Ancestry

[ilikeverin]

One thing I remember - there were lines on both sides that entered the US in Maryland, and transited to Missouri over a couple of generations to Missouri.  This seemed an odd coincidence to me.

Such coincidences aren't uncommon... I have had a few relatives of varying relation to me who lived in the North and then randomly and inexplicably absconded to Arkansas in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

On the Maryland->Missouri move, though, that's not unexpected; once people decided where to settle on the East Coast, they more or less moved due westward from there.  My Ohio ancestors, for example, were almost uniformly from Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey.

[Lief 🗽]

I'd be surprised if most of them weren't farmers, though my great grandparents on my maternal grandfather's side (i.e his parents) were apparently some sort of servants in Brussels before the second world war.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Overwhelmingly Welsh and English, though an element of Huguenot ancestry is very likely (not that that's at all unusual), one great-great grandmother probably came from some minority or other and there's the issue of the family name. Very regionalised as well; Durham, Gwynedd, Notts, Northants, Gloucestershire and South Wales with not many from elsewhere. In terms of occupations (ignoring anything after 1900), generations of coal miners, slate quarrymen, labourers, weavers and the like. Quite a few Primitive Methodist preachers as well IIRC. Not aware of any famous ancestors, but I do know that some of the main Notts branch were tenants of Lord Byron, which is amusing.

Oh, and almost certainly someone who fenced sheep. And multiple paupers, but the latter goes without saying.

[minionofmidas]

Guys! I just found out I'm William the Conqueror descendent!

That's nothing. I just found out I'm William the Conqueror's ancestor!

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Guys! I just found out I'm William the Conqueror descendent!

That's nothing. I just found out I'm William the Conqueror's ancestor!

Meh, you're still not as old as Gramps.

[J. J.]

Overwhelmingly Welsh and English, though an element of Huguenot ancestry is very likely (not that that's at all unusual), one great-great grandmother probably came from some minority or other and there's the issue of the family name. Very regionalised as well; Durham, Gwynedd, Notts, Northants, Gloucestershire and South Wales with not many from elsewhere. In terms of occupations (ignoring anything after 1900), generations of coal miners, slate quarrymen, labourers, weavers and the like. Quite a few Primitive Methodist preachers as well IIRC. Not aware of any famous ancestors, but I do know that some of the main Notts branch were tenants of Lord Byron, which is amusing.

Oh, and almost certainly someone who fenced sheep. And multiple paupers, but the latter goes without saying.

My Welsh Great Grandmother's name was Watkins.

[J. J.]

Guys! I just found out I'm William the Conqueror descendent!

That's nothing. I just found out I'm William the Conqueror's ancestor!

Well, my old girlfriend, who was African American, could trace her ancestry back to the Norman Conquest.

[minionofmidas]

Nobody can do that, outside of a couple of noble families. She probably could trace her ancestry to one of the "royal" clans of Scotland or Ireland - pretending that everybody in them is related to their nobility is, literally, the oldest and most common ploy in the book of selling fake ancestries to Anglophones.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Nobody can do that, outside of a couple of noble families. She probably could trace her ancestry to one of the "royal" clans of Scotland or Ireland - pretending that everybody in them is related to their nobility is, literally, the oldest and most common ploy in the book of selling fake ancestries to Anglophones.

Hell, I'm quite sure I'm descending from ancient western slavic tribes

[patrick1]

Nobody can do that, outside of a couple of noble families. She probably could trace her ancestry to one of the "royal" clans of Scotland or Ireland - pretending that everybody in them is related to their nobility is, literally, the oldest and most common ploy in the book of selling fake ancestries to Anglophones.

Haha, but but I was told I'm a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages and Brian Boru
 I actually have a sneaking suspicion that some of my ancestors were travellers based on occupation, location and a few other factors. Plus the shanty DNA has certainly been passed down.

[minionofmidas]

Guys! I just found out I'm William the Conqueror descendent!

That's nothing. I just found out I'm William the Conqueror's ancestor!

Meh, you're still not as old as Gramps.

Apparently my yet unborn great-grandson got into an accident involving a time machine and a faulty condom.

[GMantis]

My ancestry is probably the most boring in this thread - entirely Bulgarian, from the east of the country as far back as I can trace it, which is not very far, as peasants in the Ottoman Empire were not very concerned with record keeping (supposedly though an ancestor of mine who lived in the early 19th century was called "the Arab" and had swarthy skin and full lips, so he might have been a product of a cultural exchange within the above mentioned empire ).
No really famous relatives either, except my grandfather who was minister for two years and his uncle, who had hid village named after him.
But in the spirit of the thread, I think I can claim descent from the medieval Bulgarian royal family . After all, some of my ancestors lived close to the medieval Bulgarian capital

[Brittain33]

A very large share of people of European descent are descended from Charlemagne. It's because if you go back far enough, the number of ancestors you have in a given generation probably exceeds the total population of Europe. Every royal family had younger children whose offspring faded into the background.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Spencer Compton, The Earl of Wilmington..Thats all I know for now.

[Insula Dei]

A very large share of people of European descent are descended from Charlemagne. It's because if you go back far enough, the number of ancestors you have in a given generation probably exceeds the total population of Europe. Every royal family had younger children whose offspring faded into the background.

Doesn't an insane proportion of Central Asia descend from Gengish Kahn?