Viking Age (800-1050 CE). The site consisted of 54 graves, containing a total of 59 burials (with some graves containing multiple individuals), and two cremations. Based on the location of her grave, in the southern portion of the cemetery, archaeologists believe that VK141 likely died during the first half of the 11th century, which is consistent with radiocarbon dating of her remains which indicate that she likely lived at some point between 980-1160 CE.
Archaeologists believe that most of the graves in the Galgedil cemetery were Pagan burials. This is most clear for Viking Age Individual VK141 who was buried with a Thor’s hammer, a well-known pagan symbol.
By analyzing her skeletal remains and DNA, researchers concluded that VK141 was an adult female who was at least 50 at the time of her death.
Viking Age Individual VK141
Genetic Sex
Female
Time Period
980 CE to 1160 CE
Burial Location
Galgedil, Funen
Denmark
About Viking Age Individual VK141
Viking Age Individual VK141 was one of 61 individuals whose remains were recovered from the Galgedil cemetery on the island of Funen in present-day Denmark. The cemetery was used throughout much of the Viking Age (800-1050 CE). The site consisted of 54 graves, containing a total of 59 burials (with some graves containing multiple individuals), and two cremations. Based on the location of her grave, in the southern portion of the cemetery, archaeologists believe that VK141 likely died during the first half of the 11th century, which is consistent with radiocarbon dating of her remains which indicate that she likely lived at some point between 980-1160 CE.
Archaeologists believe that most of the graves in the Galgedil cemetery were Pagan burials. This is most clear for Viking Age Individual VK141 who was buried with a Thor’s hammer, a well-known pagan symbol.
By analyzing her skeletal remains and DNA, researchers concluded that VK141 was an adult female who was at least 50 at the time of her death.