J-(Chicago)

My Grandmother passed away a few months ago, and I was helping my mother clean her place out.
We found a hidden stash of papers both typed and handwritten by various generations of her family.
This is wild stuff. I didn't care much at first, but upon reading it was extremely interesting to me. What a great treasure.
I showed my brother and he is going to start a tree thing online with the papers I gave him.

Here's some of the interesting info:

The ancient Irish name O'Carroll was derived from Gaelic "Caerbhal" A family ancestor who was Lord of Eli in the 10th century situated in what is now Offaly and Tipperary.
This Lord of Eli claimed to be decended from Oilliol Olum King of Muenster during the 3rd century.
A branch her family became established in America in the early 18th century by Charles Carroll.
His son, Charles Junior was one of the signers of The Declaration of Independence.http://hubpages.com/hub/Charles_Carr...f_Independence

Her Grandfather on her Dad's side was William Carroll. Company I, 8th Regiment New York Cavalry and was in: Bull Run, Harper's Ferry, Antietam, and Wilderness. After his discharge, he walked home, and it took him 3 and a half months.

I can't believe this stuff was at her house. I would have never known or cared to otherwise.

The Stickman

Actually yes. I have found out my relatives have been here since 1737 if I remember right coming here from the rhineland. I even know on what boats. My room mate is heavy into it and was going to do further research but we never did.

fdwheelman

My families came over around the times of the civil war. Ironically, I am not the first of my family to have been in Charleston. I have a great great great (dunno how far back) uncle that was a prisoner of war in the Charleston, SC brig... 120 years later, we visited him.

My mom got real heavy into it years back. I suspect she'll get powered up again. It is pretty cool.

I have found that the beginnings of my family was two brothers. Both started in Pittsburgh, however, one moved to Virginia. The one that moved to Virginia was very successful and supposedly owned the second largest plantation in Va at one time. The other, well, stayed in Pittsburgh, raised generations, and stayed broke. I am from the broke side! hahahaha

rocketraider

One of my cousins on Williamson side is working on ours and has traced my grandmother Clayton's family back to 1752 in New Jersey. The Williamson side is a little trickier- right now we're back to when they arrived in America from Scotland as indentured servants in New Bern NC, sometime around 1790. We'll have to go to the auld sod to find out any more.

Wayne has submitted a DNA sample and found another set of Williamsons in Georgia that have run into the same block he has. They're working on that and there's talk of traveling to Scotland in the next couple of years. Also found a young guy in California who shares our DNA. He was adopted and has no idea where his forebears came from.

My Mama's folks have traced the maternal line back to Hendersons in England in the 1500s but I have never gotten a copy of what they have. To my knowledge no one has done anything with the Buckner side more than three or four generations back.

Part of the Clayton clan went west, settled in Idaho and converted to LDS, so all of our stuff is also loaded into the LDS genealogical database in Salt Lake City.

Sometime this winter while the brush has died back we're going to the original Williamson cemetery and clean it up. It's been neglected pretty bad the last 30 years or so. I had several family tombstones cleaned last summer, and if it is possible for the guy to get his van into Sleepy Hollow, I will have the stones in that cemetery cleaned too.

J- keep up an interest in it. It is always good to know where you came from.

OLD SKL 69

It's really interesting stuff and I have some information on our family's history but have not pursued it further. We were able to trace our English side back to the 1600's with a pretty detailed family tree. My German ancestry we traced back to the 1870's when that part of the family arrived here from Prussia. I even have my great great grandparents marriage certificate, all in German from a church here on Long Island. Would love to find out more about prior generations.

Has anyone tried those ancestry websites and if so, were they any good?

2blu442

It can be a lot of fun and interesting to know about our roots. I've dabbled a little, and after my grandmother passed away I was thankful she was such a packrat (A genetic trait I seemed to have inherited!). There is a family plot in a cemetery at old town Wichita Falls Texas that I have a deed for but have never seen. Old letters from ancestors the last name of James and Sowell, lots of old family photos from the mid 1800's to the turn of the century from Texas and Oklahoma. I know the McNeel side of the family was throughout Missouri just after the Civil War. I don't have a lot of details but I believe my Mothers side of the family fought for the Confederates and my Dad's on the Union side. Kinda fun alright! John

ozoneblue

The farthest my X wife went was when she found we were ? Cousins removed ect being from down here in the Mo. Ozarks Most of them were pioneers who never made it as far as the California gold. If there is any of them out there of any fame the haven't calmed me. The most recognized ones are the Baldknobers

Aron Nance

Juju has a friend that is really into it, and did her "tree" about 3 years ago (she and her twin sister have known Frank since childhood, and he is still in love with both of them!). Really neat. Right now we have it written out by hand to about 1300, in Germany. I have done some research, and it is truly amazing. Took a trip to Vicksburg a few years back, as knew my great-grandfather had been a private in Dockery's Arkansas 19th Regiment (Rebels). Found the place where they fought; the Yankees may have been 75-100 feet away from them, shooting their muskets across a small dip in the landscape! He was captured 3 times by the Yankees, and escaped 3 times from them! Know Nance goes back to SW England (close to Land's End) long time ago. The Hope side (maternal) is down in black and white; had an uncle that did extreme research 20 years ago, after he retired. He would drive to small towns in Tennessee and check the records at the court house. All in all, very fascinating, and plan to keep at it.

Bluevista

My pappy was a pistol I'm a son of a gun.

cutlassgal

You're something alright!!!! The nuts don't fall too far from the family tree!!!

Eightupman

Yep, mother is deep into it. Got documented relatives further back than the Mayflower (though not actually on that ship) with ties to the Harrison presidents...

Dapapadon

I've traced my father's family back to about 1700 Virginia. That is with a lot of help via the internet. I joined the family forum at MyFamily.com. They are working on a DNA project and have indentified 4 distinct unrelated family lines. I haven't done that yet, but plan to in the next year or so.

I also traced my maternal grandmother's Burgess family line back to 1700 Virginia as well. Not so much luck on the other lines.

I enjoy doing it.

Don

Jamesbo

Family lore says My Great grand pappy was in charge of "tourism" at Andersonville.

442_1972

I was reading through some old posts and I saw this thread. It caught my attention because I'm a Williamson originally from Georgia, and I remember my Dad telling me that two of my great uncles went to Danville to work when he was a boy. I'm pretty sure that one of them (who died in the 50's I think) is buried there. I've never worked on it personally, but I think that Geneology is interesting. If I didn't like spending my free time fooling around with old cars so much, I might get into it.

66ninetyeightls

Its very addictive when you actually start finding information.