Project "I've got to be related to royalty somehow" begins. Sort of.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 4:53AM So after declaring my intentions to trace my family tree in my post yesterday, I suddenly remembered that my Mom had taken a course in geneaology a while back, and gathered a bunch of information. So I called her up to see what she knew, and whether I could steal it.
Because I'm lazy efficient like that.
My Mom wasn't home - she was at a drumming class or some such - so I asked Dad if she'd gotten far with it. He said she had a huge chart, and was filling in information as she went. It was probably best if I looked at it myself rather than relying on him for information. Because, as he said, he "Didn't know much, but -- "
Then he launched into a 20-minute diatribe, full of such fascinating tidbits as: Mom's side were predominantly Highland crofters who were ousted en masse by the British and migrated to Canada; my paternal great-grandfather was the seventh son of a seventh son and was killed when a horse kicked him in the head; my maternal grandfather was an orphan; much of my father's family information was lost when the family Bible was lost in a fire; and it's entirely possibly we're related to a US president.
Holy shit, y'all. I think there's a reason most people do this when they're older. They're retired. They have the TIME.
I'm starting to think "learn Japanese" would have been an easier choice from my bucket list.
Reader Comments (28)
It would be fascinating to trace my family geneology but as you say, it takes a lot of time. Unfortunately, my Mama doesn't do computer.
I'd love to trace my family tree but no-one agrees on where it all started...so for now I am a bastard child of the Emerald Isle.
Peace - Rene
Ah but if you start this now imagine the time you'll have when you are retired to plan that wedding?
You didn't set a deadline did you? Take your time...
This has to be easier than learning Japanese. Japanese just sounds hard.
Sounds fascinating! And, who says you need to rush? ;)
I knew you were somehow royalty/presidential.
There is still the take over an island in a bloodless coup. I am still for that. I will lend you Abby. She is good at butting and that is mostly bloodless...
My grandfather was trying to trace our history back in the day before the web. The joke is that he got several generations back to a French whore and quit :)
Unfortunately I haven't had the time or energy to do it, but I'd like to (when I retire maybe)
You may want to stop now. Somehow, you're gonna end up owing taxes.. I can foresee it!
A bunch of the old people in my family have already done this. I havent' looked at it or anything, but I know it is out there. Somewhere.
Theoretically, if you can trace your ancestry to European Royalty then you can trace it all the way back to Adam and Eve. I've been doing amateur genealogy work for years, let me know if you need some pointers about sources.
When you get some basic info let me know because I have the $169 version of ancestry.com. It has saved my sanity when researching my family tree so many times I can hardly count. And you are right, you have to be retired or it sucks the life out of you. Big hint: stick to just one side of the family to start. Baby steps.
Good luck! :)
had a uncle who did this for our family. Turns out we had an ancestor in the plymoth colonly, and further back somehow serving St Augustine in the 1500's in England. Not sure how much is actually true, but it sounds cool.
Good luck. If you go back far enough...I'm sure we are related.
I agree that it would be very interesting to trace your roots. Unfortunately, unless your living family has lots of information, it takes a lot of research. I once tried it and got as far as my parents grandparents. I didn't have the mind to put any more effort into it. Although I would love to know.
Ooh, cool stuff comin' down the pike!
It is startling how many people in the past were killed by horse kicks to the head. It was the epidemic of the 19th century.
Technically, I'm related to a title, but just as I started to count on the possibility of marrying Prince William (this was more than ten years ago), my dad burst my bubble by telling me before he could inherit our family title, and subsequently pass it on to me, about half the English speaking world would have to die. So, I wonder how many people exactly I have to kill.. oh, not so I can be near William (have you seen him lately, he doesn't age well at all..), but the goal is now Harry. ;o)
Go to Ancestry.com and you'll be done in about two days. Of course, I think they just have one family tree and hand it out to everybody, but at least it's speedy.
It does sound absolutely fascinating. You could just let your mom do most of the leg work, since she seems to be so good at it.
It's still not to late to learn Japanese.
I have been doing genealogy for over 30 years...first at the knees of my grandmother as she filled out her DAR and UDC memberships (my childhood was spent in graveyards and libraries) and then when the internet came along I had to correct a lot of her mistakes. It is addicting.
Good Luck! And I found that the dead don't talk back, unlike my 15 year old.
I dig geneaology, unfortunately, unlike you who may have a prestigious pedigree, mine were all criminals. Explains a lot at the family reunions.
I also had a great uncle who was killed by a horse kicking him in the head. I guess that was the old-timey version of erotic asphyxiation or something?
A couple of my Uncles already did this, saving me a lot of time and frustration. It turns out I'm related to the Harrisons (the guys who were president), although I don't think they ever did anything particularly interesting.
Well, I hate to rub it in, but I really am related to royalty!! Someone in my family traced us back to William of Orange if memory serves correct!
I'm a clone. I have no bellybutton.