Geneology

[Makeitstop]

I haven't done it myself, but others in my family have traced our lineage back nearly a thousand years. I don't have a lot of details, but I know they found patrick henry, ben franklin (questionable) a few important native american leaders, and a fire breathing werewolf.

[Riverkilt]

Been whacking away at my family history since 1970...its an addictive adventure for sure. The Internet sure helped a lot.

Main thing I've done is share what I've found with siblings and cousins and nieces and nephews. They not only enjoy the info...some cousins have offered things with info they had handed down to them.

But the main reason for sharing it is so maybe at least one copy of what's been learned for sure so far may survive and save someone doing duplicate work.

The big tease for me now is to figure out where my 5 great grandfather Ludovic Macdonald served under an officer he admired named Gray so that he named his son Gray Macdonald. Ludovic was from Uig, Skye and was born about 1750...so he would have been of military age during the American Revolution...

Roughest part is wading throught the common name lines like Scott and Lewis...or deadending in parts of the world that kept few records, or lost them... like Vermont.

And really cool to meet distand cousins on line and find out how similar we are.

Ron

[Cawdorian]

Death Certificates are readily obtainable and are a good place to find family information, many states list the names of the deceased parents. Death Certificates for the 1920's are readily available from the various state's Department of Vital Statistics for a small fee. I was able to confirm the names of my great great grandparents by the information found on my great grandparents Death Certificate.

[Big Paul]

The coolest person I found in my family tree is Robert the Bruce... Can I confirm it, No.. Is it cool to think about, Yes!

Other than that I have found many governors including:

Thomas Crittenden, Governor of Missouri. He signed the warrant for Frank and Jesse James!

Eli H. Murray, Governor of the territory of Utah. Murray, Utah is named for him. He was also a General by the end of the Civil War.

I have others, I can't remember off hand..

I have found the first Murray in my line to come over to the US from Ireland. He is my 5th Great-Grandfather. He fought in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812! His grandfather (my 7th) is reported to have been a Highland Chief that was forced to flee to Londonderry, Ireland with his family.. So far I can't find any info past my 5th ggfather..

[McFarkus]

One of my cool finds is that George Washington's mother was the half-sister of my 8th greatgrandfather.

[Nick the DSM]

found out i could be related to Ragnor Lodbrok, who is beleived to have spawned off of Oden...not sure if that can be true or not. but this previous to the actual morrison/gilmore line.

I found that my family was one of the ulster scots in ireland. the latest ancestor i know is Thomas Gillmore who was born in 1815 of scottish settlers in dublin. i wish i could get more past that but my uncle who has been doing the research has not found anything yet.