Ancestry

[Hash]

A whole sampling of French, largely from Brittany but undoubtedly with some other regional blood (likely Normands, Poitevins, Flemish, Charentais, Ch'tis)... and knowing how French banged natives in New France, undoubtedly native blood.

ftr, my mother's family settled in New France in the 1500s and were, afaik, largely farmers. My father's family still resides in France and nobody besides him settled abroad (afaik). They were also largely farmers/fishermen but with a military and/or shopkeeping tradition.

[Хahar 🤔]

Records don't really exist. Neither of my parents have birth certificates, for instance. In general terms, my mother's mother's side is the only part of my family that's actually Bengali; she's from Feni. My mother's father and my father's mother hailed from the hinterland of Sylhet, and my father's father's family is from the Assamese border.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I'm a decendent of Zeus.

My my how the mighty and powerful fall. 

[Ban my account ffs!]

Scottish/Norwegian/Swedish/Irish/Swiss/German.

My mom is mostly Norwegian/Swedish with a bit of German.  My dad is half Scottish, part Irish, and part Swiss.

[jbgator]

Huguenot/Alsatian/Germanic/British

[bgwah]

Mostly:
German
English
Irish


Also:
Scottish, French Canadian, Swiss, several Native American tribes


In other words, I'm a generic white American.

[phk]

Not sure.

I'm either Hashemite Arab or Azeri Turk though fully South Asianized.

Uttar Pradesh is the furthest East my family went.

[Boris]

Swedish and Norwegian

[minionofmidas]

Father's side: Westphalian and Märkisch/Bergisch Catholics. Some Dutch ancestry way back. Middle class people, ridiculously remotely related to the Bertelsmann Media Group clan somehow. Not aware of any prominent ancestors; I don't think there are any.
Mother's side: Rural working class until they emigrated to Frankfurt three to five generations ago. All the Catholic enclave areas around here are represented, plus Silesia and Upper Swabia.

[J. J.]

Primarily French:

Mother's Grandparents born outside of Marseilles (father) and Paris (mother).  My maternal grandfather was born outside of Marseilles.  French was my mother's first language.

Father Grandparents were of German and Swiss extraction (some arriving no later than 1751), on his mother's side. 

His paternal grandmother was born in Wales.  His father's family was the Amerindian branch. 

Old families with new blood grafted every generation or so.

Ironically, though branches are quite old, five of my great grandparents were not born in the USA.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Primarily French:

Mother's Grandparents born outside of Marseilles (father) and Paris (mother).  My maternal grandfather was born outside of Marseilles.  French was my mother's first language.

Father Grandparents were of German and Swiss extraction (some arriving no later than 1751), on his mother's side. 

His paternal grandmother was born in Wales.  His father's family was the Amerindian branch. 

Old families with new blood grafted every generation or so.

Ironically, though branches are quite old, five of my great grandparents were not born in the USA.

I thought you were "native" American too?

[minionofmidas]

Can't you read?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Can't you read?

Apparently not too well today

[J. J.]

Can't you read?

Apparently not too well today

The family name is Amerindian possibly.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Can't you read?

Apparently not too well today

The family name is Amerindian possibly.

Gotcha...........I'm assuming you're an honorary Zulu........

[HappyWarrior]

Pvt. William Wallace Bowling

William Wallace Bowling
Private
Company A
1st Battalion
Maryland Infantry
Confederate States Army



Wiliam Wallace Bowling was the oldest of four children born to Anne Locke and Charles Bowling of St. Mary's county, Maryland. Wallace, his sister Mary Jane, and his brothers Frank and Ben were raised on the west side of St. Clements Bay in the area known as Milestown.

Wallace was raised when Southern Maryland was very much a part of the "Old South." Wallace's great-great-great Grandfather, William, had settled in Glouchester County, Virginia, in the 1600s and had obtained a land grant. Over the years his ancestors had migrated up the Potomac River, and at the time of the American Revolution, were living in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Wallace's grandfather, Charles, moved to St. Mary's County from Fairfax County in the late 1700s. He served in the War of 1812 and became an important and respected member of the community. Wallace's father was the first of his branch of the Bowling family to be born in Maryland. He, too, became a pillar of the community and was well known.

The advent of the War Between the States found Wallace, Frank and Ben in their twenties. In 1862, they said goodbye to their mother, father, and sister and skipped across the Potomac to Virginia. On 25 August, 1862, the three Bowling brothers enlisted in Company A of the 1st Battalion Maryland Infantry. (This change was made to prevent confusion, for there had already been a 1st Regiment Maryland Infantry.)

