Family History Suprises

[seanliddelow (Sean)]

Today I did some quick research regarding my family tree and I was amazed at the things that I found. For example I managed to trace my last name, Liddelow (Of uncertain origin and very unusual), back to 1650 when Grime Liddalow/Ludloe was a Deputy Constable in Welborne, Norfolk.

Do any other IIS users research their family tree? I so please let me know of some interesting and useful websites (Preferably ones that are free).

Thanks, Sean

[renormalised (Carl)]

Yes, I've been doing genealogy for about 10 years, now. There are plenty of sites on the net, unfortunately not very many are free.

What sites do you know about now?? Let me know and I'll see what others will be handy for yourself.

How far back have you actually traced your family?

[veejo]

My cousin who I've never met put our family tree on the internet (all 120 of us).

I later informed her to remove the birth dates, just leave the years. From a security perspective .... very weak .... banks and other agencies always ask "what is your date of birth, and often ask your mothers maiden name, etc" and then let you do all sorts of things eg cancel credit card. I informed her I was concerned about identity theft.

So we now have the family tree on the internet, but my son and my birthdates only have our birth years :-)

It's great to have the family tree, but if you put it on the internet .... it's there for all to see. Grandparents dates are all there, banks don't ask about those.

And yes, there was an ancestor who swandered the family fortune.

[seanliddelow (Sean)]

Originally Posted by renormalised

Yes, I've been doing genealogy for about 10 years, now. There are plenty of sites on the net, unfortunately not very many are free.

What sites do you know about now?? Let me know and I'll see what others will be handy for yourself.

How far back have you actually traced your family?

I have traced most of my English ancestors who came to Western Australia back to the 1800s.

One website I go on to look up Scottish ancestry is called Electric Scotland (About highland clans-very useful)

Another family I descend from were called Wunderlich and they came from a musical background in Austria/Germany. they now reside in NSW and in Grafton NSW.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Have you tried Familysearch.org, FreeBMD.com, GENUKI.org, Cyndi's List, Genealogy.com.

Have you managed to trace your family back to the U.K and Germany??.

[Jen]

Sounds interesting i might give it a try

[seanliddelow (Sean)]

Originally Posted by renormalised

Have you tried Familysearch.org, FreeBMD.com, GENUKI.org, Cyndi's List, Genealogy.com.

Have you managed to trace your family back to the U.K and Germany??.

With the Germany and UK ones I had some help from family publications.
Thanks for the websites

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by Jen

Sounds interesting i might give it a try

Once you start, you won't be able to stop

[Jen]

Originally Posted by renormalised

Once you start, you won't be able to stop

oh no i dont need another addiction IIS and Dougs chat room and facebook keeps me busy enough

[renormalised (Carl)]

Addiction...it can be more like an obsession, especially when you're hunting down a particularly troublesome rellie

[GrahamL]

My mothers side goes back a fair way, my grandfather used to often point out the direct descendents running to him from a Flora Macdonald who did something notable in Scotland.

My fathers side just appears in the early 1800's, best guess there was after he finished his sentence he changed his name which convicts often did to start over .

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

I'm using Ancestry.com which I find very good. I'm only using the free features as they are more than enough for me. Managed to trace the family back to 1500's, though all links are not with 100% certainty. Another branch allegedly goes back to Louis XIV of France (another family member researched this) - who knows, maybe the Palace of Versailles is the old family estate... I will let the French keep it though, the light pollution from nearby Paris would ruin my observing!

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by nightstalker

My mothers side goes back a fair way, my grandfather used to often point out the direct descendents running to him from a Flora Macdonald who did something notable in Scotland.

You have no clue who Flora McDonald is??

She's famous!!!!

When the Jacobite Revolution went all pear shaped, she was the one who took in Bonnie Prince Charlie and hid him from the English until he could get away back to France, where he'd been before the revolution.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by SkyViking

I'm using Ancestry.com which I find very good. I'm only using the free features as they are more than enough for me. Managed to trace the family back to 1500's, though all links are not with 100% certainty. Another branch allegedly goes back to Louis XIV of France (another family member researched this) - who knows, maybe the Palace of Versailles is the old family estate... I will let the French keep it though, the light pollution from nearby Paris would ruin my observing!

If that's the case, you're related to Brooke Shields

Your mutual Great Grandfather is Henry IV

Henry's 10th great grandfather was Louis IX, or Louis the Pious (St Louis). His grandmother was Leonora Plantagenet....Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine's eldest daughter. So, you will have Plantagenet blood and you will also be a great grandson of William the Conqueror Through William's wife, Matilda Aethling, you are a direct descendant of Kenneth McAlpin, who in about 800AD united Scotland into one (rather feuding) nation. You're also related to King Duncan I, of "that" Scottish play You will also be related to Byzantine emperors, through Phillipe IV's mother...Isabella de Aragon. This is only the start

Providing your connection to Louis XIV is accurate and verifiable.

[erick (Eric)]

I learnt that my Grandfather was the town drunk.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by erick

I learnt that my Grandfather was the town drunk.

Might be the case, but who were his ancestors??

One wayward soul doesn't make a family.

[renormalised (Carl)]

You should have a go and find out

[erick (Eric)]

Yes, I have - am back to around the 1840s in London. I think I am back to one generation prior to Australia, on both my father's and mother's side. That will do. Each step back goes up by a factor of two - a great way to go exponentially mad! I know many enjoy the challenge.

(On my wife's side, we have ancestors banished by the Stalin regime to Siberia where most of them vanished! Bit tougher tracing the family there!)

[renormalised (Carl)]

I've gone back a wee bit further than that

On quite a number of lines

Ick...Gulags...You'd have to go searching through the forests there to find most of your wife's relatives, unfortunately.

[JimmyH155]

Fascinating stuff, all you guys
Reminds me of that Tommy Steel song in "The Duke wore jeans"

"Our family tree, is a bit of a mystery.
The roots are pretty shakey and the leaves are turning brown....
But nobody ever had the nerve ...to chop it down!!!

My great great grandfather, whose picture hangs on the wall in the family hall,
He's looking down with a shocking frown as if to say
Nothing out of the way ever - happened - at - all!!

My great great great great grandfather, shot Harold in the eye on Hastings Hill.
In the eye, on Hastings Hill, what a guy
If looks could kill......"
etc., etc