It is amazing to me how much family history is lost to the generations and not known to the descendants.
Today I was able to find the last piece of evidence linking a daughter to her father that solidified this particular branch of my family tree.
The Reverend Dr. Samuel McClintock, is my 5th great grandfather. A 1700’s Princeton graduate, who is pictured in the Thornhill painting of the battle of Bunker Hill. I was also able to determine who he was in the painting.
Nobody in my family knew this history until I dug it up.
It turns out several of my branches have a history of killing or being killed by Red Coats. I also have an uncle who was a officer in King Phillips war. Most of his family was captured or killed by the Iroquois when they raided settlements.
I’m currently digging into mine. Part of the family was pretty easy to track to the 1640’s arrival of many branches of the tree to the “new world”. The more difficult side was the Canadian side of things, but I’m working on it. Along the way I learned that my father was still a Canadian citizen at my birth. While I thought much of my history was from Eastern European, but relative few of my ancestors originated there. Most were centered in Ireland and England. So far there has not been any surprisingly inspiring other than the entire family has been on a westward march since reaching North America. My grandfather was born in Anchorage in 1926, so we really don’t have any further to go.
I love genealogy. My mom’s side goes back to Jamestown, my dad’s dad came from Finland, but his mom’s side goes back beyond Shakespeare (he’s a first cousin however many times removed). We’ve served in every war back to the French and Indian War, and a distant connection to Chesty Puller and Bull Halsey.
That said: I also have slaveowners, men who deserted from the military, and some other pretty horrible stories.
I’ve done some research into my family lineage. The oldest records go to the late 1500’s on both sides. Two who had fought in the revolutionary war. Nothing notable about them. The only real interesting find was a Captain John Floyd (1637 - 1701) who ran expeditions against the Indians for King Philip. He was also accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. What I found really interesting is how many last names made up my family history.
Pretty cool. One sliver of my family (1/8) has been here since the Colonial days, had a land grant from King George. Family’s name was Peace. Apparently that same line gave me a great-great-great grandfather who was in a Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry regiment in the Civil War. His family name then was Kerr. In fact, my great-grandmother’s maiden name was Kerr (I remember her quite well). The other 7/8’s of my family came in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s from Europe.
So I have a technical question to ask: what is considered a “direct descendant” of someone? Have to still bear the same family name? Too lazy to Google it!
Daughters make lines difficult to track down and gathering the birth and marriage documentation can be hard when you get into the 1700’s and early 1800’s.
I’d wager there are only a handful of colonial family names surviving without a “aughter” disruption up to today.
On the technical question, daughters count. As long as you can prove direct family lineage through a son OR daughter, it is official. You just need proper sources, some of the largest mistakes are made by relying on other peoples family tree information and I’ve fallen for that trap in the past. Some are very good, others are just copies of bad information.
My dads side of the family were German immigrants who built the original part of my house in 1788 in what was Indiana territory just outside of what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana and we can trace their roots back to early 1400’s Prussia. My ancestors who settled here fought in the later parts of the American Revolution prior to homesteading here.
My moms side is Scandinavian, French and Shawnee. We’ve traced the European side back to the Viking ages (yes, we have viking heritage) and my mom is pretty sure her research is leading to the conclusion that we are descendants of Chief Little Turtle. AS for the French, we’ve found we had ancestors who crusaded with the Templars.
Kinda awesome learning my heritage is full of important cultures and history. Especially knowing my dad’s side fought in the countries founding battles. Knowing I have Viking, Cursader and Native lineage as well just further explains what I call “the families anger management issues” haha.
My Maternal Great Grandma was full blood Nez Perce.
Never knew her. Think at that time it was a source of shame or something to have “Indian” blood.
My Grandma sure looked “Indian”.
Everyone that could offer any background is long gone. My Mom told us kids about it a few years before she passed.
Would love to know the history surrounding that.
Just found out a few years back a great great grandfather shot the great great grandmother twice killing her and it was ruled self defense around the time my Dad was born.
Dad had never heard about it due to my Grandmother being wound a little tight and trying to keep such things under wraps so no telling what juicy stories we have missed out on.
One of the darker things I learned was my grandfather shot himself in the chest with a shotgun in 1945.
The story told to me was he had an accident with a shotgun while crossing a fence line.
I got a copy of the police report after my father died in a boating accident and learned the truth. Honestly, I don’t think my father knew the truth as he was orphaned at a young age by this event.
Yes. The Mormon church runs Family Search and Ancestry, I think. They have the biggest genealogical repository in the world, regardless of Mormon faith.
It’s a difficult thing to do.
My Mom is LDS and so she and one of her Cousins did a family History back to 1600’s, but everything else is in Europe, so it’s sketchy from there back.
Aparently they were rather good cart, wagon and buggy makers on the German side.
Farmers and heathens on the Irish side.
