# How Far Back Does Your Family's Story Go?



## Trouvare (Apr 26, 2021)

​For me, I can give a sketchy description back to my father's father, and not much beyond that.
My great-grandfather, I know only of a plot of land where he was a sharecropper, nothing about his actual life.
My father's life, to me, is about as familiar a story as my own. His father... My father has shared with me about all that he can recall. His memory isn't suspect; he's 72 with a PhD. There isn't much to share.
As the three generations are concerned, we're all active duty US Army combat vets (WWII, Vietnam, Afghanistan). Did my great-grandfather also serve in WWI? No one knows.

On my mother's side, just what I observed of my mother's father's life. Nothing before that.


So, either, I come from some fairly boring Southern sharecropping stock,_ or_ _where the fog appears is where my story began_.

It's somewhat obvious that my family is Irish (Georgia is chock-full of Irish), but we are also Cherokee (I grew up in the Cherokee Capitol).

Could this also be why there is no further history for me? One family tree was marched-off to Oklahoma, and the other was fresh off the boat from Ireland?

Or is there something else...

I don't know, yet.

We've all heard stories about distant relatives, but most of those are as trustworthy as the recounts of this tale:


How much do you _really_ know, and how far back does your story go? Living testimonies; no online DNA test results, please.





> Note: This OP was recovered from the Sh.org archive.





> Note: Archived Sh.org replies to this OP are included in this thread.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: StarmonkeyDate: 2020-01-07 14:59:11Reaction Score: 1


I got Oklahoma in there too. Iowa, Nebraska, COLORADO.
Just got this from my father, Tim. Saw all of the other monkeys farther down the tree over the holidays.


Sorry, technology is ASS. My phone is SO frustrating. I should stop posting according to the 20/20 prerogatives. Pages out of order, oh well.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: AlmesivaDate: 2020-01-07 15:06:19Reaction Score: 7


Hilariously enough, while my father's side of the family is a bit less interesting and noteworthy for sharing here, all I know is that my maternal side of the family came from what would be considered the Czech Republic today, somewhere on the bordering regions between Germany and Poland, perhaps in the somewhere in the mid to late 19th- century (who knows anymore for sure - 1870s??? 1880s???) or so. The dates are very murky yet interesting (especially with all the theories floating about around this exact timeline) My great-grandma was born in what's Tatabanya in Hungary today, on her family's way to Vojvodina / The Pannonian Plain, Serbia, where we still live today. Back in the days, all these places were part of the same Austro-Hungarian Empire and a lot of these families were brought over by Maria Theresia as an effort to industrialize and urbanize what was then, essentially, a swamp. What always catches my attention is the lack of distinctive, concrete details and how my ancestors (grandparents and great-grandparents) never really spoke or brought up where exactly they're from. City name? Village name? Precise regions? Families? Relatives back home? Friends? Anecdotes? Testimonies? Nothing. Basically, if I wanted to take a quick tourist trip back to wherever my folks originally are from, I have no precise clues as to where to start. Their biography back home is just really a big, confusing blank, essentially - even during their own lifetime. When my own mother told me about this it always striked me as a bit odd and as a result, we never even really learned their native language either, which is quite unfortunate and an honest waste.

Here's some detail on that precise event in history, with one interesting tidbit:

[Projekat Rastko] djuric, Kicosev, Curcic ' The Ethnic Structure of the  Population in Vojvodina

_"The result of the long-lasting wars fought at the end of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th was an almost complete loss of population in that part of the Pannonian plain"_

Leading to re-populations / migrations from anywhere to Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, etc which is basically why I live where I live today.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: StarmonkeyDate: 2020-01-07 15:57:34Reaction Score: 2




Almesiva said:


