[SugarBob62]

So I started researching my family tree in fall of '08 and eventually kind of hit a wall with information I could find.

However after watching a few episodes of that new show about the celebrities "Who Do You Think You Are?" I am all intrigued again to start my search. :blink:


I have done pretty well in certain lines of my family, going back to my G-G-G-G-G-grandfather in one line. And have even contacted distant relatives and helped each other with info. However in another, I don't even know the names of my G-G-grandparents. It is really hard because my family hasn't been in this country for many generations. So a lot of the info is in other countries obviously.

But anyway, I was wondering if anyone else does their ancestry, or has seen this show? And if anyone has any good suggestions for sites? I need to get to the library one of these days, I think you can get on Ancestry for free. Or I need to buy the software to get like 1 month free access. I love how on the show, they all just whip out peoples ORIGINAL documents and stuff. I can't even see copies of the census, I have to pay UGH :angry: This is public record and should be free. Well I guess it is if you go to the library...I have to check that out.

I know this is more of a fall/winter project. But now after seeing the show I want to start looking again.

 

[jenniferhope423]

I use Ancestry.com. You get a free 14 day trial if you sign up for a month and you can cancel it before the trial ends and not have to pay. I have gone all the way back to the 1700's when my family came from Canada and Ireland. On the site there is census info as well as other documents. And you can use other peoples trees to help you add members.

 

[SugarBob62]

Yeah I am on ancestry. I have my tree on there. I maybe had the free thing in the beginning? Or maybe I didn't sign up for it. I forget.

But the funny thing is, one of the relatives I found. She actually re-ordered her membership on there for 1 month since I replied to a post of hers and got her interested in it again, and she willingly gave me her name and password so I could log in as well and access the paid version for 1 month. I completely didn't expect her to do that at all. I was very thankful as I found a lot of stuff during that 1 month. And her only stipulation was I remind her after the month was almost up so she could cancel it, ahaha.

 

[Toby's Mom]

Back in the 60s, my mom and grandpa did our ancestry. They dated it back all the way to the late 1300's! :blink: My grandpa then printed several books on his own home-made printing press and sold them at a family reunion.

What is awesome about it is every now and then, we will get telephone calls from some very distant relative who got the book from a family member and wants to know more info and how my mom and grandpa did all the research. My mom said she and my grandpa spent EVERY Saturday at the Chicago public library for over three years.

WOW, what people did before the Internet!

 

[SugarBob62]

WOW, what people did before the Internet!

OMGosh!!! Yeah really. How did they get sooooooo far back without the use of a computer :blink: :blink: :blink: I can't even get past 1900 WITH a computer and everything hahhaa.

Like how did they get stuff that wasn't from this country, and what did they do at the library?? Must go to the library soon!

 

[harrysmom]

I'm on ancestry, too. About 7 or 8 years ago, I posted on some
ancestry message board that I was looking for information
about my family. I didn't hear anything for about 2 years,
then one day, I got a phone call and the woman said that she
was my cousin. Turns out I have a lot of cousins and other
relatives that I knew nothing about! She traced my father's
family all the way back to our great great great grandparents
who came from Germany and Ireland.... she even has names,
dates, and everything! My "new" cousin actually only lives about
10 minutes from me!!! And I also found out that I am second or
third cousins with a person who lives on the street next to
mine in my town... and since our kids are about the same
ages, I have known her for about 20 years and I talk to
her all the time. This experience has definitely given new
meaning to the phrase "small world" for me.

On my mother's side, though, I am not having any success.
I've found a few things out, but I think I would need to
see records in my grandparent's home country (Czech) to find
out anything else. The sad thing is, I know that I have relatives
that still live in the Czech Republic that are about my age. I
remember that my grandmother used to send the little girl
dresses.... but I have no idea how to contact them. :huh:

You post has made me interested again.... so maybe I'll
try to continue my research. Good luck with yours!!

Sorry for the long post....

Debbie

 

[maggieh]

A few years ago I researched both sides of my family and Ancestry was a big help. I got my mom's side all the way back to Germany in the 1600's (turns out a several G's back grandfather helped bring the Mennonite church to America) on my Grandfathers side and Jamestown and before in England on my Grandmother's side - how cool is that?

I think this fall I'll sign up again and see if there's any new information that's been posted there.

 

[CeeCee's Mom]

I have been watching that program and it really intrigues me also.

My son in law's grandmother researched their lineage and it went back to to Mayflower's Peter Brown. Both sets of the parents goes back to the Mayflower and I can't remember who is on the Mother's side. They had to authenicate it and they are members of the Mayflower Society. She sent Jeremy this hugh book like copy and I started reading it.....it is so interesting but I really don't know how to begin.......She offered to help me but his Grandmother lives so far away. As I said I am intrigued but have never delved in it. All I know is my Great Grandmother came from Ireland and her name was Clemintina Friday! She probably ran a brothel during the potatoe famine:HistericalSmiley:.....sorry, I don't take this as seriously as my son in law's family does~~~~

 

[Nikki's Mom]

I would love to do my ancestry but my family didn't arrive in the US until the early 1900's, never kept records, my relatives don't have any info, and are not interested. The idea is overwhelming to me. If I ever find the time and money to do it, I'd be thrilled.

