What's your ancestry?

[cantdog]

My paternal line is only-sons, no brothers, that is, back to the early 1700's, and we think it was a Norman/Welsh family, from Wales or the Midlands; there are two possibilities across the water, and nobody went over there to research it.

Most of those guys married women from Scots families. In the Revolution, we were rebels. In the aftermath, we were Jeffersonians and became embroiled in the tax and rent rebellions of the early 1800s in Massachusetts. (Maine was made out of Massachusetts in 1820, with the Missouri Compromise, as a Free state to balance Missouri, the Slave state.)

You've heard of the Whiskey Rebellion and a few others in NH and VT and in the west (KY and so forth)? There was one in Maine. Land tenure in the colonies derived from the "grants" made in the early days of colonization.

The rebels were awarded land in payment for their service to the revolution, went into the howling wilderness and built farms from nothing. Only to find the Federalists had defeated the Jeffersonians and the land now had to be bought from landed men whose title derived from the vague grants made by a king we had repudiated as a nation. Those grants did not well describe their boundaries, because at the time they were made, no one had seen the lands in question.

The price for the land was as if it were improved land with buildings. The land had passed to these people as unimproved swamp and wood and hillside, though. It had been improved by the very men and women, and their fathers and mothers, who now held it, and they well remembered what a lot of sweat and suffering had gone into making it "improved land."

The courts sided with the money, as courts will do. Judges are not backwoodsmen, but richer men appointed by officials, after all. All those Jeffersonian rebellions failed. The area of Maine in question still has towns called Freedom, Liberty, Unity, and so on.

Some of my grandmothers were French and Abenaki. The French settlements here are older than the British ones. The family of Whites, my grandmother's group, were once Leblanc and had much Abenaki blood.

Mostly Scottish, then, with French, Indian, and likely Welsh, and some Northumbrians on my mother's side.

Although my daughter claims my maternal grandmother was a space alien, and that, as she says, is why.

 

[cloudy]

Although my daughter claims my maternal grandmother was a space alien, and that, as she says, is why.

I love this!!!

That should go in your sig, Cant.

 

[cantdog]

I love it, too. Elva was a very weird girl, although she was a flapper and had smashing legs! As space aliens go, she was a knockout. My Mom, her daughter, is indescribable. I'm a little odd myself.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I love it, too. Elva was a very weird girl, although she was a flapper and had smashing legs! As space aliens go, she was a knockout. My Mom, her daughter, is indescribable. I'm a little odd myself.

Trust me on this, scratch "little."

Rumple Foreskin

 

[oggbashan]

Ancient Brits

My father's line was traced, by my eldest cousin, back to 1326.

During all that time until 1917 my ancestors were resident within the City of London (The Square Mile) and so were Cockneys.

They were scribes, then printers shortly after Caxton. My latest son-in-law is also a printer so the family association with the written word continues.

Many of my ancestors were Parish Clerks for the various Parishes within the City of London. During the Great Fire of London, one was commended for saving the Parish's records before his own property.

Almost all of them have been Freemen of the City and Guild Members, women as well as men.

In 1917 the family, and my mother's family, were bombed out of their dwellings in Little Britain by bombs dropped from a Zeppelin. They moved out to Leyton. My parents moved back to work at the London Central Telegraph Office which was bombed and destroyed in the Blitz.

All that can be reliably said of my father's family is that since 1326 at least one member of the family, and usually most of them, have been able to read and write.

In 1326 the records shown that the then ancestor moved to the City from Wickham Market in Suffolk. The records for Wickham Market do not go back before 1600.

There is a tradition that the family were part of a tribe living in what is now Belgium at the time of Julius Caesar. The tribe defeated Caesar's legions and were only overcome when Caesar himself returned to take command. The remnants of the tribe fled to Britain.

On my mother's side the family has also been resident in the City of London for about 300 years. They were carters and goods conveyors including coastal seamen. One of my great grandfathers owned an omnibus company that was bought out in 1905 by what became London Transport.