> Hilariously enough, while my father's side of the family is a bit less interesting and noteworthy for sharing here, all I know is that my maternal side of the family came from what would be considered the Czech Republic today, somewhere on the bordering regions between Germany and Poland, perhaps in the somewhere in the mid to late 19th- century (who knows anymore for sure - 1870s??? 1880s???) or so. The dates are very murky yet interesting (especially with all the theories floating about around this exact timeline) My great-grandma was born in what's Tatabanya in Hungary today, on her family's way to Vojvodina / The Pannonian Plain, Serbia, where we still live today. Back in the days, all these places were part of the same Austro-Hungarian Empire and a lot of these families were brought over by Maria Theresia as an effort to industrialize and urbanize what was then, essentially, a swamp. What always catches my attention is the lack of distinctive, concrete details and how my ancestors (grandparents and great-grandparents) never really spoke or brought up where exactly they're from. City name? Village name? Precise regions? Families? Relatives back home? Friends? Anecdotes? Testimonies? Nothing. Basically, if I wanted to take a quick tourist trip back to wherever my folks originally are from, I have no precise clues as to where to start. Their biography back home is just really a big, confusing blank, essentially - even during their own lifetime. When my own mother told me about this it always striked me as a bit odd and as a result, we never even really learned their native language either, which is quite unfortunate and an honest waste.
> 
> Here's some detail on that precise event in history, with one interesting tidbit:
> 
> ...


Nice.
My grandmother couldn't find any records prior to here, so I wonder what prompted "Capt. John Johnson" to venture over.
John, son of John, etc. No wonder it's hard to get things straight.
I jest that since we acquired a raft last summer, now people have to refer to ME as Captain.

I also have some Red blood in there a few generations back, but she couldn't nail that down either. Probably Cherokee. I'm 1/32. Woo.
American Pearl was her name, as far as I remember.


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## Worsaae (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: WorsaaeDate: 2020-01-07 17:06:57Reaction Score: 3


My family keeps a record on my fathers side, which goes back to before the 1500s. The king punished my family and took most of our land during this time. The land still carries our family name to this day. Not much about the big world in the records though.


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## Mike Nolan (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: WarningGuyDate: 2020-01-07 23:24:52Reaction Score: 7


On my fathers side the family name originates from Prussia who i am told fled Prussia just as the last of the Prussian empire was being dissolved.   He and his wife were the only ones with that name that came to Australia. His first wife had 13 children before she died so he remarried and had 15 more children to her.  He has now left over 15,000 direct decedents of that name in Australia today.
My surname has an interesting past back in Prussia and has the family crest / coat of arms.

My mothers side is my great grandmother was one of the many young Irish orphan girls sent to Australia to serve as whatever for the out numbered male population here at that time.


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## Whitewave (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: whitewaveDate: 2020-01-08 01:46:49Reaction Score: 3


I traced my line back to a 12th century Scottish king before I got bored with looking. Figured if I wanted to take it up again I would have less trouble finding the king's ancestors since those records were more available. Oddly, my genealogy records are from my matrilineal line which instantly convert to a patrilineal line. Her father, her father's father, etc. Apparently we come from a long line of fence jumpers as there's Irish, Scottish, Cherokee (great grandmother), German (father's side-left Germany in the mid 1700's to come to USA), Welsh, English. There may be more but that's all the records showed from my mother's side. Only looked on my father's side up to the German ancestor. Trying to find records from a foreign country from the 17-18th century on someone who wasn't famous is more trouble than I care to exert. We have a site member who claims to be able to trace his lineage back to the first century. He might be able to clear up some time line questions for us.


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## Mabzynn (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: MabzynnDate: 2020-01-10 21:11:09Reaction Score: 5


Pretty far back on one side:

They trace it back to the Hauteville's.

Here's their place in Normandy and this is supposedly Tancred where nothing else can be verified/agreed upon:


A few name changes and after the invasion of England this became the family home:


They upgraded towards the end of the 1700's.  It's an UNESCO site now though:




Family split around here.  This is what the distant relatives are sporting today:



I can trace with family records back to two generations still in England.  Before that I'm making an ass out of myself and assuming the aristocracy cares about their lineage.


On the other side not very far...

Great Grandmother was a native who somehow ended up an orphan and then the orphanage burnt down losing all the information that would have been available.  My great grandfather was an Odd Fellow and I can't track that family back very far other than a change to the last name around the Revolutionary War period.


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## Rhayader (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: RhayaderDate: 2020-01-10 23:37:39Reaction Score: 1


On my dad's side I think only a couple hundred years at most, some Scottish, some Welsh, predominantly English and a surname of Ireland. My mother is from an obscure rural village in the north of Thailand where there are no records but I've heard a couple generations possible migration from Yunnan in China. There may be some Jew on my dad's side, my grandmother's parents or grandparents may have come through Hamburg and had a Jewish name. I like to feel I have a bit of everything in me...