Their first serious engagement with the enemy was at Winchester, Virginia. After defeating Union forces there, General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved northward, and in June, 1863 the three brothers crossed into their native state. They did not stay on Maryland soil for long, however, because the army quickly pressed northward into Pennsylvania.

We all know what happened at that little Pennsylvania town known as Gettysburg. The North and South met there for three days, fighting the most devastating battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere.

On the evening of the second day, 2 July, Wallace, Frank, and Ben Ascended Culp's Hill and helped drive the Union forces from their trenches. On the third day, 3 July, they were ordered to continue their assult and to drive the enemy forces completely off the hill.

The odds were unbelievably high against the brave band of Marylanders. They were outnumbered many times over; they faced artillery without any support for them; and they were receiving fire from elevated ground, not only in their front but also on their right. As Wallace, Frank and Ben marched forward, they knew what faced them. Some Confederate units lay down on the ground and refused to advance any further, but not the brave Marylanders.

Onward they marched amongst the hail of shot and shell. They refused to stop and some Marylanders actually reached the Union trenches before they fell. The signal was finally given to fall back, but only one of the Bowling brothers was still standing. Frank had to retreat, knowing that his brothers had been shot. One can only imagine how Frank must have felt as he was forced to leave his brothers behind.

Records at the National Archives show that Wallace and Ben were captured on 3 July, 1863. Both men had been shot in the right thighs and, coincidentally, both received fractures to their right cheek bones.

When the list of caualties reached Southern Maryland, Wallace and Ben's father, Charles, wasted no time in arranging to visit his sons. Charles, who was in his late fifties, traveled to Gettysburg and requested that the Federal authorities allow him to see his sons. His request was approved, and upon his return to Milestown, he reported to family and friends that the Yankees were taking good care of his sons and that they were alive. He even brought back the bullet dug out of Ben's leg.

Wallace and Ben were kept at Gettysburg for awhile, but eventually were transfered to a Union hospital in Baltimore. Later that year both were released in a prisoner exchange at City Point, Virginia, just East of Richmond.

As fate would have it, a pretty young nurse with dark hair and brown eyes, by the name of Ellen Doleman, tended to Wallace, and they Quickly formed an attraction for each other.

Ben's wound was more serious than Wallace's, so Ben remained in the hospital for many months. Wallace, however, was released on furlough.

Being a Confederate Marylander, he had no place to go. If he crossed the Potomac to visit with his sister and parents, he likely would be captured by Union forces occupying Southern Maryland. Ellen offered that Wallace come with her to her mother's home in Westmoreland County, Virginia (Just across the Potomac River) and Ellen would help nurse him back to health.

Wallace accepted this offer and their love for each other continued to grow. In February, 1864, they were married in Ellen Doleman's mother's home. They had little money and their future was questionable. Wallace made $11 a month as a soldier, and Ellen made 25 cents a day as a nurse. They had little more than their love.

As winter was drawing to an end, Wallace returned to his unit. He never again fought with his brother Ben, but he was reuninted in the ranks with his brother Frank. Wallace continued to go in and out of the hospital in Richmond suffering from a variety of ailments. He fought with Frank at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, and defended the city of Petersburg. In April, 1865, he and Frank were involved in a desperate clash with the Yankees known as the Battle of Hatcher's Run, south of Petersburg. Both brothers were captured and sent to Point Lookout Prison Camp in their home county of St. Mary's.

While in prison, they were compelled to eat rats to stay alive. To keep himself busy, Wallace developed his sewing skills and became an excellent tailor. After being in prison a couple of months, they were released. In the meantime, Ben had been captured near Raleigh, North Carolina and the paroled.

The three brothers returned home to Milestown, but things were not the same. Their mother had died during the war; perhaps her broken heart had affected her health.

Wallace crossed the Potomac and headed for the Doleman farm to be reunited with his young bride. As he approached the house, a little girl was standing at the gate to meet him. She was Bell, his daughter whom he had never seen. She had been born while he was fighting for the Confederacy.

Wallace and Ellen built a house at one end of the Doleman farm, where they raised corn. They also grew vegetables and sold them at the nearby store. They had eight children: Bell, Charles, Washington, Robert, Frank, Shakespeare, Tom, and Abby. Eventually, all the children moved to Maryland and all the boys bought farms in Charles County. Bell and Abby made their homes in the Baltimore area.

Ellen died at age 45 from a sickness called "bloody flux." She is buried in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Wallace moved to Charles County and lived with his sons. He died in 1904 of consumption and is buried at Trinity Church in Newport. At the time he was living with his two oldest sons, Charles and Washington, on a farm called "Charlesborough Hills."