So I did a DNA ancestry test at dnatribes.com I learned that my deep ancestry is totally different from what we thought it was, and that I have several nationalities in my ancestry that I never knew I had! On my mother's side, we thought that we were Italian, but it turns out that my DNA matches people from Romania. On my father's side, we thought we were Polish, but as it turns out, my DNA best matches with people from Finland/Russia. Interesting stuff.

 

[SugarBob62]

I would love to do my ancestry but my family didn't arrive in the US until the early 1900's, never kept records, my relatives don't have any info, and are not interested. The idea is overwhelming to me. If I ever find the time and money to do it, I'd be thrilled.

So I did a DNA ancestry test at dnatribes.com I learned that my deep ancestry is totally different from what we thought it was, and that I have several nationalities in my ancestry that I never knew I had! On my mother's side, we thought that we were Italian, but it turns out that my DNA matches people from Romania. On my father's side, we thought we were Polish, but as it turns out, my DNA best matches with people from Finland/Russia. Interesting stuff.

Wait, what is a DNA ancestry test?? How does that work? :huh:

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Wait, what is a DNA ancestry test?? How does that work? :huh:

I used DNA Tribes Personal Genetic Analysis. They send you a swab kit, and you swab the inside of your mouth and press the swab to a cardboard test sheet, send it back to them. It's not cheap, but the results were fascinating.

 

[Toby's Mom]

OMGosh!!! Yeah really. How did they get sooooooo far back without the use of a computer :blink: :blink: :blink: I can't even get past 1900 WITH a computer and everything hahhaa.

Like how did they get stuff that wasn't from this country, and what did they do at the library?? Must go to the library soon!

Honestly, I don't know. I can ask my mom tonight for you. :thumbsup:

 

[Orla]

I don't know much about my ancestry - just that my grandmother on my dads side is from the UK and my great-grandmother on my moms side moved to America when she was young and I know that she had a family there.
I think the rest is just Irish!

 

[Snowbody]

I've been watching too. Of course it would help to have a team of producers and videographers at our beck and call like this show does. Wait a minute- I'm a producer. No excuses for me I guess.:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:
I started to research my mom's side of the family a few years ago. She came to Ellis Island from England during World War I (1915). I was able to go into the EllisIsland.org site and find out a lot of info and it was free. They have copies of ship's manifests and from those you can see where they left from, who sponsored them, where they lived before, ages, occupations, family members, pictures of the ship, and where they were going. I also had to type in my mom's name several ways (last name, first initial) since they spelled my mother's name differently on the manifest. Thru some of this I was able to check out other relatives (my grandmother's sisters and brothers) and then I was also able to find my great grandmother who came to America before her grown children did. I was also able to trace back to the towns in Poland and Russia where my grandparents came from. My cousin keeps saying she's going to travel there to look for more answers. Many of the towns don't exist anymore.

I am woefully lost as far as my father's side goes. He was born in America so Ellis Island was no help unless I find out if his parents came here thru there. He died when I was 6 and his family treated my mother, a widow with two young children,very badly so we broke relations with his side. So I don't know much of anything about them. A few months ago I was able to find some census records for free from my home computer...maybe thru the New York Public Library or records base site or NYC site and found my grandparents names on an early census but not much more. Am tempted to call my step sister, who is way older than me, some day but haven't had the courage to do so. I didn't have the time to follow up about my father's side but hope to once work dies down.
It's all so fascinating to me.

 

[maggieh]

I am woefully lost as far as my father's side goes. He was born in America so Ellis Island was no help unless I find out if his parents came here thru there. He died when I was 6 and his family treated my mother, a widow with two young children,very badly so we broke relations with his side. So I don't know much of anything about them. A few months ago I was able to find some census records for free from my home computer...maybe thru the New York Public Library or records base site or NYC site and found my grandparents names on an early census but not much more. Am tempted to call my step sister, who is way older than me, some day but haven't had the courage to do so. I didn't have the time to follow up about my father's side but hope to once work dies down.
It's all so fascinating to me.

I've been able to get through "logjams" by requesting copies of death certificates which usually list the birthplace and the parents' names, including mothers' maiden name. Those are usually free or for a copy fee from the county where the person died.

 

[SugarBob62]

Oh wow the DNA thing is expensive! I don't even want to shell out the monthly fee to get the paid information on Ancestry hahaha.

I just need to go to the store and get the cdrom to get the free month or 3 month membership. I want to do it, but I don't know if I want to do it right now with spring here now and summer coming. I htink maybe I should wait till fall. But now with the show re-intriguing me, it makes me want to do it now! hahah