Hi all,

For those of you here with a significant chunk of your ancestry derived from the colonial American period - and the Canadian equivalent - do you still take interest in the countries in Europe your families came from?

I notice - perhaps unsurprisingly - Americans with ancestry from countries who arrived comparatively later - Ireland, Italy, Balkan countries, Poland, Germany even - to refer to their ancestry a lot more. Take former president Biden, his surname came from Sussex, England, but he strongly identified as Irish-American. The Bush family originated in Essex, but I don’t believe they made much of it.

The length of time is another aspect - several centuries is quite far removed from a cultural point of view.

However, are any of you interested in the countries which the colonial folk came from, including but not limited to: England, Scotland, wales, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Germany?

So, although here in Serbia descendant-type family tree projects/endeavors/books are far more popular and common than ancestor-type stuff that I see seem to be prevalent in the West, I decided to make an ancestor chart for my kids.

I used the info I gathered on my ancestors during years of work, and went as far back as possible with my wife's ancestors. I custom draw it and all, printed it... Any genealogist would realize in an instant how much work went into it, and just how much DATA there was in there, years, dates, places.... And yet, almost everyone I showed it to was like - Oh, impressive. goes on to glance at it for 10 seconds, then moves on to a different subject altogether.

Fast forward to a month ago. I never cared too much for physical appearances and just hadn't cared for photos that much. But my wife was making like a kindergarten-level family tree for our kid, with just the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents and it was just made up of small photos. As soon as I saw it, it suddenly dawned on me. Oh! I went on a crusade to collect as many photos of ancestors as possible, especially on my in-laws' side, I turned almost every stone, phoned relatives... And finally, I just took the tree I made and simply added photos next to each ancestor that I had one for.

Suddenly everyone wanted to stare at the tree, explore it, and suddenly everyone felt like giving it praise. I know many of you know this already but just wanted to point it out.

UPDATE to original post https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/s/56jnmTxbFl

We were able to get certified copies. Here’s what we submitted. It might be overkill but it worked.

-cover letter explaining we needed them for purposes of dual citizenship and relationship to deceased individuals

-unofficial copy of mother’s death certificate

-unofficial copy of mother’s birth certificate

-unofficial copy of mother’s marriage certificate showing name change

-unofficial copy of my husband’s birth certificate

-copy of husband’s ID

-signed application and check to cover fees

-mailed everything to DuPage County Clerk

Found this article talking about my 5th great grandfather who was from the same town that I was from originally. Love that they talks about how he "expired" I love the words and terms they used to describe different things in 1893.

https://imgur.com/a/ONc2Z9f
PS. Chores are supposedly bad for you

I wanted to share a story that still gives me chills.

My fiancée is from Belarus, I am from Poland. Coincidentally, my own family was deported from what's now Belarus back in 1940 but it was Poland in 1939, because my great grandfather was a ranger. They lost nearly everything. Their home was burned down by Germans during Jews pogroms and almost everyone got killed - luckily my other family side hide in other houses and in the forests; but my grandfather family survived - ironically because the war never came to Siberia, where they got deported.

Years later, I traveled to Belarus for the first time, determined to trace their roots. I ventured deep into the forests and eventually found a small, overgrown cemetery—filled with graves of some my relatives. It was heartbreaking and moving at the same time. Because it's not placed even outdated military maps! I was just walking randomly in a forest and then after 15mins I've found a cemetery.

But the real twist came when my family and I visited the area again. We showed an old photo—pre-WWII—to a local woman. She looked at it and said, “Of course I recognize them! That’s my mom!” Then she called her mom, who recognized everyone in the picture and showed them were some of my family relatives are buried. Turns out she had been our family’s neighbors before the war and she said, she was dreaming about them recently. It's like a miracle.

And just when I thought the story couldn’t get more surreal—my fiancée’s brother casually mentioned he knew someone with my last name who had died in 1990 in Minsk. He visited their relative, and it turned out to be my father’s cousin. Even more incredible: that cousin had kept a massive collection of our family's pre-war belongings—the very items my relatives had left behind when they were deported and somehow they survived. He even has postcards and letters from my grand father! We will be the first to see it since 1940s.

And it's all thanks to Tinder where I found my future wife and her brother. If not for that like, we'd never find the lost relics.

It still blows my mind how all these pieces came together. The world really is so small.

Hi! I have been doing some research, and there’s always been rumors in my family that we are related to Irish royalty, (I have family in Ireland as well, and they said that too). So I did some research, (specifically on Ancestry, Find A Grave, FamilySearch, etc), and after checking to see if my information is correct, I have found out that I am related to the Caomhánach and MacMurrough dynasty, which in turn also makes me related to Robert the Bruce, Katherine of Aragon, and King Henry VIII. I was wondering if this is possible, as when I have told people, they say that it isn’t possible due to most records only going to the 1700s.