My dad feels he is quite possibly a reincarnation of his grandfather who fought in WW1. It's impossible to know any history of my mum's side unfortunately.


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## madroona (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: madroonaDate: 2020-01-11 15:17:38Reaction Score: 0


I asked my father if he knew his grandfather, of whom great (local) stories are told.  Nope, he never laid eyes on him.  Not unusual due to deaths of course, but something i never knew, and this course of research led me to ask as that man's legend is big (at least to us - learned boatbuilder and master craftsman, postmaster, general counsel etc).


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## EUAFU (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: EUAFUDate: 2020-01-11 16:18:02Reaction Score: 1


Portugal, Italy, Indians from the Araguaia River of the Brazilian Midwest, former slaves. All this. But nothing beyond the beginning of the late nineteenth century.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: BeedubyaDate: 2020-01-11 20:28:37Reaction Score: 1


Only late 1700's.  Very poor people with pretty common names in England and Ireland and as for the Welsh side forget it, even worse


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: amphibDate: 2020-01-11 20:52:07Reaction Score: 1


Why were my comments deleted?


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## KD Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: KorbenDallasDate: 2020-01-11 21:05:17Reaction Score: 1




amphib said:


> Why were my comments deleted?


It’s on the front page: January 9-10 January 2020 Downtime Explanation


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: LostFriscoDate: 2020-01-11 22:03:09Reaction Score: 1




Trouvare said:


> View attachment 37812For me, I can give a sketchy description back to my father's father, and not much beyond that.
> My great-grandfather, I know only of a plot of land where he was a sharecropper, nothing about his actual life.
> My father's life, to me, is about as familiar a story as my own. His father... My father has shared with me about all that he can recall. His memory isn't suspect; he's 72 with a PhD. There isn't much to share.
> As the three generations are concerned, we're all active duty US Army combat vets (WWII, Vietnam, Afghanistan). Did my great-grandfather also serve in WWI? No one knows.
> ...


My parents are really from Ireland. My mom is from a farm in Mayo and came to San Francisco in 1949. Dad came as a baby with his parents from Newtonstewart, County Antrim in the late 1920’s. Both got here by a relative, one maternal aunt and one fraternal uncle, who sponsored them and vouched for them.  So this is pretty recent history and there are still plenty of the descendants around to piece together snippets of the ones who have passed, anecdotes we heard and repeat and perhaps not accurately at all. 
When I was younger, the big empty space around the grandparents in Ireland and the set that were here, really frustrated me. I had not known any of the four and started asking. From my mother came almost no information whatsoever to say that they lived as normal farmers did and what more is there to say?  She was so closed mouthed about her family that at times we suspected bad things had happened and she wanted mainly to forget. 

Meanwhile, Dad was also not forthcoming about his parents, who we found out divorced in the 1930’s, which was a very bad thing amongst the Irish Catholics. It also left five children with a broken and poor father who couldn’t handle the responsibilities of home and kids and finding enough income. It was truly a sad story/ we found out as adults. 

As a lover of books and ideas and biographies and what we now call “psychology “ since the 20th century, I wanted and still want to know more about my own direct ancestors as people or personalities, not just their bare facts.  The anecdotes help if one can catch them and flesh out the person a bit.  Asking directly about what kind of person grandma was, or grandpa, or some great uncle or aunt, leads to very curt and vague answers. Only that he was married or worked with the ferry boats, and kids if any, and perhaps the area he lived. For info on women:  even less facts, even if they had worked and done well by it. Often there is no recollection of what they did or even the company where they’d been for many years, since women’s jobs didn’t count. 

I can testify therefore that there is something more than lost history.  There is almost an intentional obliteration of memory, and total reluctance to keep diaries or records in those past working class or farming generations. In the upper classes of Europe, it had once been the case that both men and women had kept a daily record of their activities and thoughts and riffs with partners or servants or the kids.  We have these records but they are not usually published, they stay in a family’s private collection. Once photography comes along, then there’s much more chance that at least something could be written on the back of a photo or text added in a photo album. I have seen this now and again in some old wineries in Napa when they show the old house, one previously owned by the wealthy, which is now perhaps a tasting room. 

