Geneology - What's yours?

[Moosedog]

Todd, Steve, thanks for the additonal info on Reverend George. I have quite a lot of info on the family since then, thanks to some cousins and a grandfather who spent the time and have kindly shared the info with me.

I took an interest in it early on--liike many southern kids it seemed important to know who you were related to. Was almost named Sidney Baxter Robertson, after my great- great- grandfather. I still have his reminiscences of the Civil War, written in pencil in a Big Chief tablet.

Moosedog

[gilmore]

The great thing about ancestry.com is, all I had to do was go back about six generations until I hooked up with someone who shared a 4x or 5x great-grandfather, and all the work before that had already been done by others. I learned a lot really fast.

The hunt wasn't so much the reward for me. I needed the information in a hurry.

Of course I hope all the information you have come across is accurate, but a word of caution. One relies on other people's research at one's peril.

[gilmore]

...
The Blue Book of Genealogical and Hereditary Socities is rather fat, for there are many. I belong to several, and one of them inspired me to return to my kilted (Scot) heritage. I have only joined a few groups, as I really need to feel as if I can contribute to the group before I take the time to do all that genealogical research and documentation.
...

That's a good idea.

I came across this that you might be interested in: http://www.hereditary.us/decorations.htm I counted something over 40 of those societies that am eligible for membership in. It's noteworthy that the fourth, fifth and sixth oldest are said to be St Andrew's Societies, those of Philadelphia (1747), State of New York (1756), and Washington, DC (1760.) I don't know how they managed that last one, since the date of the founding of the Society predates the District of Columbia and Washington City by some thirty years.

I have sometimes thought of trying to organize a hereditary society for people like me, whose ancestors have never, since coming to America, born arms in defense of their country, but only to overthrow the government, as in the American Revolution and the US Civil War.

Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Troublemakers?

[AcuteEnigma]

"i wonder, has there ever been a website that lists family trees going back as far as possible? i'd consider doing it (heheh, In Ardua Tendit certainly) though i think right now i'm going to focus mainly on finding those McCallums/Malcolms as far back as i can.[/QUOTE]"

Yes, well, mine goes back to the Primordial Ooze!



Seriously, though, anything more than 2000 years old is extremely suspect.

[gilmore]

[QUOTE=AcuteEnigma;620508...Seriously, though, anything more than 2000 years old is extremely suspect.[/QUOTE]

Not quite that far. Nothing more ancient than Charlemagne's ancestry is reliable, and I think that can be traced to Pippin I in the 500's CE, some 300years before his time. (Or is St Arnulf of Metz his earliest known ancestor?) There are those who claim that Charlemagne descends from the earlier Merovingian dynasty through a great grandmother, Bertha, but this is controversial.

[Phogfan86]

Of course I hope all the information you have come across is accurate, but a word of caution. One relies on other people's research at one's peril.

True dat.

[SteveB]

Ancestry.com is a good Guide. I have found about fifty percent of it able to be documented. The rest is usually a bit of wishful mythology.

[Downix]

Ancestery and Geneology is a fun thing to research. The furthest back we can reliably track is to Thomas Downs, my g-g-g grandfather. We know his fathers name, Noah Downs, and where he lived, but when we go to there, we have a Noah Downs living there 10 years apart, seems workable... until you then get the Obituary for him in the middle of those 10 years. Turns out, Noah died in 1804, and ANOTHER Noah moved into the area, or was his son who took over the head of household. **boggle**