Geneaology

[Bob Thompson]

How many of you are actively involved or have pursued geneaology .
I realize this is often the purview of the female spouse but I have encountered a fair number of men who are quite knowledgeable.
This is sheer curiosity on my part.

I would like to hear/read of your opinions vis-a-vis your progenitors. Whether you endorse or embrace ancestral history or completely eschew such activity.

[Doc Dave]

Bob,
Genealogy is one of my main hobbies, it goes along with my interest in U.S. history I guess.
One of the things I personally like about genealogy is the sense you get that it is like an adventure in that you never know what you might find, either good or bad.

About 13 years ago I joined the local chapter of the S.A.R., thanks in part to the work of my grandmother and two great grandmothers who did the genealogy to become members of the D.A.R.
Now I participate in ceremonies like on the 4th of July as part of our Color Guard.

Last summer I discovered that an ancestor who was in the Militia during the Rev War, signed a document in a meeting of nearly all the men of his town in western Massachusetts (Warwick). The date was July 4, 1776. This document was the men voting in favor of the Revolution, an act of treason for British subjects.

What an intriguing and satisfying find for our family! I got a copy and have it for framing.
That was an example of why I like genealogy.

I have many other stories but don't want to go on and on.

[Gordon Maney]

I never used to have an interest in genealogy, but find it more interesting now, perhaps just from having listened to enthusiasts of it. I understand your remark about afraid of what you might find. In contrast, a person could learn of an ancestor who was a horse thief or bank robber.

A man I used to teach with is a great enthusiast. One story he told me that was fun had to do with an ancestor who fought in the civil war. This man had been wounded and moved to some sort of hospital. Apparently documents of considerable details were kept, listing the belongings of the wounded soldiers.

The documents listed such things as one hat, one shirt, a belt; that sort of thing. Conspicuously absent was the mention of any pants. I suppose the pants could have been discarded during treatment for whatever wound had occurred.

Thirty years ago or more some relatives of mine did some sort of genealogical research project, producing a kind of book. I was asked if I wanted to buy one. I had no interest at the time and said no. Now I wish I had said yes, out of curiosity as to how many horse thieves there may have been. :-)

Expressed in another, more direct way.... please; go on and on.

It is interesting.

[Bob Thompson]

Truly, it is a crapshoot. You just never know what will rise to the top when you stir the pot.
Our own lineage is fairly well documented, mostly by my sister and her husband. I have searched a few parish Banns for information. We have plenty of horsethieves and highwaymen and an equal number of nobles. Mostly farmers and tradesmen ; smiths, masons and their ilk. I have enjoyed finding them all.
Apparently the Crown tried very hard to populate the whole of Australia with our bloodline.
We've had some real winners in the mix as well. I'm not saying insanity runs in our family but it could beat one of those barefoot Kenyans hands down.
Some folks are put off by what they might find but I really think it's worth the effort.
To quote Barry MacKenzie " If you think you're ratbag free, then just shake your family tree, and you'll have great big flamin' ratbags fallin' out" .
As Dave said it is the love of history that prompts me to continue learning as much as possible, brigands and all.

[Gordon Maney]

How does a person even begin? I know nothing about it. At a recent class reunion, one of the girls [can I say that at this age?] revealed she was quite an enthusiast, even warning us to not get her started. She asked where I lived and started talking about all the people from there over multiple generations. And, these were people she had no connection with, but had learned about during her research.

[Ron in Indiana]

Someone in my family did a search and traced our ancestors back Germany in the 1620's. The earliest known relative was a shepard. My great great grandfather was a grave digger in the old country. The interesting thing about that fact is that my son and I carry on that tradition of digging graves. Not anything like great great grandad with a shovel but with our mini excavator nowadays. As a side note we don't dig them 6 feet deep either. With a vault we only go 4 1/2 ft deep.

[Gordon Maney]

Someone in my family did a search and traced our ancestors back Germany in the 1620's. The earliest known relative was a shepard. My great great grandfather was a grave digger in the old country. The interesting thing about that fact is that my son and I carry on that tradition of digging graves. Not anything like great great grandad with a shovel but with our mini excavator nowadays. As a side note we don't dig them 6 feet deep either. With a vault we only go 4 1/2 ft deep.

That is quite a long way back. Did they have to go to Europe to do that?

[Ron in Indiana]

I really don't know how they traced back that far but I would presume a trip to Germany was in the hunt. My mother got the family tree from a distant relative of my father. My niece used the information for a 4-H project once. A lot of today's generation does not seem to be interested in where they came from which I find sad.

