RW,
You New England person!!! Maybe your ancestor knew my ancestor. Nobody left me any money though.

DH is trying to do his italian side. He is using Ancestor.com and he is frustrated. We found that it has a ton of American links, it doesnt have so many successful italian or foriegn links. its been a challenge. Speaking to relatives, and writing it all down is helpful.

I used Roots web, an off shot of ancestry.com - the free part.

I know my grand parents' names and most of my GG's. Thing is, *we* have only been here back to my grands. The GGs all were immigrants, just before Ellis Island records. Ellis Island is great for any of you who have people who might have come here around the turn of the century though. I don't know if they have logs prior, and they're just not online yet or what.

My peeps were coming 1860's -1880's.

GG on Dad's maternal side, Margaret O'shea - there are so many back then, that you could've swung a dead cat and hit two.

Gonna be a trial to find which one was her. I think I have a clue - the one the Irish side doesn't know what happened to her.

I think all dad's family was from Ireland. Some of Mom's side too, some of her side was German, and we're not sure if the others were French, Scotch, English or what. Her dad was an orphan, his dad died and put him and sibs up for adoption at age two, so nobody knew much about their family.

And most of the men, I don't know their names. They didn't live very long - were all gone by the time I was born. I knew my dad's mother and her sisters, grandmother, my mom's mother. I have pix of them.

My mom is the oldest living relative I have.

RW - that is totally cool.

Kicker - that explains a lot.

I haven't looked it up but some in my Family have, on both sides. I have an English Lord and an American Indian in my tree. Most of me mither's side came over from Ireland, during the potato famine.

I used the Latter Day Saints web site and traced my Dads family back to the 1600's. My Mom's side is a bit tricky as she was an only child..her Mom died in childbirth and her Dad died a few years later at the age of 39. My mom doesn't know very much about either of them or their families. The Mormons have a lot of info and its free.

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