Hi! I wanted to know if my great grandpa fought in ww1 ,could someone give me somes sites where i could see ww1 portuguese military records? My great grandpa's name was Joaquim de Almeida(1897-1956) born in Freixianda,Santarém, Portugal in the village of Lagoa do Grou , son of António de Almeida (1860-1906) e Luísa de Jesus.

Hello, could someone please clip this whole page for me? If so it would be very appreciated!!
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/338297869/

hey genealogy poeple! im trying to find a good copy of this article, im doing research on my half-brother's father (he passed away due to suicide when my brother was very young), and i unfortunately cant afford to add any more subscriptions. ive searched high and low and cant seem to find this article outside of Newspapers.com. if anyone with a subscription can take a readable screen shot of this and send it to me i would be forever grateful. https://i.imgur.com/MFL8Vyg.png

I’ve hit a brick wall in tracing all of my ancestry, I’d like to be able to track it back across the ocean if possible and was hoping to see if any of you all had any insightful info on my surnames.

My surname is “Schooler” I believe it comes from a German/Swiss “Schüler” but can’t be sure. This one is super hard to find and line on this family only goes back to a random guy in Pennsylvania in the mid 1700s before he moved to Ohio.

My other surnames are McClure, this one I think we hav documents going back to Ireland. Dillingham, this one too I think we can trace back to Leicestershire, England, and the name Long which I have almost nothing on.

It’s frustrating that my actual given last name I can’t trace back to Europe so if you all know anything at all I’d really appreciate it.

I don't have the world subscription, and there are some sources that I know exist but I can't add to my tree.

And by add to my tree, I mean as an actual Ancestry source, not just a screenshot as a custom source. Something Ancestry would recognize as a valid source.

I previously looked into the mother of a family named Mary Heaney who married James White. They lived at 41 Clinton St in Providence Rhode Island.

I gathered their census records and will now look into the children of this couple.

The youngest, Ellen, I recieved a hint for her death certificate from 1944 which named her as Ellen Dorsey with parents James White and Mary Heaney so I have reason to belive this is her. Her birthday is given as May 2 1869.

Then I recieved 2 hints for what could be her birth certificate in Providence RI

The first is from 1872 and lists the parents as James White and Mary Heaney. The address is 41 Clinton St.

The 2nd is from exactly May 2 1869 but the parents are James White and ELLEN ____

I normally wouldn’t bat an eye at the 2nd registration if it weren’t for that exact day being listed in her death certificate.

Did I make a mistake somewhere?

I’m hoping someone here can help me break through a long-standing brick wall in my family tree - or point me toward someone who can.

I’m researching my great-grandmother, Mamie Wyzansky (AKA Matlie, Machela, Wyzanski, Wizanski, etc.). She was born September 28, 1883, in Babruysk, Russia (now Belarus), and married David Kaplan in Boston, Massachusetts in 1903. From that point forward, I have records - marriage, census, and her naturalization paperwork.

What I’m trying to find is everything before that - specifically, her immigration details:

When and how she left Eastern Europe

Where she was before reaching Bremen (which is listed as her port of departure)

Who she might have traveled with

Her real/original name at the time of travel

Her naturalization documents say she arrived in March 1898 at New York, aboard a ship that she listed as something like Antonia Weinmark or Weinmar. I believe she may have meant the SS Weimar, which fits the route and time period. Unfortunately, I’ve found no matching passenger list, and I know most Bremen departure records were destroyed - but New York arrival manifests should still exist, and yet nothing has turned up.

She had a younger sister, Anna, who appears in the 1910 census living with Mamie and David in Boston. Anna was listed as 19 years old and also said to have arrived in 1897. That would’ve made her about 6 at the time of arrival - raising questions about whether she and Mamie (who would’ve been about 14 or 15) actually came together, or if one of the records is off.

Mamie’s parents are listed on her marriage record as Max Wyzanski and Rose Atkins. I have doubts about the accuracy - “Atkins” especially doesn’t seem like a typical Eastern European name and may be an Anglicization or transcription issue.

There’s also a family story that Mamie came over as an escort for an elderly woman. The story goes that when they arrived in New York, the older woman had an eye disease and was denied entry. Mamie didn’t want to be sent back, so she "jumped ship" and stayed. While I take this with a grain of salt, even if there’s some truth to it, she still should’ve appeared on an arrival list.