The older I get, the more the past interests me and the more courage I have to disregard every newfangled idea that hits the news or the streets.  I will become a genuine old fuddyduddy who poo-poos silly innovations as unnecessary which “won’t catch on”. 
A real Frank Crank!  
However, it’s still about wanting to know the truth and to ignore the piles of modern baloney involved in interpreting the past.  Many of my ancestors were definitely told not to blast their own horn, especially females were to be submissive and docile. I don’t even know at which generation they became literate, perhaps with the hedgeschools 1800’s after the famine? My mother’s parents did speak Gaelic but didn’t do it often. And my mom had eight years of Gaelic in 1930’s grammar school, half day English also.


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## Trouvare (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: TrouvareDate: 2020-01-12 02:02:22Reaction Score: 0




LostFrisco said:


> I can testify therefore that there is something more than lost history.  There is almost an intentional obliteration of memory, and total reluctance to keep diaries or records in those past working class or farming generations.


Now we’re getting somewhere. In my OP, I mentioned living testimonies. Those of us from a dimmer dime have been robbed of our story. Or denied.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: MavetoDate: 2020-01-12 04:00:37Reaction Score: 0


Good day to you all!

I am a Western European and our family history dates back to 1642 (the earliest family members I could find in archives).
My grandfather also made a family trea. Very interesting in my opinion. According to Dutch archives, one of my family members even ''earned'' a family crest, by defending the Dutch city of Delft as an important miltary commander.

In Europe we have a few archives and I know my way around. If anybody has Dutch ancestors I will be willing to give it a go and see what I can find.

Hope you find what you seek!

M


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## luddite (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: ludditeDate: 2020-01-12 11:24:50Reaction Score: 3


I asked my dear Mummy today and she said she would fax me over her records but it appears we are mostly alcoholic tavern owners from Scotland and Ireland which fit's our family like a glove.


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## SteampunkFox (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: SteampunkFoxDate: 2020-01-13 23:40:35Reaction Score: 5


My husband can trace his family history back to the War of 1812 as immigrsnts from Scotland. I'm a complete mystery though. I became a ward of the state shortly after being born in 1994, lived in a hospital for the first 10 months of my life, then got adopted by the people that raised me but never actually treated me like part of their family. I know genetically I'm part northern african, and part middle eastern though I look more like the product of a nazi breeding program; blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin paler than snow. Super weird.


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## luddite (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: ludditeDate: 2020-01-14 01:51:34Reaction Score: 1




SteampunkFox said:


> My husband can trace his family history back to the War of 1812 as immigrsnts from Scotland. I'm a complete mystery though. I became a ward of the state shortly after being born in 1994, lived in a hospital for the first 10 months of my life, then got adopted by the people that raised me but never actually treated me like part of their family. I know genetically I'm part northern african, and part middle eastern though I look more like the product of a nazi breeding program; blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin paler than snow. Super weird.


What a strange life and genetics that you have there. I hope you have a loving and caring family in your home now!


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## AgentOrange5 (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: AgentOrange5Date: 2020-01-14 15:07:35Reaction Score: 1


Good thread. Both my SO and I can trace our family back to the mid-1800's, when our families came over from Germany and Scandinavia. Before that, little info, although we haven't tried to deep dive to find out either. I think the oldest story, one of my SO's relatives served as a nurse in the civil war in a Michigan troop.  The earliest stories I have on my side was around the 1900's (names and dates before then.) I wonder now though, how much is true? What we know of our families is from books that were compiled in the 60's and 70's by distant relatives.



SteampunkFox said:


> I know genetically I'm part northern african, and part middle eastern though I look more like the product of a nazi breeding program; blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin paler than snow. Super weird.


If what you know of yourself genetically is from a company like 23 and Me or the others...it's likely to be a fake. There was a news story where they had identical triplets take a test and all 3 got different results. I've heard of other stories where people's results didn't match up, including my SO, his brother & double first cousin took the test and got very different results (double first cousins are genetically almost as close as siblings.) My personal feeling, these tests can match up the patterns of DNA to see if people are related, and to catch criminals and such....but they can't actually read the DNA to tell somebody their actual genetics. I suspect a lot of the results they give people is guesswork based on their last name, and by matching them up to similar patterns in their databank.