We have had Welsh blood added on the female side of both families in my great-grandparents generation and the generation before that. One of those relations claimed descent back to The Flood when they survived on the summit of Y Wyddfa (Snowdon).

Various parts of the family scattered throughout the UK (300-350) and the red bits of The Empire. Several were involved in the development of Vancouver. Relations there about 60. In 1905 a group emigrated to Australia and have thrived there. Total Australian relations at last count about 90.

One of my ancestors wrote a 17th Century book encouraging emigration to NewFoundLand which apparently was influential in attracting people there. There is no evidence that he ever went there and from the text he had a weird idea of the 'advantages' of the place.

As Og, of course you all know that I am the last one of the Rephaim, the antediluvian giants. I survived the Flood by riding on the roof of The Ark and eating the dinosaurs. (I knew I'd get the blame!) I was killed by the Israelites about 3000BC but I am reincarnated. You can't kill Og that easily.

Og

 

[OhMissScarlett]

1/2 Welsh
1/4 English(Isle of Wight and somewhere in Yorkshire)
1/4 Scottish

I don't really know a lot about my Welsh ancestry as my paternal grandfather died before I was born and no one really documented any of his oral history.

The Scottish side came over to America in 1700 from exactly where, I don't know. Their descendants settled here(in Illinois) in the mid 1800's after moving west from South Carolina. Most of my relatives still live on or near that original land.

The English side of my family came to America after the civil war and settled about sixty miles north of where I live now. I don't know much about them, but from their pictures, they look like a stern bunch of folks.

 

[rimmy]

I am a Canadian born of 2 Argentinian parents. My grandparents were from Argentina, Poland, France and the Ukraine.

 

[LadyJeanne]

My family and I are 100% Macedonian, whatever that might be considering all the invasions of Yugoslavia over the centuries. My parents emigrated to the US when I was a kid, but I still speak and read the language, although not exceptionally well.

Oh, and I can do all the traditional folk dances.

I was a registered alien for years until I became a US citizen just before college.

 

[carsonshepherd]

On my mom's side I'm descended from a Civil War hero (confederate side) - same last name and everything.

Dad's side is pure German/Irish. So my last name is German and the rest of me is Irish

 

[Guest]

Mexican parents and grandparents with one Aztec set of great-grandparents on mother's side. No, one cannot actually trace oneself back to the Aztecs but if you see any photo of my great-grandparents you will recognize them from the available codices. Their language was Nahuatl but of course they learned Mexican-Spanish.

My father's last name is a common Portugese name so I presume that came from the conquest years.

Has anyone here heard of the "mongolian print"? Babies born with any Asian background have a large blue mottling or spot on their bums which fades by puberty. It's been proven that wandering Asians came into mesoamerica (cannot recall dates) so all Mexican babies are born with the blue mark. I always liked that.

Perdita

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

My mother is Mexican... her father Mexican, her mother Spanish. My father is American.

I'm Hispanic.

 

[Guest]

My father is American.

So's your madre. P.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

Castilian and Scottish. The Castilian appears to be dominant except my nose, it's definitely Scottish.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

Originally posted by perdita
So's your madre. P.

Not according to her... what I think notwithstanding.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Percheron/thoroughbred warmblood, with a little Morgan horse from an enthusiastically ambitious great-grandsire.

Oh all right then. Seriously?

The classic Northeastern US Catholic mix - Irish and Italian. On the Italian side we're from a small mountain village in Abruzzi, resident in the United States since both grandparents came over seperately as children. Our name changed slightly at Ellis Island and is frequently mistaken for Spanish.

On mother's side, Irish, but stopped a generation in Liverpool before coming here. Having finally succeeded a few years back in tracing back past Liverpool to Ireland, we managed to one-up my grandfather's old warning that if we pushed to far, we'd no doubt learn that we were descended from a long line of Irish horse thieves. Actually, we discovered that nearly everyone with our last name left the county at once, and hastily, after a local lord's son was murdered.

