Memorial Day turned out to be a fun and enlightening weekend for us.
My daughters came over for the traditional cookout one with her hubby in tow and the other with her hubby to be. My oldest had a box that she found when she and my niece went through some of my mom's stuff. It contained pictures going back to just after I was born. After an hour or so of humiliation from pics of me winning a baby beauty contest, don't ask,
dressed up like Davy Crockett,, grade school pics, high school pics, etc., we came across this book.
It was a family history of my mom's side of the family. At first, I thought it was something from Ancestry. com or the like, but when I read it in more detail the next day I found it is much more than that.
In 2005, two of my relatives began searching. I vaguely remember they called me asking me questions about my grandfather. Somewhere during their searching, things snowballed. Long story short, the search ended up involving DNA and the Ohio Genealogy Society. We are one of the first families of Ohio, specifically Pike County in 1819. A certificate has been issued to that effect.
The search continued, and a relative was found in Michigan that could prove his connection with the Pike County line by court records. His DNA as well as DNA from other family members were put into a database called Haplogroups which traces human migration patterns from the earliest known common ancestor. The genetic markers have been traced to Scandinavia and the Vikings and those that came over to Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066. The last entry in the book dated 2009, says the search is ongoing. It also lists noted individuals we are related to. They are:
James Garfield: 20th U.S. President
William C. Durant: Founder of General Motors
Eli Whitney: Inventor/ Cotton Gin
Oliver Wendell Holmes: Author, Supreme Court Justice
Geoffrey Chaucer: English Author/ Canterbury Tales
George Soule: Mayflower passenger/ Original pilgrim in Plymouth
Mary Edwards Walker: Civil War surgeon/POW/ Only woman awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery.
Julia Child: Gourmet Chef
Edith Roosevelt: First Lady/wife of Teddy Roosevelt
Frances Cleveland: First Lady/wife of Grover Cleveland
Robert L Borden: 8th Prime Minister of Canada
Franklin Pierce: 14th U.S. President
Gregory Peck: Actor
Robert Frost: Poet
Chester A Arthur: 21st U.S. President
Jane Pierce: First Lady/wife of Franklin Pierce
Frank Whittle: British Inventor/ Jet engine
Marlon Brando: Actor
Bette Davis: Actress
Norman Rockwell: Painter
John Steinbeck: Author
George H W Bush: 41st U.S. President
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Author
Shirley Temple: Actress
Alfred Deakin: 2nd Prime Minister of Australia
George W Bush: 43rd U.S. President
Lucille Ball: Actress and Comedian
Edgar Allan Poe: Poet
Linus Pauling: Chemist/ awarded two Nobel Peace Prizes
So what have I learned? I have Viking ancestors that raided the British Isles, hooked up with William the Conqueror and aided in the Norman Conquest of England. Came to the U.S. on the Mayflower, and were pioneers that helped settle Ohio.
What does it mean? I now understand my occasional urge to pillage small towns, why I like swords, why I get seasick, and how I ended up in this state. Not to mention my new found dislike for old pics. All kidding aside, I thought it was neat to know where one comes from. Wonder what researching my father's side would reveal?
Anyway, like I said, I thought all of it was pretty informative and I'd share it here for those of you that might want to search for your roots.
My daughters came over for the traditional cookout one with her hubby in tow and the other with her hubby to be. My oldest had a box that she found when she and my niece went through some of my mom's stuff. It contained pictures going back to just after I was born. After an hour or so of humiliation from pics of me winning a baby beauty contest, don't ask,
dressed up like Davy Crockett,, grade school pics, high school pics, etc., we came across this book.It was a family history of my mom's side of the family. At first, I thought it was something from Ancestry. com or the like, but when I read it in more detail the next day I found it is much more than that.
In 2005, two of my relatives began searching. I vaguely remember they called me asking me questions about my grandfather. Somewhere during their searching, things snowballed. Long story short, the search ended up involving DNA and the Ohio Genealogy Society. We are one of the first families of Ohio, specifically Pike County in 1819. A certificate has been issued to that effect.
The search continued, and a relative was found in Michigan that could prove his connection with the Pike County line by court records. His DNA as well as DNA from other family members were put into a database called Haplogroups which traces human migration patterns from the earliest known common ancestor. The genetic markers have been traced to Scandinavia and the Vikings and those that came over to Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066. The last entry in the book dated 2009, says the search is ongoing. It also lists noted individuals we are related to. They are:
James Garfield: 20th U.S. President
William C. Durant: Founder of General Motors
Eli Whitney: Inventor/ Cotton Gin
Oliver Wendell Holmes: Author, Supreme Court Justice
Geoffrey Chaucer: English Author/ Canterbury Tales
George Soule: Mayflower passenger/ Original pilgrim in Plymouth
Mary Edwards Walker: Civil War surgeon/POW/ Only woman awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery.
Julia Child: Gourmet Chef
Edith Roosevelt: First Lady/wife of Teddy Roosevelt
Frances Cleveland: First Lady/wife of Grover Cleveland
Robert L Borden: 8th Prime Minister of Canada
Franklin Pierce: 14th U.S. President
Gregory Peck: Actor
Robert Frost: Poet
Chester A Arthur: 21st U.S. President
Jane Pierce: First Lady/wife of Franklin Pierce
Frank Whittle: British Inventor/ Jet engine
Marlon Brando: Actor
Bette Davis: Actress
Norman Rockwell: Painter
John Steinbeck: Author
George H W Bush: 41st U.S. President
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Author
Shirley Temple: Actress
Alfred Deakin: 2nd Prime Minister of Australia
George W Bush: 43rd U.S. President
Lucille Ball: Actress and Comedian
Edgar Allan Poe: Poet
Linus Pauling: Chemist/ awarded two Nobel Peace Prizes
So what have I learned? I have Viking ancestors that raided the British Isles, hooked up with William the Conqueror and aided in the Norman Conquest of England. Came to the U.S. on the Mayflower, and were pioneers that helped settle Ohio.
What does it mean? I now understand my occasional urge to pillage small towns, why I like swords, why I get seasick, and how I ended up in this state. Not to mention my new found dislike for old pics. All kidding aside, I thought it was neat to know where one comes from. Wonder what researching my father's side would reveal?
Anyway, like I said, I thought all of it was pretty informative and I'd share it here for those of you that might want to search for your roots.
