The Importance of Genealogy

[Alitus_Ab_Corde]

Well after reading this thread, I signed up at Ancestry.com and have been hitting up relatives for info. It's hard getting info from my Mother's Father's side, as my Grandfather was born in Russia and escaped when the revolution happened. My great Grandfather was killed by the Bolsheviks and the only relatives that survived from there, as far as I am aware, Is my Grandfather (he was 3 or 4 at the time), my great Grandmother, and her sister. All of their property was seized and my guess is that records were destroyed. They were of a very aristocratic circle.

On my Father's side, who was born in Scotland and came over here at 6 months old, is no easy task either. Grandmother was Irish, Grandfather was Scottish. And from what I've heard, there is some very famous royalty back a few generations. But, Since I am one for Research I like to find facts when it comes to claims of lineage. But will post some info when I confirm.

I find this very interesting, and For some reason or another, I never thought of checking out my own genealogy So Thank you Magnolia for posting this thread..

[FaerieWhispers]

I have been retracing my genealogy for the better part of 15 years now, and while some lines have not yielded much info, I can trace others back to Joseph of Arimathea. It has been a long journey, yet highly worth it!

[Noctua]

I found myself doing research into one line of my ancestry again today, and it is so exhausting... let me tell you. Lol. Dizzying especially to realise in the midst of this, that i'm only following one line and have yet to adequately go into all of the branches.
Some details can also be fuzzy along the way, and that can potentially inhibit one's search to an extent. It's quite the process.

[Huffette]

Not much is known about my genealogy, but here is what I do know:

My Maternal Grandfather was an Irish immigrant, who came to reside in West Virginia through Canada. His surname was McSwibney or McSweeney, which was shortened to Sweeney. He visited a Cherokee reservation in North Carolina and found my grandmother, and they got married on the reservation. He maiden name was Rose. Shortly after, they went to live in West Virginia, where they raised thirteen kids. My mother was the seventh of the thirteen.

She was married the first time to a drunk and wife abuser, who beat her daily until she left him with my oldest brother. She came to Georgia, and after hearing of his death, married my father, and gave birth to five more kids, for a total of six. She died in 1999.

My Paternal Grandfather was born and raised in the United States, but can trace his roots back to England and also the Blackfoot indians of Georgia. His surname was Segers. He was born and raised in Hartwell, GA, where he married his childhood sweetheart and lifelong companion, my grandmother. Her maiden name was Lawrence, which is German. They also had thirteen children, of which my father was number 7.

He met my mother in 1959, and they married in 1960. He adopted my oldest brother and gave him his surname, so he raised six children. He died in 2004.

Between them, there is six kids, thirteen grand children, and six great grandchildren. the family is still growing, so I am sure there will be plenty more.

[Alitus_Ab_Corde]

Update: I have some info I am researching right now, from something I was told from our oral family history. There is a possible trace back to Genghis Kahn. This information was passed down from my Grandfathers Aunt sometime before the Russian revolution. I guess she had been trying to piece together some of our family history, but it was just bits and pieces in letters and notes, but they are in Russian, and my brother is working on getting them translated.

I have been retracing my genealogy for the better part of 15 years now, and while some lines have not yielded much info, I can trace others back to Joseph of Arimathea. It has been a long journey, yet highly worth it!

That is awesome.

[Huffette]

Update: I have some info I am researching right now, from something I was told from our oral family history. There is a possible trace back to Genghis Kahn. This information was passed down from my Grandfathers Aunt sometime before the Russian revolution. I guess she had been trying to piece together some of our family history, but it was just bits and pieces in letters and notes, but they are in Russian, and my brother is working on getting them translated.

I have been retracing my genealogy for the better part of 15 years now, and while some lines have not yielded much info, I can trace others back to Joseph of Arimathea. It has been a long journey, yet highly worth it!

That is awesome.

Awesome work there

[Alitus_Ab_Corde]

huffette721 - That's awesome you have the surnames and it looks like you've got a great start. That which you do know might lead to some other connections. So don't give up :thumbup:

I love researching history and even obscure paths, I just didn't think until recently to search MY obscure historical paths.

