Who Do You Think You Are?/Ancestry

[Willow-Tree]

I've recently become interested in researching my family history, much in part of NBC's new show "Who Do You Think You Are?" which is spun-off from a very similar British show of the same name. Also, Flannen and I were talking about it a bit a week or so ago, lol.

In the first episode, Sarah Jessica Parker found out she was related to someone in the Salem Witch Trials.
Emmett Smith found out he was related to a slave owner.
Lisa Kudrow discovered she was related to a victim of the Holocaust.

That said, this stuff intrigues me, and I want to get as much out of it as possible.

For anyone else interested in ancestry/family heritage, Genealogy, Family Trees and Family History Records online - Ancestry.com is a very good resource.

For anyone interested in the show, Hulu has all the episodes, and they broadcast on NBC every Friday at 8 PM EST.

 

[Taake]

Oh I've always found such things interesting, on my mother's side we already have a mapped out expansive family tree that most of my relatives have a copy off though. I've tried looking into my father's side but it's been very hard to find anything since my great-granddad changed his lastname randomly

 

[Tasha]

Oohh cool show, i so need to watch that. It intrigues me too, i've tried family tree sites, they're not all that good sometimes. :/

 

[pieceofgosa]

I always meant to find out more about my family history. I know that my family on my dad's mother's side is from Ireland & there is a family myth/rumour/whatever that we are related in some way to James Connolly, the Irish dissident executed by British forces for his part in the Easter Rising of 1916. Don't really know how much water that holds, I'll get round to doing some research one of these days.

 

[white avenger]

About 30 years ago, one of my father's cousins researched our family history (there were rumors of an unclaimed family fortune in Texas, but nothing ever came of it, regretfully) with the help of a professional agency, and, if their research is to be believed, one of my ancestors was William Bradford, who was the leader of the Mayflower Colony. We also had a distant cousin who was Governor was South Carolina and had one of the old World War 2 victory ship troop transports named after him. Beyond that, just the usual array of murderers, horse thieves, bank robbers, lawyers, and politicians. A whole herd of black sheep.

On my mother's side of the family, there were two brothers who were thought to have gone to Texas with the Georgia Brigade in 1835 and MAY have been with Fanin at Fort Defiance when the Alamo fell.

 

[Misty]

I was on the Genealogy websites a couple weeks ago, and it said I had an a couple ancestors from the Trojan War.

 

[Wishing Oceans]

I know a bit about my family history... And, coincidentally, my great great great great great great great grandparents (lol, that's a LOT of 'great's! 😀 ) were buried in the exact same tiny village that I moved to seven years ago. Talk about ironic!

Also, apparently my ancestors from WAY back (like, 1500's) were royalty. Not Queens/Kings, but they were up there. 😀 My English ancestors came over to America on the Mayflower. My ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War... Although I'm pretty sure that they fought on the English side. (sw)

 

[mrrout]

Wikimedia Error

i'm related to this guy, but he's not a direct ancestor (and i totally can't draw)

sorry link doesn't work!

jean jacques henner is his name, he's on wiki

 

[Misty]

I'm related to Vivien Leigh, and I was told that by my grandmother and father because she's on our family tree!

 

[xaphania]

I find this kind of thing really interesting, but I wouldn't have a clue how to go about it. My aunt and uncle on my dad's side of the family have started delving into it a little, but I'm more interested in my mum's side of the family, lol.

As for ancestral "claims to fame" (lol)... my maternal grandmother was related in some way to Dame Peggy Ashcroft (can't remember how, I'd ask my mum but she's not here at the moment.)

 

[NY State of Mind]

Don't know but a mix of European(Spanish & Italian), Indigenous (Taino Arawak), West African

 

[Tueuse de Vampires]

I tried the page, but I think it's useless, cos the only records you get are from the US, and as far as I know, no one of my family ever went to the US.

As far as my family goes, on the German side, I can trace back the players until about the beginning on the 20th century, so 4 generations, from family telltales.
On the Russian side, it's much harder. I only know my Mom, and the names of her parents (not even birth dates there). All else I know about them is that my Mom's Dad grew up with his cousins, cos his immediate family had died during the 2nd World War. Honestly, I think that's gonna be tough to track...

 

[Mumrik]

Kristine, when I tried Willow-Tree's link, it automatically redirected me to the German page - Ancestry.de Maybe you could try that?

I don't exactly have time to figure out how the site works exactly but I doubt someone even remotely famous would show up in my family. I can trace my paternal family back to the late 1800's since they all lived and died in the town I still live in. Also always have been butchers. I'm actually the first not in the "family business" for at least five generations xD
Pretty much the same goes for my maternal grandmother whose family still pretty much own all the cropland in a neighbouring town (which is a lot). My maternal grandfather and his sisters however grew up in an orphanage during WW2 by the river Moselle somewhere in what is now known as the German state Rhineland-Palatinate, so the trail goes dead there. He doesn't actually even remember the name of the village anymore.

I'm such a bumpkin, lol.