Ponky Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I have been pretty interested in this stuff for a while, off and on. Although there are gaps and a few leaps of faith my mother's mother's line back to the 11th Century - to a guy that married one of William the Conqueror's sisters and got set up in Leicestershire after the invasion.. On my Dad's side I go back to the village of Elmdon in Essex around the 1700s, but on my Dad's mum's side we go back to the 1600s in Cornwall. My Dad's great-grandmother was from Dublin and arrived in Australia in the 1850s but I've found it impossible to get any info on her lineage online. I suspect I'd have to pay a visit to the Emerald Isle, and to be honest if I'm going to fork out that sort of dosh I'd rather come to Birmingham to watch the Villa... Interestingly enough these people will tell you a bit about where you come from and who your ancestors might be from a DNA test. Might be worthwhile if you have limited info about your family history: https://www.23andme.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSufferingVilla Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 As a branch of the O'Neill clan we have supposedly the oldest traceable genealogy in Europe. We can bask in a rich history of royalty, peasantry, inbreeding, massacres, achievements and failures if we could be so arsed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 An Uncle traced my Maternal Grandfather's line back about 1000 years. Most of that time the family was in and around Northumberland then further back in time it went north to Clouston in the Orkney Islands, then further back again to Norway - where it became untraceable. I've never seen it be he had (and my Aunt probably still has) the whole thing mapped out and mounted on a wall in their house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted February 7, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 7, 2013 Maybe this is a stupid question but how do you do this, for free? The Mormons are probably the best bet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted February 7, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 7, 2013 My dad made a half hearted attempt at doing our genealogy a while back - trying to do it without paying anything. Didn't get all that far. I think the only thing we got out of it was discovering a distant relative had left us a family bible in their will. The thing looks like the kind of book in a film that would be chained to pedestal and locked down, occasionally violently shaking, and when opened would unleash horrors that would melt any readers face. Bit like every other Bible, really. I think about the only thing I know about our family history is our surname derives from Worcestershire, so we've not gone far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 My parents did this a few years back, on my fathers side it went all the way back to nobility, my great great great (repeat ad nauseum) fought in the battle of Bosworth field in 1485. My middle name is named after him. there was a man called underscore at Bosworth field? Yeah. He died after five minutes so not many people know about him. I maintain he was unlucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I don't even know the names of my nan and grandads parents , who died before I was born All I know is that somewhere in the chain we have a German who married and Irish woman and that they had to change the spelling of our surname during WW 1 to a more English version as they were getting a lot of hate in the community Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted February 7, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 7, 2013 Maybe this is a stupid question but how do you do this, for free? You get a better quality of ancestor if you pay. Obviously. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 7, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 7, 2013 You can find out loads without paying. Genes Reunited is (I think) still free, and you can get quite a bit of census stuff on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I love this stuff. I signed up to Ancestry.co.uk, and have traced my paternal line back to the 17th century. It's fascinating seeing things like your great-great grandad's census records for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 (edited) You can find out loads without paying. Genes Reunited is (I think) still free, and you can get quite a bit of census stuff on the internet. Can't find anything for East Asian people. And searching by surname will do **** all, seeing that my surname is the most common one in the motherland. Screw you white people and your relatively unique surnames Edited February 8, 2013 by legov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 8, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 8, 2013 You can find out loads without paying. Genes Reunited is (I think) still free, and you can get quite a bit of census stuff on the internet. Can't find anything for East Asian people. And searching by surname will do **** all, seeing that my surname is the most common one in the motherland. Screw you white people and your relatively unique surnames Relatively. Not easy if you're a Smith, Jones, Brown, Johnson, Williams, etc., etc. It's the Icelanders I feel sorry for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 (edited) You can find out loads without paying. Genes Reunited is (I think) still free, and you can get quite a bit of census stuff on the internet. Can't find anything for East Asian people. And searching by surname will do **** all, seeing that my surname is the most common one in the motherland. Screw you white people and your relatively unique surnames Relatively. Not easy if you're a Smith, Jones, Brown, Johnson, Williams, etc., etc. Not quite on the same level, there are tens of millions of people in China alone, with the same surname as me. China's most common surnames are more ubiquitous among its population than the most common English surnames are among the English population. Edited February 8, 2013 by legov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyShears Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Grandfather born in Aston Workhouse, adopted, no trace of mother. He then married a girl off the barges on the Cadbury run. Very little to go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 8, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 8, 2013 You can find out loads without paying. Genes Reunited is (I think) still free, and you can get quite a bit of census stuff on the internet. Can't find anything for East Asian people. And searching by surname will do **** all, seeing that my surname is the most common one in the motherland. Screw you white people and your relatively unique surnames Relatively. Not easy if you're a Smith, Jones, Brown, Johnson, Williams, etc., etc. Not quite on the same level, there are tens of millions of people in China alone, with the same surname as me. China's most common surnames are more ubiquitous among its population than the most common English surnames are among the English population. You're a Lee, aren't you? Complicates things even more, as it is quite a common name in English as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 (edited) Yep. Edited February 8, 2013 by legov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troglodyte Posted February 8, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 8, 2013 He then married a girl off the barges on the Cadbury run. Are you trying to say she let him DHUTWU? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted February 8, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted February 8, 2013 Do you have any cousins named Mohammed, Ivan?After all, if Mohammed is the most common forename and Lee is the most common surname, then there must be millions of Mohammed Lees! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyShears Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 He then married a girl off the barges on the Cadbury run. Are you trying to say she let him DHUTWU? I knew I shouldn't have posted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 am I the only one who is more interested in where I am going rather than where I have been???? in either case it aint far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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