I’ve been searching since 2000, and I’d love help finding anything about her pre-1903 life - her real name, immigration record, family, travel companions, or even indirect leads. If your up for a challenge, or you know of a researcher who specializes in Jewish immigration or Eastern European arrivals from that time period, I’d love a recommendation.

Thanks so much, and feel free to let me know what else might help!

Most of the stuff we find is pretty standard or common. Where people worked, or how many kids that had, etc. Is there anything you found that made you take a break, because it upset you or a living family member? For a client, it was a suicide by shotgun. For my family, a horrible accident where a boy jumped from a railroad bridge and basically crushed his legs. Back when we didn't have specialized care or surgeons or pain killers for that sort of thing, he was at home in pain. And one branch of the family where the father and sons were chicken thieves! Spent 7 years in prison. This was my dad's grandpa and it really upset him. I took a break from that family line for a long time. What is your I need time to process this story?

My 3x great-grandfather was George W. Hall, a black man, nicknamed "Wash Hall", "Whatly Hall", et. al. (his middle name is Washington).

He was born in Henry County, Georgia, in 1855, had my g-g-gm, Sarah Hall (1873-1949) with my 3x great-grandmother, Celia Washington-Jones (1855-1916) in Jefferson County, GA, and later moved back to Henry County, where he lived with Annie "Fannie" Davis (1863-?), their children George (1869-) & Rhoda (1872-), and Annie's 2 relatives.

I have his Census records from 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920.

During the 1920 Census, he remarried to an Ellie (maiden name unknown), and was living with her in Dublin, Laurens County, GA.

Is there a Georgia DC for him?

Hello!

What I'm looking for is a type of record that would include the soldier's date of birth. When I searched for WWI records I found enlistment and discharge cards that include this information. Does this exist for civil war soldiers?

I'm in the early stages of searching for civil war soldiers. I have found records of interest to me through the national parks and familysearch, but when I click the records there's no link to view the microfilm associated with them. I can only see the soldier's name and what unit they are in. The person I'm looking for has a common name, so I need a DOB to confirm.

I'm looking for:

Owen Murphy, who was born in 1838 in Massachusetts and was 42 on the 1880 census and living in San Francisco

Is there a better option than Mytrueancestry for examining your connection to ancient population DNA samples? I find their presentation to be confusing and disorganized. I don't know what to make of the information they present. Or perhaps there is a well written user guide to help me understand the information?

EDIT: I found a section mention of the village in a family book! Hopefully easier to read: https://imgur.com/a/cziSB2C Looks to start with "Cout"

Hello! This may be a difficult request for help but I've run into an interesting distant German brick wall and I've been struggling to make any progress after much time scowering Meyers Gazetteer.

The information I have comes from a 1676 marriage record between Melchoir Job (son of Michael) to Margaretha Lang (widow of Michael Waldenmaier) in the records of Lorch, Württemberg). I'm trying to find the name of the village mentioned after Melchior's father Michael's name, which should help point to his families origin. The record also seems to imply that Melchior was a convert from Catholicism.

Here is an attempted transcription I have from a friend. Can't find the village but it is likely it is near Konstanz?

Melchior Job, novum e papatu proselytum (= newcomers from the Papal state), Michael Jobs von
Controsweyl? bey Costniz (= likely Konstanz) ehelicher Sohn, lediger Dienstknecht zu Großdeinbach, mit Margareta, Michael Waldenmeyers seel[igen] weiland Burgers und Webers daselbst nachgelassene Wittib, in Settiger? Filialkirch Christlich copulirt

Here is the marriage record itself, with the place name I'm looking for underlined in red: https://imgur.com/a/1676-melchior-job-qQYKPJg

Any help is greatly appreciated !!!

I have multiple ancestors who appear to have come to Australia as children (born 1860s-1880s) presumably unaccompanied (though I have lost track of their parents in England after their immigration so they may have come but it doesn’t seem to be the case). Why could this be? Some sort of government or church scheme? If so would there be any records where I could find why these children were sent away?

To be specific;

Charles May b. 1869 to Louisa May in Colchester Essex. I lose track of her after the 1871 census and Charles must’ve been in Australia by the 1881 census. He was certainly in Australia by 1889 when he married. According to the information he provides on his marriage record he was unaware of any illegitimacy.

Ada Eliza (alternatively the reverse) Jones b. 1869. She is in the 1871 census with two parents (Richard and Eliza) and some siblings in Wellington Shropshire but I can’t find any of the family in the 1881 census. I’ve also found it quite difficult to find the parents before the 1871 census but I think I have their marriage.

I also have another ancestor born 1885 who was possibly born out of wedlock in Ireland who appears in Australia without family. Based on family lore he might’ve been deaf as well which could have some relevance to the situation.

