Kiss me I'm Irish

[GoldenRivet]

I've been messing around with ancestry.com for a while now... i have traced my family tree back to the mid 1700s when Lawrence Kelly came to what would become the United States.

He passed away in 1761.

Using census data, and family photographs, oral history etc i was able to trace the Kelly's from the mid 1700s all the way up to as recently as my maternal Great Grandfather.

At one point in time it would appear - though it required further research - that I had a Confederate Soldier relative and a Union Soldier relative from the same family.

Additionally, it seems that my paternal great great great grandfather surrendered with the 5th Florida Infantry Regiment at Appomattox

would be so interesting to know the details of their lives and experiences.

anyone dabble in this stuff?

[DarkFish]

I can trace my family back to about 1670, to one Joost Ratstaeck. Traces go back even further: in 1588 a piece of land behind the "Radtstaicken" was leased, insinuating there was a farm there named after our family.
Then again I guess my family isn't too difficult to trace. We've lived as farmers in the same part of the Netherlands (the "Achterhoek" in Eastern Gelderland) for ages. I guess it was my grandpa who broke the family tradition by moving to the Southern province of Brabant

As far as warfare goes, none of the members of that side of my family (my mother's side) has ever been a soldier AFAIK. We've always been farmers, what would it have mattered for us if it was Duke X, Earl Y or King Z ruling our lands?


My granddad from my father's side did fight in WW2 though, at the Battle of the Grebbeberg in may 1940. My dad never got much out of him about it, but it surely must have been one hell of a traumatizing experience.

There was (still is) a zoo located right on top of the hill. With the Germans approaching, the zookeeper was ordered to kill the animals. They would have likely been killed in the upcoming battle and chaos anyway, and the Dutch high command didn't exactly like the prospect of panicking rhinos rampaging through the defense lines. The zookeeper however simply had not the heart to kill all the animals, so instead of shooting them he set the monkeys free. As the Grebbeberg is covered with woods, they were having quite some fun jumping from tree to tree.
But as the sun set the evening before the battle, it soon turned out not everyone could appreciate the monkeys.
Because of the German troops marching closer with every minute, most of the soldiers couldn't sleep, instead nervously waiting for the smallest sign of an enemy soldier sneaking through the woods. Only few knew the monkeys had been set loose, so the fear grew pretty strong when suddenly loads of shrieking sounds were heard coming from the trees above.
I can't imagine it was a pleasant night.

[FIREWALL]

My ancestors were Entrepreneurs. The law called them Rum Runners.

[GoldenRivet]

That's where those in Europe are lucky.

In the U.S. In most cases when a family immigrated to the USA especially the colonies, it's like hitting a brick wall because the records tend to stop. No listed parents, no accurate or recorded birth dates etc.

That's where those in Europe are lucky.

It depends, Europe has had a turbulent history.
Look at Ireland for example, it just took two events in Dublin and most of the past 700 years of records were simply gone for ever.

[frau kaleun]

I went to one of the big genealogical sites a few years back and punched in a couple names - was surprised to find out that there was a "line" already in place from my paternal grandmother back to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. I'm assuming that someone else's ancestry intersected with ours at some point, because even though one of my much older cousins had been doing some research, what she had at the time didn't include the stuff I was looking at.

However my cousin was able to trace from my paternal grandfather back to the Cherokee ancestor we always knew we had, having been told that our granddad was "part Indian" all along but not knowing any of the details. I know she was born in Chattanooga as part of the Cherokee Nation but how she (or her children) ended up in Virginia, I don't know.

It was also surprising to find out that my father had more siblings than I suspect even he knew about - there was one that had died very young, either before my father was born or when he was just an infant himself, and I'd never heard of his existence before seeing him listed there as one of my grandparents' known offspring.

I may look back into this stuff if I can find the time - I never knew any of my grandparents, the last surviving one died before I was a year old - so there was a lot of info that was just never passed on, or that survived only in bits and pieces and none of us have all the bits and pieces. I really think it would be fascinating because I already know that my paternal grandfather was born in the 1870s... which is quite something, considering that I was born almost a century later. Go back one more generation and we're already talking Civil War times and before.

[Spike88]

I've thought about trying it. Might give in and try the 14 day trial, just don't want to accidentally forget about it and end up getting a subscription.

Although I doubt I'd be able to trace my Father's side of the family as he was born in Argentina. I know the family Originated in Germany and then moved to Russia. Eventually they moved to Uruguay(although no one was born here) and then finally Argentina. My dad came over in 86, and I was born in 88. As they don't have records for South America, this side of the family is a dead end.


My mom's family is Irish/Scottish. And according to my grand mother we had Confederate(or maybe it was Union ) soldiers in the family. I do know almost every male on her side of the family was in the Military at one point. Would be interested in what Ancestory could show me for them.
I've heard some family members say we're related to Davy Crockett, but I'm unsure if this is true.

[bookworm_020]

My family did some background checking and found plenty. From the First Woman to get a science degree in Australia, a fly by night Frenchman, a channel islander who left the islands in a "mutually beneficial" parting!, two generations who didn't know their marriages were technically void and after much searching, a convict! (very distant relative, most were clean skins or never got caught!)

From high and low places, what an interesting web we weave!

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

My ancestors were Entrepreneurs. The law called them Rum Runners.

Ah, a Kennedy then. So you're Irish too.

My dad was the second youngest of 10 siblings - seven brothers and three sisters. My great-grandfather and his brother fought for the South in the Civil War, and our line has been traced to a James Bradfield who came to the US in 1780. That was the middle of the revolution, so his purpose is a mystery, at least so far. Our family line is said to be traceable to the Saxon invasions of England in the 400s. True? I don't know.

[JokerOfFate]

I know most of my family history, my family dates all the way back to independence day. I found out that alot of my family fought in WW1 and WW2(Both for Russia and the US). My dad was in Nam.

This is all from the stories my grandad told my dad who told me.

I can go back a lot further but I'm a little sleepy at the minute

[papa_smurf]

I traced my mothers side, for a school project, back to the late 1600's to the derbyshire/staffordshire area where I still live.

The family history on my fathers side is a bit more interesting, as that has Irish connections and need to do more research on that.

[CaptainMattJ.]

just see how bad they made us irish look like in The Departed

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

My ancestors were Entrepreneurs. The law called them Rum Runners.

[nikimcbee]

So are you going to join the IRA/ Sinn Fein now?

[nikimcbee]

...and regarding the kiss, I'll have to pass.