I've gone down the genealogy rabbit hole

bigredfish

bigredfish

Known around here
Sep 5, 2016
25,787
68,531
The Swamp
Long story short I was given a box of old records and photos and a Masonic sword by my last surviving uncle on my fathers side. I'm the last male in the tree :confused:

So I decided to do some research as my Uncle couldn't figure out who "Wade" was (name inscribed on said sword). Turned out I was able to positively ID "Uncle Wade" my Great Great Uncle from my grandmothers side of the family. The Sword is apparently from somewhere between 1880 and 1910

Down the rabbit hole I went. Now I'm knee deep in Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org and tracking all 4 branches of my family.
I'm back to the 1600's on my Fathers side and the 1500's on Mom's side.

Once you get your grandparents and possibly some Great Grandparents info in there, the system is pretty good about matching records and taking you back further.

A couple of things I've learned
  • Once you get back to the early 1800's and late 1700's, written records become few and far between
  • They didnt have spellcheck back then (who knew) and names, even last names, can change on records depending on who wrote it down, and sometimes its written correctly but transcribed wrong
  • You have to match documents to be sure you're following the right person. Census, marriage/Birth/Death certificates etc. Hell of a lot of duplicates with slight misspellings. It can get very messy very quickly. Dont jump to conclusions
  • Thank God my last name isnt Smith
  • You can track down in many cases who came over on the boat,and which boat from Europe as there are ship logs for a lot of them. (Was able to ID a direct descendant? and family to the the ship "Phoenix" arriving in 1751)
  • Women who have multiple husbands and children by multiple, make a real mess out of things when you're trying to trace a name. "Grandma Jones" had 4 husbands, all with children, and another out of wedlock :facepalm:
  • Once you get to the early 1700's/1600's church records/baptisms etc become a primary source
  • Just when you think you've got it all sorted out, you find a discrepancy mid way through the tree making everything past that point WRONG!
I said I was back to the 1600's on Dads side, well yes and no. I found a discrepancy, more a lack of documentation proof, on one jump in the mid 1700s where the spelling of the family name appears to have changed. Some docs show it some dont and I cant be certain the guy I have pegged as my 5th Great Grandfather is the right guy...


As with most complex problems, Bourbon helps
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: JNDATHP, tech101, johnfitz and 12 others
  • Like
Reactions: JNDATHP, tech101, JDreaming and 4 others
bigredfish said:
Long story short I was given a box of old records and photos and a Masonic sword by my last surviving uncle on my fathers side. I'm the last male in the tree :confused:

So I decided to do some research as my Uncle couldn't figure out who "Wade" was (name inscribed on said sword). Turned out I was able to positively ID "Uncle Wade" my Great Great Uncle from my grandmothers side of the family. The Sword is apparently from somewhere between 1880 and 1910

Down the rabbit hole I went. Now I'm knee deep in Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org and tracking all 4 branches of my family.
I'm back to the 1600's on my Fathers side and the 1500's on Mom's side.

Once you get your grandparents and possibly some Great Grandparents info in there, the system is pretty good about matching records and taking you back further.

A couple of things I've learned
  • Once you get back to the early 1800's and late 1700's, written records become few and far between
  • They didnt have spellcheck back then (who knew) and names, even last names, can change on records depending on who wrote it down, and sometimes its written correctly but transcribed wrong
  • You have to match documents to be sure you're following the right person. Census, marriage/Birth/Death certificates etc. Hell of a lot of duplicates with slight misspellings. It can get very messy very quickly. Dont jump to conclusions
  • Thank God my last name isnt Smith
  • You can track down in many cases who came over on the boat,and which boat from Europe as there are ship logs for a lot of them. (Was able to ID a direct descendant? and family to the the ship "Phoenix" arriving in 1751)
  • Women who have multiple husbands and children by multiple, make a real mess out of things when you're trying to trace a name. "Grandma Jones" had 4 husbands, all with children, and another out of wedlock :facepalm:
  • Once you get to the early 1700's/1600's church records/baptisms etc become a primary source
  • Just when you think you've got it all sorted out, you find a discrepancy mid way through the tree making everything past that point WRONG!
I said I was back to the 1600's on Dads side, well yes and no. I found a discrepancy, more a lack of documentation proof, on one jump in the mid 1700s where the spelling of the family name appears to have changed. Some docs show it some dont and I cant be certain the guy I have pegged as my 5th Great Grandfather is the right guy...

As with most complex problems, Bourbon helps
Click to expand...

Just let us know once you've hit the reparations section how big of a check we all need to pay you ..
 
  • Haha
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: CanCuba, JNDATHP, Ssayer and 7 others
Wow, ok looked up the motto on the sword
In hoc signo vinces

Latin translated into English as "In this sign thou shalt conquer", often also being translated as "By this sign, conquer".

Among other uses, It is the official motto of the Knights Templar in the American York Rite of Freemasonry :oops:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Parley, JDreaming, JNDATHP and 3 others
You've probably already been there, but check out findagrave.com With the information, as well as pictures - there is a lot of good information and piecing together you can do too. Also for anyone who cares, Family Treemaker is coming out with a new version soon. I think today is the last day to order it pre-production, for like $30.00. I've got my order in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parley, JDreaming, JNDATHP and 2 others
Thanks yep, been to findagrave many times. Thats the trick is going to various sources and matching docs and people. Get your inner Detective thing on.

Findagrave records are built into FamilySearch.org and Ancestry which makes it convenient.

BTW for anyone wanting to follow down the rabbit hole
Ancestry is like $100 or so for 6 months
Familysearch.org is Free and run by LDS (Make sure you go to .ORG NOT .com which is a phishing site)

Ancestry is obviously the biggest so more names and sources, but I would say I got 90%+ of the same detail on Familysearch.org which is the biggest free site by far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parley, JDreaming and garycrist
True, but selling information is what ,makes our economy go. There isnt ANY data point about you, your habits, your activity, your online habits, where you drive, where you shop, NOTHING that isn't for sale somewhere

In fairness, FamilySearch.org is truly free and very well done. And MOST of the data sources they all use are also free to the average person. It's just that it would take you longer than your lifetime to put all of the pieces together yourself. 40 Billion records in Ancestry alone...
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mat200, Parley, JDreaming and 2 others
Ha!

Which brings me to the whole “upgrade to DNA” testing thing they push.

Tracing your family tree is one thing, submitting DNA samples to a website for God knows who to use/steal/handover to Govt seems like a not so smart idea :facepalm:
Um NO
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: JNDATHP, mat200, looney2ns and 2 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom