Ancestry

[All Along The Watchtower]

So I've been digging through my genealogy. I've found that, through my maternal grandfather, I'm descended from the first kings of Scotland. Also, more recently, I'm related to the following people, again through my maternal grandfather:

Sir Isaac Newton
Ronald Reagan
The Kennedys
Audrey Hepburn
James Dean
Robert Louis Stevenson

and some other people I'm forgetting.

My ancestry is English, Scottish, and Irish on my mom's side, and German, French, Swiss, English, and Cherokee Indian on my dad's side.

How about the rest of you?

[dead0man]

English (and some other stuff) on my mom's side.  Full German on my dad's side.  I can get pretty far back from my dad's paternal grandma.  To some dude named Micheal Damm born 1777 somewhere around Darmstadt Germany.  We can go even further back on my mom's side.  A Joshua Hightower from N.Carolina, born in 1670.

No royalty or famous people though.  Mostly farmers on both sides until the last couple of generations.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Ronald Reagan

I'm sorry, dude

Anyway, I know I'm somehow related to him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szymon_Konarski

[afleitch]

I've traced my family roots on my dads side back to the 1700's when illiteracy and poor record keeping makes it difficult to follow. We are all Scots based in Lanarskhire from the 1850's, Renfrewshire from 1800-1850 and Argyllshire prior to this. My ancestors worked the land so we don't have famous blood; it's only later that we have some notable relations including the architect Archibald Leitch and more recently the singer Donovan.

[Verily]

I'm a direct descendant of Salmon Portland Chase (who was Chief Justice right after the Civil War, as well as a big-time abolitionist and one of the founders of the Free Soil and Republican Parties--also, Chase Bank is named for him; sadly, the family has no stake in it). Also as closely related to as possible, but not descended from, George Washington (descended from his mother's sister, Sarah Ball Haynie, who is his closest relative with surviving descendants). Through the Ball family, George Washington and I both supposedly trace ancestry back to the Scottish royal family way, way back around Malcolm III, if I remember correctly. Not a whole lot of other interesting heritage that I know of, although there are probably relatively remote connections to other significant figures in early American and English and Scottish history. One line of the family, the Bacons, trace back to Massachusetts at least as early as 1635, when they were among the founders of Dedham, MA and later of Needham, MA as well. They dominate the colonial-era cemeteries of both towns.

More recently, my great-grandmother was the first woman to get her PhD from Columbia University.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I'm a direct descendant of Salmon Portland Chase

Cool!

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm a decendent of Zeus.

[big bad fab]

Should I repeat it ?

I'm really going to be beheaded in the end...

[Torie]

I'm a decendent of Zeus.

Actually, he changed his name to Jupiter, and became Roman, and cut you out of his gene pool.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm a decendent of Zeus.

Actually, he changed his name to Jupiter, and became Roman, and cut you out of his gene pool.

Oh, ok, be a jerk, now my cousin Hercules won't be coming to do your training. 

[Torie]

I'm a decendent of Zeus.

Actually, he changed his name to Jupiter, and became Roman, and cut you out of his gene pool.

Oh, ok, be a jerk, now my cousin Hercules won't be coming to do your training. 

Hercules is already doing my training!  When I embarked on this saga, I wanted only the best. He's 6'6" tall, 220 pounds, and has a body fat percentage of 8%.  He had me in this strap contraption doing advanced push ups on Tuesday. It was quite kinky; I loved it!

[Free Palestine]

I don't really care much about my ancestry.  However, there are some interesting things.

Supposedly, one of my ancestors on my mother's side was in the German army during WWI.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I've got German, Russian, and Romanian ancestry.

[ilikeverin]

Both sides are filled with farmers.  The only ancestor I know of at the moment with a Wikipedia page is Thomas Mayhew, Sr.  William Labov randomly speculated about his vowels; that was pretty cool.

My dad's side has been quite firmly established in the US for some time.  My most recent ancestors to immigrate over are great-great-great-grandparents from northeast of Frankfurt in about 1848, but the next nearest immigrants need a lot more great-s attached to them.  They're largely British, but with some random exceptions; pretty much normal "early American settlers".

My mom's side is more recent.  My mom's mom's parents were immigrants from Northern Ireland, and my mom's dad's side is largely from Ireland.  My mom's parents probably caused quite the scandal when they decided to get married, because my maternal grandpa was Catholic while my maternal grandma was Presbyterian.

I purchased a 23andMe test last year when they had the full test on sale for $99(!!!), and it's matched me with a variety of people, but I haven't been able to directly find any new connections yet (though I have an educated guess on one).  I can say that my paternal haplogroup is I2b1 and my maternal one is U5a1a1, though.

[J. J.]

Distant cousin of Fife Symington.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     German, Swiss, & Spanish on my mother's side, English on my father's side.

[opebo]

Mom's side - Jerks and A-holes,
Dad's side - Amazingly nice people.

I was just having a conversation the other day with a friend, wondering to what extent personality comes from genetics.  Perhaps it is no coincidence that Mom's side is (supposed to be) English/Welsh, and Dad's is really surprisingly French.

[ilikeverin]

I was just having a conversation the other day with a friend, wondering to what extent personality comes from genetics.

As a favor, Gully, Al, and I will ignore the fact you never made this comment.

Carry on.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Polish/Jewish/Lithuanian/Ukrainian/Lusatian ancestry.

And possibly some more I'm not aware of yet.

[Smash255]

Irish/Italian/German

[patrick1]

Mom's side - Jerks and A-holes,
Dad's side - Amazingly nice people.

I was just having a conversation the other day with a friend, wondering to what extent personality comes from genetics.  Perhaps it is no coincidence that Mom's side is (supposed to be) English/Welsh, and Dad's is really surprisingly French.

At least you have your father's eyes....

[patrick1]

I'm quite interested in genealogy and have done quite a bit of research.

My father's family emigrated from Limerick via East Clare area around Feakle. 

My Maternal Grandmother's family consists of Coffey's from Cork, McNaughton's from Antrim, McNally's from South Armagh/Monaghan.

My maternal Grandfather's family came to the US around mid 1600's.  There is a mix of English and as I recently discovered Welsh.  Tangentially related to some historical figures.
 My G-grandmother on that side was born in what was then the Province of Posen and emigrated to Ellis Island around 1901.

Since Verin brought it up, I had my DNA swab to support the Genographic project.  I'm R1b or more specifically R1b1b2a1a2f4.  So basically that confirmed that my ancestors were muck savages from Munster for a long time.

[Mechaman]

A Politically Incorrect History of my family:

Father's Side:
Grandfather's Parents:
Father: Part Dutchboy Part Mack
Mother: Krauts and Micks
Grandmother's Parents:
Father: More Micks
Mother: Kemosabe and Krauts

Mother's Side:
Grandfather's Parents:
Father: Limey
Mother: Yet Another Mick
Grandmother's Parents:
Father: Swiss Kraut
Mother: Bavarian Kraut

[tpfkaw]

Full-blooded Atlantean here.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Father's side - Prussian Jews, German Lutherans, English Settlers and Aboriginies

Mother's side - French hugenot arisocrats, Welsh farmers, butter makers from the Isle of Wight...possibly Maori...