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## Whitewave (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: whitewaveDate: 2020-01-14 15:47:08Reaction Score: 1


I wonder what is being looked for in DNA that it's being promoted so heavily. The HeLa cell line was/is a tremendous boost to science. I don't believe the woman contributing them (Henrietta Lacks) was compensated. I know they're providing a service and maybe it's just my conspiratorial mind but I find it odd that people pay to have their DNA taken. Since the human genome has been mapped, how hard would it be to invent a disease that wiped out targeted populations or races? As Robin Williams once quipped, "that's not a rainbow, it's an ethnic detector." I view DNA kits as ethnic detectors.


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## Trouvare (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: TrouvareDate: 2020-01-14 17:50:50Reaction Score: 0




Maveto said:


> Good day to you all!
> 
> In Europe we have a few archives and I know my way around. If anybody has Dutch ancestors I will be willing to give it a go and see what I can find.
> 
> ...


I live in West Michigan (Grand Rapids). This region is called Dutch country, due to the Dutch immigrants who came, who knows when. Look for Holland, MI, for more info. My wife is of Dutch descent. 

The majority of the people's last names are Dutch, here. 
DeVries, Vredevoogd. Hoogenstyn. Bergsma. Dykema. Vander Schuur. Vander Zouwen. 

Do those sound/look similar?


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## SteampunkFox (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: SteampunkFoxDate: 2020-01-14 21:33:21Reaction Score: 1




AgentOrange5 said:


> Good thread. Both my SO and I can trace our family back to the mid-1800's, when our families came over from Germany and Scandinavia. Before that, little info, although we haven't tried to deep dive to find out either. I think the oldest story, one of my SO's relatives served as a nurse in the civil war in a Michigan troop.  The earliest stories I have on my side was around the 1900's (names and dates before then.) I wonder now though, how much is true? What we know of our families is from books that were compiled in the 60's and 70's by distant relatives.
> 
> 
> 
> If what you know of yourself genetically is from a company like 23 and Me or the others...it's likely to be a fake. There was a news story where they had identical triplets take a test and all 3 got different results. I've heard of other stories where people's results didn't match up, including my SO, his brother & double first cousin took the test and got very different results (double first cousins are genetically almost as close as siblings.) My personal feeling, these tests can match up the patterns of DNA to see if people are related, and to catch criminals and such....but they can't actually read the DNA to tell somebody their actual genetics. I suspect a lot of the results they give people is guesswork based on their last name, and by matching them up to similar patterns in their databank.


What I know of my genetics comes from my adoptive parents, who I was told managed to track down and meet my bio parrnts while going through the adoption process. So, the info I have is questionable but it's all I've got.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: MavetoDate: 2020-01-15 16:41:30Reaction Score: 0


I live in West Michigan (Grand Rapids). This region is called Dutch country, due to the Dutch immigrants who came, who knows when. Look for Holland, MI, for more info. My wife is of Dutch descent.

The majority of the people's last names are Dutch, here.
DeVries, Vredevoogd. Hoogenstyn. Bergsma. Dykema. Vander Schuur. Vander Zouwen.

Do those sound/look similar?


Let's take a quick look. I will need a little longer really dig into it, but here's what I got so far:

-According to Dutch history it all started because of conflicts in the Netherlands because of a bad harvest, quarrels amongst the church (different catholic sects), and because of some ''outdated'' Napoleon laws.
-The great idea to move there comes from a group with great minds like Hendrik Peter Scholte, Albertus Christiaan van Raalte, Simon van Velzen and Anthony Brummelkamp. Knows as the Group of Scholte. According to what I found so far, it was mainly because of the poor prospects in the Netherlands. (fun fact: these guys hang out with Willem Bilderdijk as well, who is known for his Dutch Royal promoting sentence: ''Eendragt maakt macht''.Roughly translates as ''Small things band together equal power'' though a friend of mine noted that the literal translation should be "Unity through Strength/Power". A sentence Haiti, Belgium, and some American places still use.





Fun fact: It also was the Dutch Royal promotion/marketing line, till our lovely monarch Willem I changed it to ''Je maintiendrai'' - ''I will keep order''. This doesn't bode well for the Dutch.


