I haven't seen much on genealogy here lately, and I was fascinated by this recent post in another forum:
I've subscribed to Ancestry.com and one or two similar services from time to time over the years, but I've always been stuck at certain points, so I've given up trying. A big part of the problem is that all my ancestors have been rather nondescript ordinary folk, and consequently have left few if any written records of their existence.
The farthest back I've been able to go is a GGGrandfather on my father's side in northern Germany, born around 1800. On my mother's side, I got to a GGGGGrandfather in northern Ireland, born around 1760.
I have run into a few serious brick walls in parts of my background. For example, my mother's father. There is no record of his birth, nor is there any record of his parents. Yet the family stories are quite detailed about his birth and early years. I'd just like to document them.
So I wonder if anyone here has any insights into genealogical research (short of hiring an expensive expert to do the research), or maybe just some interesting stories about their own efforts.
While doing some ancestry research I managed to reliably connect the dots back to my 16th great-grandfather born in 1432. In the mix found 2 Earls, one of them during the reign of Henry VIII, a Countess, and a Lord born in the mid 1500's.
I've subscribed to Ancestry.com and one or two similar services from time to time over the years, but I've always been stuck at certain points, so I've given up trying. A big part of the problem is that all my ancestors have been rather nondescript ordinary folk, and consequently have left few if any written records of their existence.
The farthest back I've been able to go is a GGGrandfather on my father's side in northern Germany, born around 1800. On my mother's side, I got to a GGGGGrandfather in northern Ireland, born around 1760.
I have run into a few serious brick walls in parts of my background. For example, my mother's father. There is no record of his birth, nor is there any record of his parents. Yet the family stories are quite detailed about his birth and early years. I'd just like to document them.
So I wonder if anyone here has any insights into genealogical research (short of hiring an expensive expert to do the research), or maybe just some interesting stories about their own efforts.