I am enjoying reading everyone's progress and history. But remember, no matter what we do or don't find, we are still the unique individual that someday further down the line our families will one day be researching us.

I'm sure that when your descendent's look back to see all of you in their family tree, they will proud of each and every one of you.

I just want to add:
Though we are not connected by a bloodline and this is now instead of years down the road, I am very honored to have all of you in my life, as you are all a wonderful family to me.

Sorry for the sappiness, but it's true.

[Huffette]

We did some research into the name Sweeney and the Lawrences a few years ago, and this is what we found:

Sweeney is Irish, and short for McSwibney. They were given land by the Irish king for working with him to keep the Scottish from invading. They were border lords, and were made Dukes and Marquis by the English when they took over in the 1600's. They retained their wealth and status when the Irish won their freedom in the 1700's.

Many came to America during the potato famine, and stayed here. The ones that are still in Ireland are still very wealthy, but don't recognize their cousins that came to America.

The Lawrences were German royalty, and because of boredom, and needing a sense of adventure came to America, as mercenaries, to train the revolutionary soldiers. They became soldiers of fortune, and that added to their wealth, that they gained from their service to the German crown. They were also dukes. They were also very wealthy as a result of favors to the kings of Germany.

The Segers were Marquis in England, and were sent here in the Mayflower as land lords for his majesty. They were mayors and peacekeepers appointed by the King. They were also wealthy.

The Roses were Cherokee, and were on a reservation in North Carolina.

As of yet, that is all I have been able to uncover, but I feel that if I could fins some more family records, I could possibly get more information together.

[Alitus_Ab_Corde]

As of yet, that is all I have been able to uncover, but I feel that if I could fins some more family records, I could possibly get more information together.

That is amazing what you do know. I'm hoping that the letters and notes my brother is working with will give me more resources to verify my family oral history.

On my father's side were the Kelly's and the Watson's. My Father came over to the United States when he was 6 months old and had never been back to Scotland. Since my Father passed away in 2002 there is no one left to contact regarding resources to more documents or other leads. Though even before he passed, one of his brothers had passed already and the other we lost contact with. So it comes don to Internet searches for public records, which takes a lot of wrong turns and dead ends.

My Grandfather's, on my Mother's side) last name was changed when he came to America from Russia, and his mother remarried shortly after arriving. That's where I'm hoping the letters and notes help. She brought some records, but the majority of information was lost when she fled during the Russian Revolution.

My Grandmother, on my mother's side, I was able to go back to my grandmother's birth but name changes there occurred. Her mother, my great Grandmother, was born in Lithuania, and I am still trying to locate any information on that path back. All this again leads to more searching through public records which hopefully made it online.

Good thing I am one who loves research ha ha

I wish you luck huffette. Our descendent's better love the heck out of us for the work we've done documenting our history up to date, or at least what we did find. :thumbup:

[brontegrey]

My mom start doing genealogy research about thirty years ago. She'd drag us to the library and historical society every weekend for a long time. She has an HUGE amount of info on quite a few branches of both sides of the family, and it's pretty much a melting pot - Scotland, Germany, Spain, England, Sweden, and at least one Native American (a wife who married in with the last name Wolf, I can't remember how long ago). The Swedish side is the closest as far as percentages go - I think my great-grandparents were both from Sweden. However, the side I've always felt the greatest affinity to is the Scottish side. Our family was a sept of Clan Gunn. I have Clan Gunn fabric, a Clan Gunn pin, scarf, badges, and at one point belonged to the society here in the states... I *love* bagpipes and going to Highland Games. If I ever remarry, I've said that I would have to find a bagpipe player. -) So I agree - knowing where you came from can definitely have an impact on a person.

Then again, I'm also obsessed with all things Greek, and I have zero Greek blood. ;-) I think that comes from a past life. Oh, and I'll try just about any Mediterranean dish. But haggis?? Umm, no. So blood can only take you SO far!

Bronte