Anyway, after the book

*Verzint eer ge begint
Een hartelijk woord aan mijne landgenoten
over de in ons Vaderland heerschende ziekte genaamd
Landverhuizing*
Verzint eer gij begint! : een hartelijke woord aan mijne landgenooten, over de, in ons vaderland heerschende ziekte, genaamd: Landverhuizing - Het Geheugen (LINK TO THE BOOK IN DUTCH HERE. MIND THIS IS A REPRINT)
,written by van Raalte himself, got some attention, a lot of Dutch wanted to move with van Raalte to America. (If you decide to check out the link, google translate works best in small parts of the sentences if it gives you something unintelligible) 
He got the most followers from the southern and eastern Dutch provinces. Mainly Zeeland (south) and Gelderland (east).

Note: I assume the Dutch came from all over the country, as some of the new city names in America don't match with the Dutch supposed emmigrants.



And is supposed to be one of the first houses...



In March 1848 the Dutchies left with 3 ships from Rotterdam to settle in the States. 
From the journey we have these letters:



From what I make of it so far, this van Raalte was a decent man. The friction in the States later tore the group apart, for reasons I have to dig into deeper. I am however assuming it was because of the new role Scholte took onto himself (Mayor, Banker, Loanshark, allround politician and, ofcourse, preacher of God.) but I will have to look deeper into that.
Also, *none of the sources above I can confirm are from the same period. Most sources are at best 20 years after the migration.


Photo: Scholte*

The names above are definitely all Dutch, but from older times. I have also been told the American language changed some names (Vander Schuur would be van der Schuur. As Vanderbilt would be van der Bilt in Dutch.)


Photo: The declaration of independence for the churches.


I hope this information is of any value to you. For further questions you know were to find me.

Have a great day!
M


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: StarmonkeyDate: 2020-01-15 17:02:27Reaction Score: 0




Maveto said:


> I live in West Michigan (Grand Rapids). This region is called Dutch country, due to the Dutch immigrants who came, who knows when. Look for Holland, MI, for more info. My wife is of Dutch descent.
> 
> The majority of the people's last names are Dutch, here.
> DeVries, Vredevoogd. Hoogenstyn. Bergsma. Dykema. Vander Schuur. Vander Zouwen.
> ...


AND they brought their windmills!
My ex graduated from UW Madison with first degree in Dutch studies. Helped get the windmill in Little Chute going. They shipped the axle over from Holland.
My brother went to school in Holland, MI. Some incredible winters on that side of the lake.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: DorothyDate: 2020-02-24 18:11:41Reaction Score: 1


I'm scottish Edinburgh and mothers line is definitely back to 1880 and behind but dont have paperwork proof beyond only stories
 I even remember my great grandma. That part of the family were in Printing and laterly some of the men were on the factory floor churning out newspapers, considered well off job for life. The other side were very well off they owned fisheries and boats in Fife just across the water from Edinburgh but a hard life all the same. A great great Aunt took it upon herself one day to visit a posh shop and travelled alone, unheard of , to buy a fur coat circa 1895. With cash pinned in her knickers to make the purchase. Returning home she hung the fur coat up and duly allowed the village ladies on occasions to view it. She never wore it but she could afford it and that's the point as with many a story  along with the bravery of being a stinking Fisher women amongst the perfumed elite for a few hours. 
My father. Norwegian,  came from a small island of two or three farmer/fishers. They put kids on a rowing boat to school. His dates go back to 1860ish his father died of septicemia having cut himself on a rusty tool and they didn't have penicillin obtainable. Met all that family huge stories, a great aunt showed us her tattoo numbers on her arm courtesy of the Nazies for instance.
Both sides of all the families had 8 kids, it seemed every one had and if you only had two or three people felt sorry for you.


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## Trouvare (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: TrouvareDate: 2020-02-24 18:38:55Reaction Score: 0




Maveto said:


> I live in West Michigan (Grand Rapids). This region is called Dutch country, due to the Dutch immigrants who came, who knows when. Look for Holland, MI, for more info. My wife is of Dutch descent.
> 
> The majority of the people's last names are Dutch, here.
> DeVries, Vredevoogd. Hoogenstyn. Bergsma. Dykema. Vander Schuur. Vander Zouwen.
> ...


I'm excited that a Dutchman responded (or someone in the Netherlands)! Thanks! 
I'm from the South (English,Irish, Cherokee, who-knows-what), and this _West Michigan Dutch_ culture is new to me. Holland and Zeeland were the largest Dutch immigrant cities, but they were spread all over the region as independent farmers. It is still largely farm country. This area was once largely known for furniture making and book publishing.


