How far have you gone back to find your ancestors?
How far have you gone back to find your favorite and/or most interesting ancestor?
My family goes back to 1580 in Germany so far but my favorite would have to be my great great grandfather and his family from 1830-1905 in Missouri.
Tagged with: ancestor • germany • great grandfather
Filed under: Research
Through 3 separate lines through Charlemagne to some Caesars.
I do not have a favorite, but I do admire those that came over on the Mayflower and those that settled the Germanna Colony.
The farthest back ancestor that I’ve been able to find is my great great etc. ect. Grandmother who wasn’t one of the very first settlers in the new colonies here in America, but she came on another ship not long after.
My favorite ancestor would probably have to be another great great ect Grandmother who was a cherokee.
So far, I have traced my mother’s family back to 1662 in England, and have found another ancestor born in the 1550’s so finding the links between those dates is my big problem. However, her father’s surname–Coston–dates back to the Domesday Book census of 1086 done by William the Conqueror (later King William I). I have seen some entries dating back even earlier (like 950 AD), but–again–it’s finding the right link to Mom’s family.
My favorites are, of course, my grandparents, for I had the privilege of knowing them for most of my life. I also knew my great-grandmother for about 19 years of my life. Both she and her husband (great-grandfather) came from a family of 13 children whose first child died at birth–leaving an even dozen.
When they got married, they also had 13 children, with the first child dying at birth. In all 3 cases, it had started out as 7 boys, 6 girls, so we called the story the "Sixes and Sevens."
I also have double first cousins because 2 of my grandmother’s brothers and 2 of her sisters married brothers & sisters from the same Jones family.
I recently learned that my maternal grandfather is the DIRECT 13th great-grandson of English author Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) who wrote "The Canterbury Tales"–making him my 15th great-grandfather.