[Frank Irons]

How many of you are actively involved or have pursued geneaology .
I realize this is often the purview of the female spouse but I have encountered a fair number of men who are quite knowledgeable.
This is sheer curiosity on my part.

I would like to hear/read of your opinions vis-a-vis your progenitors. Whether you endorse or embrace ancestral history or completely eschew such activity.

I have ventured into geneology to find my ancestors. My son Frank is the last of our line. My father never shared much of the family history and he has been gone since 1969. I have traced my roots to 1791 in Providence, RI and have come to a dead end.

Frank

[Gordon Maney]

I have ventured into geneology to find my ancestors. My son Frank is the last of our line. My father never shared much of the family history and he has been gone since 1969. I have traced my roots to 1791 in Providence, RI and have come to a dead end.

Frank

How did you do it?

Also, were the early Irons enthusiasts of cigars?

:-)

[Doc Dave]

Nowadays, with the internet, it is much more easy to do genealogy than before...a huge leap.

ancestry.com is a really interesting site. If I remember correctly you can have a temporary guest membership and find out all sorts of things. I am not a member right at this time but took advantage of the intro thing they had a few years ago.

I also belong to the local genealogical club here. The members have access to all sorts of data banks as well as know how to plumb them. I would recommend joining the genealogical society there in your part of Iowa.

War records are indeed very interesting.
I got the muster records on three of my ancestors, two north and one south.
Also saw the surgeons report for one who was wounded at Petersburg, VA.
Another one was KIA in Georgia, and his sergeant wrote a report that my ancestors mother used to get a pension from his service. All these were fascinating to read, and did not take too much work to find. I did it through the National Archives, although many times you can do it through your state archives. Again, this is where the local genealogy group would be a big help.

I had a relative do a book like you mentioned with your family. This person in mine took that particular name all the way back to England, and listed the service here int he Rev War and Civil War, etc.

Another aunt traced a branch of our family back to Ireland.

Speaking of finding out odd or not so great things, family research caused our family to discover that our family name was adopted in 1880 as a way of our ancestor evading the court who was after him for financial "dealings"!

So, it truly can be like a mystery story with surprise endings.

[Longhunter7]

Genealogy?

Through the efforts of my darling bride, (wife), who is a member of the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution, I have an ancestor who was a soldier in the American Revolution.

My wife's ancestor was a Quartermaster for the Continental Army under George Washington. She was able to get his war record from the National Archives.

By tracing back my family seven generations, I was able to find my ancestor who was a soldier in the revolution and fought at the battle of Monks Corner.

That makes me eligible to be a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, SAR.

I consider this to be an honor and I am in the process of getting approved to join the SAR.

[Doc Dave]

Longhunter,
Welcome to the SAR!
It is a great organization, and serves many roles including promoting patriotism particulary in our youth. The schools today do not really teach american history much anymore so this is a vital role.
ONce you get in the SAR, if you are interested you could inquire about a color guard group. We have a state color guard that people from different chapters can belong to, and also a chapter color guard for our chapter.
I am in our chapters color guard, and carry a .75 cal Brown Bess smooth bore, with bayonet and other acoutrements. Also have a custom uniform. Believe it or not there are people out there that make authentic looking period uniforms just for these very groups.
We have a lot of fun and also cause people to get interested in American history.

[712edf]

I am adopted. Last year after my 41st b-day I decided to search for my biological mother. It would fill a book in what all was involved in getting just her name. The adoption agency destroyed all records & closed shop in 1972. I will spare the details, but I found my birthmom & met her for the first time back in July, a week before turning 42. This has been very good year for me.

And searching is addictive. The internet (and libraries) are invaluable tools. So are old people!

Bucky

[Steve G]

Genealogy is a great way to find out where you came from. I have found census records online and some local records at our historical building in Des Moines. There is also a genealogy building nearby. Finding answers is like finding parts for the old trucks. You really have to search alot and get leads from different sources.

Some interesting things I have found include the story of a descendant captured by Shawnee indians at age 6 and living with them until he was 20, a civil war veteran and his father a 1812 veteren both buried in a pioneer cemetery about 20 miles from where I live, a copy of a marriage record from 1850, 2 enlistment records from WWI, relatives involved in a shootout in southern Iowa and thier bodies and coffins on display for pictures, and relatives that produced the Gillespie rifle in North Carolina until the civil war.

I have not been actively researching for a while, it takes up some time but when you find something new it recharges you to find more.