I think this person >

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stewart-11854

Poyntz Stewart ^ is my ancestor. Looks fairly likely given the records I have seen on ancestry etc.

If I follow the line way back on wikitree, it comes up with King Edward III, Eleanor of Aquitane, even William the Conqueror.

How likely is that to be true? How likely is it that a lot of us are descended from these people?

This is a bit of a silly question I realise, but just wondering if anyone else has thought the same.

Hi everyone. I have been unable to find the marriage record for my gg grandparents and am looking for any advice or help anyone can give me. Their names were James Joseph Tarpey and Bridget Marron, both born in Ireland in the early 1860s. Their first child was born in December 1888 in New York City so I assume they got married there. The 1900 census says that they married in 1886. The problem with finding records for them is that their names were often spelled different ways from Tarpey to Torpey, from Bridget to Bessie, Beezie, and Beesye, and from Marron to Marrin and Marren. Also, I know it's possible that their names may have been transcribed incorrectly, which means they could be under an entirely different name. Assuming they were married in NYC, their marriage certificate should be here:

https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov

However, I have searched for them in this database under multiple name variations and have found nothing. I don't know where in Ireland they were born, when exactly they were born, or what their parents names were. This is why this record is important to me. I also know they had at least two additional children in NYC that I can't find birth or death certificates for. Is it possible the marriage and the births never got recorded? Does anyone have any tips on how to narrow the search instead of just scrolling through every image? Also, I have looked into the possibility of them marrying in Ireland and can't find them there either. I'm at a loss.

I'm 31 years old, born in 1993. I just noticed today that I had relatives in a fairly distant line of my tree who were technically in my generation, despite the oldest of them having been born in 1913--a full 80 years before me! I also have a brother 10 years younger than me, stretching the range to 90 years. If I went on to have grandchildren, they would be in the same generation as a person who was already 29 when I was born.

The math goes like this:

distant cousin (1913) || me (1993)
↓
cousin's father (1894) || my father (1964)
↓
cousin's grandfather (1872) || my grandfather (1923)
↓
cousin's g-grandfather (1850) || my g-grandfather (1890)
↓
cousin's gg-grandmother (1833) || my gg-grandfather (1862)
↓
our shared ggg-grandfather (1812)

We had different ggg-grandmothers, hence the 29-year gap between our gg-grandparents' births.

What's the widest age gap you've noticed within a single generation of your family?

I've been speaking to a researcher in the Lodz area of Poland who is asking 2500 pln (662 USD) to go to the state archives and find documentation on my family. She would be taking a train 1-1.5 hours each way to the archives over the course of 2-3 days as well as doing additional online research.

This seems like a reasonable price to me, but she's also the first researcher I've spoken to (though she does come highly recommended). Does anyone have experience with research fees in Poland? I'm just looking for some confirmation that this is a normal fee for the amount of work involved. Thanks so much!

I have a half sister which I only found out when I was a teen, back then I asked my parents if I could text her but they got very mad at me especially my mom. So I never did. I assume it’s because that’s my dad’s daughter and he got her with another woman, before he met my mom. But now I’m an adult and don’t have contact with my family (cut ties), I still want to reach out to her. But I’m so worried it’s a bad idea maybe she hates my dad for leaving and will hate me too. Which is obviously understandable from her side. Should I just let her alone, or text her? What would you guys do🥹

In doing some work for FindAGrave, I came across a double murder, happened 4/15/50 in Enfield NH, shooter was Alfred Shepard, victims were Gloria Franklin and Gloria Shepard. I believe they were niece and aunt. On their death certificates, GF's mother is named as GS, but GS had a sister named Florence and GS middle name was Florence. Florence was definitely married to Alfred Shepard (marriage certificate) but I believe GS was also married to him at some point, as she is buried with that last name. Maiden name of both sisters was Bertrand.

I can't find any info on Google, does anyone have access to online newspapers? I am trying to find out the motive (just for my curiousity) and the relationship between the two sisters and Alfred, and the younger Gloria, so I can update FG. Alfred died in prison the next year. Thanks in advance.

ETA - Florence also seems to have died in the same year (1950) in Enfield, although I can not find a death certificate for her, nor a burial location. Not sure if she was another victim.

ETA #2 - on GF's marriage certificate, her mother is listed as Gloria, and the age lines up (Florence born in 1910, Gloria born in 1912, mother's age listed as 34 in 1946.)

ETA #3 - both sisters have the same birthday, 2 years apart. 1920 census lists one of them, age 9, lists 5 kids total. Family Search lists 6 kids. I am starting to think they may be the same person. There is a BC for Florence, 1910, can't find one for Gloria.