Starmonkey said:


> AND they brought their windmills!
> My ex graduated from UW Madison with first degree in Dutch studies. Helped get the windmill in Little Chute going. They shipped the axle over from Holland.
> My brother went to school in Holland, MI. Some incredible winters on that side of the lake.


Hope College?
Yes, lakeside winters are not fun here. I spent some years over in Upstate NY (Fort Drum), on the East side of Lake Ontario; the first land at the end of all of the Great Lakes (as the weather flies). Those winters are just stupid.


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## wild heretic (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: wild hereticDate: 2020-02-24 18:50:16Reaction Score: 0




Dorothy said:


> I'm scottish Edinburgh and mothers line is definitely back to 1880 and behind but dont have paperwork proof beyond only stories
> I even remember my great grandma. That part of the family were in Printing and laterly some of the men were on the factory floor churning out newspapers, considered well off job for life. The other side were very well off they owned fisheries and boats in Fife just across the water from Edinburgh but a hard life all the same. A great great Aunt took it upon herself one day to visit a posh shop and travelled alone, unheard of , to buy a fur coat circa 1895. With cash pinned in her knickers to make the purchase. Returning home she hung the fur coat up and duly allowed the village ladies on occasions to view it. She never wore it but she could afford it and that's the point as with many a story  along with the bravery of being a stinking Fisher women amongst the perfumed elite for a few hours.
> My father. Norwegian,  came from a small island of two or three farmer/fishers. They put kids on a rowing boat to school. His dates go back to 1860ish his father died of septicemia having cut himself on a rusty tool and they didn't have penicillin obtainable. Met all that family huge stories, a great aunt showed us her tattoo numbers on her arm courtesy of the Nazies for instance.
> Both sides of all the families had 8 kids, it seemed every one had and if you only had two or three people felt sorry for you.


Mothers father traced that side back to around 1840s. My dad did the same with his side to about the same date. Rumoured french connection very early 1800s. Mothers side were all musicians. Fathers side were scottish and english cattle thieves, one of them was sent to australia.

When i looked at both family trees there was a coincidental 50 50 split of obvious scottish and english surnames on both sides. So i guess im a hybrid. 

Grandmther was one of seven and grandfather one of eleven. Then father one of two and mother one of four. I am one of two. I dont and wont be able to have kids. Sister has two kids. My family is the quintessential inverted family tree of white mans extinction repeated millions of times across the west


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## Trouvare (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: TrouvareDate: 2020-02-24 18:58:18Reaction Score: 0




wild heretic said:


> ... Mothers side were all musicians. Fathers side were scottish and english cattle thieves, one of them was sent to australia.
> 
> When i looked at both family trees there was a coincidental 50 50 split of obvious scottish and english surnames on both sides. So i guess im a hybrid.
> 
> Grandmther was one of seven and grandfather one of eleven. ... My family is the quintessential inverted family tree of white mans extinction repeated millions of times across the west


Sounds too familiar. I must be Irish, after all.


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## Archive (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: TameMaoriDate: 2020-02-24 19:36:31Reaction Score: 2


Mothers side 1625 Sephardi and my fathers side Maori not sure how far it goes back as it was forbidden for my father to speak Maori. But I have to at least to1801, there are those that know much more but they aren’t too friendly towards us.


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## ViniB (Jan 1, 2022)

Mid to late 1700s as far as i can tell, to the early explorers of são paulo (called bandeirantes) anything prior to it doesn't exist. I'm curious as to how some people can trace it back 400+ years! How is it possible?? Records lasting that long, even with royalty in some cases, are kinda wild


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## ViniB (Jan 6, 2022)

AgentOrange5 said:


> Good thread. Both my SO and I can trace our family back to the mid-1800's, when our families came over from Germany and Scandinavia. Before that, little info, although we haven't tried to deep dive to find out either. I think the oldest story, one of my SO's relatives served as a nurse in the civil war in a Michigan troop.  The earliest stories I have on my side was around the 1900's (names and dates before then.) I wonder now though, how much is true? What we know of our families is from books that were compiled in the 60's and 70's by distant relatives.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree with you about genetics results being guesswork. Like, how do we know the genetics of a supposed King that lived in 1200s, like one of the members mentioned before??? Sounds pretty far fetched imo 
It's beyond proven that companies are using these tests as a database to seel for the one who pays more


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