Distant Relatives, Looking Back

Discussion in 'Family & Relationships' started by Mikhail Bulgakov, Feb 19, 2019.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I have been finding Andersons on both sides of my ancestry, and my grandfather was an Anderson. When I did the DNA, it does show some Swedish ancestry , so maybe that is where my Anderson ancestors came from, too.
    My grandfather lived in Texas, and was adopted by a German family after his mother died, but his father was an Anderson who came from Illinois, or that area.
     
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  2. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    The longer that we delve into this ancestry and DNA research, the more interesting it seems to become. When Robin was researching some of the relatives that show up on the DNA search, she was astonished to find that some of them showed up as related to her on both my side and her father’s side of the family.
    Since I have relatives that were around the New York area (during Revolutionary War time frame) and her dad also had relatives on his fathers side that came from either New York or Pennsylvania, it is likely that around the 1700’s is where the relationship tie-in comes from.
    Now that Bobby is getting some of his DNA information back, it also look like we are distantly related generations back. Since most of his background is French/German and so is mine, I guess that is not as surprising as it at first seemed.

    I find it interesting that I have an unexpected dna relationship with both Bobby and my ex, and yet, when “circumstantial evidence” would seem like that @Ken Anderson and I could be distant relatives, there seems to be no likelihood of that. (My grandfather was an Anderson, and I have bunches of Anderson ancestors, and some Scandinavian in my background, as well as relatives from Michigan, where Ken’s family was from.)

    Because more and more people are working on finding their ancestry, I think that it is well worth taking at least one of the dna tests, even if you have tried to research your ancestry before and came to a dead end.
    The Ancestry.com seems to be the best choice for researching past relatives, while 23 & Me is awesome for finding people that are living right now, that you have no idea might be relatives.
    My sister-in-law was adopted as a baby, so had no idea who her biological family was, and has always missed feeling that she had “real” relatives. When Robin sent her a DNA kit, she found that not only did she have relatives, but that some of them were living in the same state that she lives in, and she has been able to make connections and discover more about her family history.
     
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  3. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    My maternal Grandmother was an Anderson from her paternal side and Cassidy from her maternal side .. (Irish).... :D
     
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  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    COUSIN HOLLY ! !
    I am SO HAPPY to have found you, my long lost dear cousin......
    Actually (and I will have to find that map again) I have quite a few relatives living in either England, Ireland, or Scotland, so it is not too far fetched that we could be related at some level.
     
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  5. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    :D
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    All the best people are Andersons.
     
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  7. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    The “23 and me” sample I sent in was unreadable in my case but the “Ancestry” and the National Geographic DNA tests came back with some fairly good information.
    I apparently share some DNA traits with DaVinci and Queen Anne and on the other side of the coin, Butch Cassidy and am about a 30% knuckle dragger. (Neanderthal) according to the National Geographic’s test.

    That said, the ancestry test not only has close and distant relatives writing to me asking this and that but I also found I am related to Henry David Thoreau. Yeah, the “civil disobedience” guy.
    It’s really kind of nice in a strange way since I really didn’t know very much at all about my mother. I already knew she was a Keenan but to what extent the Irish came in to play was a mystery until now.
    Geeze....I have a whole line of Irish and Scots on one side and a bunch of Germans, French, Polish and Dutch on the other and with a couple of Greeks thrown in for good measure.

    Dern good thing I depend so heavily on God cause with my mixture I really really know that even Freud (another DNA trait share) would be bewildered and give me up for lost.
     
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  8. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    download - 2019-08-30T173953.334.jpeg
    But if it makes you feel better, we can play along. :D
     
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  9. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    #24
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  10. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    #25
  11. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Ya know in my last post that I said I was related to Henry David Thoreau? Just found out a bit ago, so is my wife.
    I’m not sure of the positioning on her side but he is supposedly my 8th cousin 10 times removed or, something like that.
     
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  12. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Lolol..I don't know some are so afarid to find out about the bloodline.
    I already knew relatives on my dads side owned a Ho house in the middle of town.
    Yeah that figures:p:eek::D
     
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  13. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
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    True - and I'm one.
    At one time I thought yea, like to try that but - think I would get far too emotional with it :rolleyes:
     
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  14. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Explain why tho Patsy... I mean I don't get the fear. I could if you were searching for medical reasons.
     
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  15. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    One of the most interesting ancestry websites (and app) is called Family Search. It is free to make an account, and because it is free, and lots of people use it, there is a good possibility that someone else has been researching the same family ancestry as you have.
    You start it and put in your name and then your parents names, and the website might have your grandparents, otherwise, you can add those, too, and then it should pick up more from there.
    Something that this website does that is just a lot of fun to do, is find relationships between you and any other person when it is less than 15 generations.
    The other person has to be already dead for this to work. As an example, I can’t put in my name and Bobby’s name, but when I put in my name and Bobby’s dad’s name, then it runs back through the bloodlines and told me that we were something like 9th cousins, once removed (or something similar to that).
    It was back in the late 1500’s where the combined ancestor came from, and it is so interesting to see how the ancestry line goes up one side and back down the other person’s side.

    Here is the website link, and you can also get the app on the App Store .
    https://www.familysearch.org/en/
     
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