Anybody tried to look up their ancestors? I've tried a couple sites. Wow, that could take forever. So much info, a lot of people by the same name!

You'd think half the planet would have to be related to at least one Margaret O'Shea.

Yep, best way to find out is to ask family members, especially the older folks. I've been working with a cousin and we have gotten back as far as the early eighteen hundreds, with documentation. If you have a genealogy library where you live, its a great place to get information. Get with family and look at photos, see if they have names on the back, follow those names. It is not easy, takes time and can get frustrating...so hang in there.

One thing to remember is that a lot of people changed their names once they landed on Ellis Island or it was changed for them.
My great grandmother was Apache, my ggrandfather was disowned by the family for marrying her. We have relatives that the family knows nothing about...

Yep, I found over two hundred names for my Maternal ancestors...everybody was named John, Sarah, Mary, etc.
Good Luck,

My sister started looking at our family tree years ago. I don't think she got any farther than our great-grandparents. There is a website that will help you - I can't remember the name of it now but it has a leaf as a advertisement.

I know that DDH's (dear departed husband) sister traced their family tree a good ways back. I have nothing on it though.....and not sure I really want to find more people in that family, KWIM?

www.rootsweb.ancestry.com

I've been doing some family tree climbing lately, and it's a lot of work, but I'm loving it. Connecting the dots, so to speak. You kind of have to have some starting references though.

My Dad's family was from Massachusetts before Vermont; my Mom's from Western PA and the Cleveland area of OH, and across the lake in Ontario. Probably I'm related to some of you.

I about gave my Sunday School class a collective heart attack when I told them I had furry ancestors in my family tree. Then I showed them old photos of David, Ellis, and Anna Furry.

You definitely need a place to start, like family records.

My paternal grandfather (where my last name comes from) - came over from Germany late 1700's. Records in Germany take the family history back to 1300's. If the preacher in the town is right, possibly 1100's. It's in the Black
forest - no wars, so church records were not destroyed. I lived in Germany for 3 years - this was easy to research. Family history shows Blacksmiths and Spielmans (entertainers) as the most part. The germans keep meticulous records.

My paternal grandmother - last name Simmons. Came over on the second Mayflower in the early 1600's. Well documented - family history on record at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. My link - Moises Simmons.

My maternal grandmother - Came over from Wales in the late 1700's. Very complete family history maintained - it's amazing how people over the years keep track of their family history. Oh, as a side note. This is the only side of the family that lived far enough south to actually have owned slaves. They freed them after the war (no, not the civil war. Records showed they freed them in 1791 - after the revolutionary war technically ended). Family name was Montgomery. They initially settled in Delaware - owned a tannery.

My maternal grandfather - uh oh. Last name Miller. He was German. My wife's last name is Miller. His family ended up in Lancaster Ohio. My wife's family came from Lancaster Ohio via Germany. I don't know enough about my mom's dads history to conclude much but damn...

Tom

I just googled Moises simmons. Try moses simmons.......... He's my great great great.......

Oh dear God NO! The goofs I already know are enough, lol.

May the rest (and leave me) in peace..

Yeah; start with your ancestors. I know mine, about 3 generations back. And, DH's family has geneology books that probably go much further back than that.

Can also try looking online. The Mormons are supposed to have some of the best records in the country -- not just for their own, I don't think.

www.ancestorhunt.com/mormon_church_records.htm

~ Faith