Shanglan

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

My ancestry?

Hmmm..from my mother: German, Russian, Irish and English.
(her father was English and Irish, her mother: Russian, Irish and German)

My father: Black Foot, Black, and French..
(his mother: a french woman, his father black and black foot...)

anyway...my mother used to say I was one off from a V-8...

 

[tolyk]

The rough breakdown makes me half european french half german.

Pretty much.

There is some austrian and norweigan too..

 

[wishfulthinking]

French ancestors who can be traced back to the 13th C, who then travelled to Ireland, and the fleur de lis is on family crest.
From Ireland they went to either America or Australia.

Lots of crims in my family - for instance, we claim Emmet of the Dalton gang

Hey ogg, for a bloke, you look damn good in heels!

 

[Guest]

 

[oggbashan]

Hey ogg, for a bloke, you look damn good in heels!

The heels are on Lady Jeanne. SHE looks good in them

She is absolutely NO relation of jeanne_d_artois, alter ego of Og, who was medieval, related to French Royalty, accused of being a witch - that was never proved because the witnesses vanished, disappeared, died young and any suggestion that Jeanne D'Artois was responsible would be fatal for the person making the suggestion.

Jeanne D'Artois only used her heels for walking over the bodies of those who opposed her. A very bloodthirsty person and NO LADY - see Og's etiquette thread buried in the archives.

Og

 

[hotchkiss]

Im a mongrel!
1/4 Pure english Protestant stock (according to me grandad)
!/4 Welsh methodist
1/4 Irish Catholic
1/4 Cumbrian Orangeman, he married the Irish catholic girl (my Nan) and caused quite an uproar! The family on his side supposedly came from northern Europe or so we were told.

During a visit to Holland one year we stopped for refreshment in a small town called Gravensande or something similar, this is very close to my surname.
I was quite shocked to see the barman was a good likeness of my father and one of the ols fellows in there would have passed for my grandads brother.

I gave up on religion it was all too confusing!

 

[LadyJeanne]

The heels are on Lady Jeanne. SHE looks good in them

She is absolutely NO relation of jeanne_d_artois, alter ego of Og, who was medieval, related to French Royalty, accused of being a witch - that was never proved because the witnesses vanished, disappeared, died young and any suggestion that Jeanne D'Artois was responsible would be fatal for the person making the suggestion.

Jeanne D'Artois only used her heels for walking over the bodies of those who opposed her. A very bloodthirsty person and NO LADY - see Og's etiquette thread buried in the archives.

Og

The Lady thanks Og and Wishful, and offers to lend Jeanne D'Artois her heels as needed.

 

[matriarch]

Mother, Suffolk farming family. Moved across the border into northernmost, rural, seaside Essex.
Father .......Scottish, via Ireland, Liverpool and Preston. His father (from Preston), was stationed in said northernmost, rural, seaside Essex and met his wife, they stayed. Maiden name is a traditional and predictable Mc******.

Having read all this tread, I think Rumpie got it right first time, for almost every one of us (with one or two exceptions)..


Mongrels

...and in a multinational, multicultural world, just as it should be.

 

[stonedfox]

I am mostly German. My grandmother was born in Germany and spoke fluent German and English. The rest of me is English colonist/coonass (or cajun). For anyone who doesn't know, coonasses are a breed of people from southern Louisina that are kind of creole and a lot trashy bayou French. They even have their own lost French-ish language that my grandfather spoke fluently to his family when I was younger. I have mostly the eastern European traits from the German. My body hair grows faster than I though possible. I'm a bitch to keep shaven.

 

[Evil Alpaca]

I come from a long line of quadrupeds. Except for Uncle Larry. He was a flamingo. We're still not sure how that worked, but Aunt Bertha don't like talking about it.