[angus]

So I've been digging through my genealogy. I've found that, through my maternal grandfather, I'm descended from the first kings of Scotland. Also, more recently, I'm related to the following people, again through my maternal grandfather:

Sir Isaac Newton
Ronald Reagan
The Kennedys
Audrey Hepburn
James Dean
Robert Louis Stevenson

and some other people I'm forgetting.

My ancestry is English, Scottish, and Irish on my mom's side, and German, French, Swiss, English, and Cherokee Indian on my dad's side.

How about the rest of you?

Ever notice how those ancestry search services always find that you're descended from the Albert Einstein or the King of Spain or the Emperor of the Known Universe and such?  They never find that your ancestors were cattle rustlers and brothel workers and purse snatchers.  Whatever.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I agree with angus....my grandparents were from a podunk island in the Ionian and my other grandparents were from backwoods Serbia......there are no records.

[ilikeverin]

So I've been digging through my genealogy. I've found that, through my maternal grandfather, I'm descended from the first kings of Scotland. Also, more recently, I'm related to the following people, again through my maternal grandfather:

Sir Isaac Newton
Ronald Reagan
The Kennedys
Audrey Hepburn
James Dean
Robert Louis Stevenson

and some other people I'm forgetting.

My ancestry is English, Scottish, and Irish on my mom's side, and German, French, Swiss, English, and Cherokee Indian on my dad's side.

How about the rest of you?

Ever notice how those ancestry search services always find that you're descended from the Albert Einstein or the King of Spain or the Emperor of the Known Universe and such?  They never find that your ancestors were cattle rustlers and brothel workers and purse snatchers.  Whatever.

Only if you're using it wrong

[opebo]

Mom's side - Jerks and A-holes,
Dad's side - Amazingly nice people.

I was just having a conversation the other day with a friend, wondering to what extent personality comes from genetics.  Perhaps it is no coincidence that Mom's side is (supposed to be) English/Welsh, and Dad's is really surprisingly French.

At least you have your father's eyes....

Actually I'm so like him in personality it is uncanny.

[rejectamenta]

Ever notice how those ancestry search services always find that you're descended from the Albert Einstein or the King of Spain or the Emperor of the Known Universe and such?  They never find that your ancestors were cattle rustlers and brothel workers and purse snatchers.  Whatever.

Ancestral fiction is hilarious. For a long while, my family thought we were related to a bunch of British royalty and aristocrats on my father's side. This fella was one of them, and though he was American, you can see how he's related to all these neat dukes and chancellors and god knows what else. Anyway, one of the related baron titles looked mighty similar to our name, and ancestry.com agreed.

Well, my brother felt this was a bit too good to be true, so he did some research of his own and discovered, rather irrefutably, that our name originated in Denmark. Birthdates, names, children, etc. all match up perfectly. The furthest back we can trace it is to my great-however-many-grandfather, who was just some guy from then-Danish Flensburg. He went to college in Copenhagen, moved to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands in the mid-1800s, and then wound up here somehow.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

My great grandfather x15 was Zeus. That's all you need to know.

[All Along The Watchtower]

My great grandfather x15 was Zeus. That's all you need to know.

That doesn't work mathematically.

[opebo]

Ever notice how those ancestry search services always find that you're descended from the Albert Einstein or the King of Spain or the Emperor of the Known Universe and such?  They never find that your ancestors were cattle rustlers and brothel workers and purse snatchers.  Whatever.

Ancestral fiction is hilarious.

Precisely!  In fact the only thing that makes me believe my family's geneologies is that (on both sides), they list these kind of occupations: the great majority 'farmer', a few tradesmen, a 'Coal-Yard operator', two or three 'cattle dealers', a shop-keeper or two, and one 'dealer in land and cattle' (the last being my great-grandfather, who wasn't exactly poor).

Our geneology on my mother's side was supposed to have been done by some 'college professor' as they put it, though how that happened I cannot imagine - bizarrely my grandmother apparently went to college in the early 1930s, again I'm not sure how that happened, and certainly no one else in the family ever did until myself.  Maybe the 'land and cattle dealer' had some money at that time.  On my dad's side it was supposedly done in a painstaking and autodidactic manner by two half-mad uneducated maiden aunts (who also, to digress, smoked like chimneys for 60+ years together in one spacious old farm house, and died around 90), but it came out roughly the same - dry as dust, and seemingly honest.

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.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

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

Oh yes, that is ancestral search fiction