# Who are your ancestors? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582 "2002-03-16T05:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/41 "2002-03-17T05:56:00Z")
Both of my dad’s parents came here from Germany. My mom’s dad was Italian and her mother was Irish. No famous ancestors that I know of, although I seem to remember once being told that we’re somehow related to Brother Rice (of Brother Rice HS here in Chicago). ---
**Author:** ![Chinaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71c47a/32.png) [@Chinaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chinaco)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/42 "2002-03-17T06:15:51Z")
Herman Melville on my Dad’s side. Oh, and Atilla the Hun, too… you mean you didn’t want actual names of ancestors? In that case - Paternal: Hungarian & American (well, English if you wanna go back past 1492) Maternal: Afrikaans & Norwegian ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/43 "2002-03-17T08:07:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daowajan \* > \*\*Some kind of German/Irish/English/Scottish/whatever mix. > > Interesting ancestors: > > On one side of the family: Robert the Bruce. > On the same side but in a different branch: Edward the Longshanks. > > 🆒 \*\* Same here, from my paternal grandmother’s side. I’ll see you ancestors, plus, I’ll raise you 13 of the signers of the Magna Carta, _and_ , I’ll throw in David I of Scotland and Margaret, the Maid of Norway. ---
**Author:** ![Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bedrosian_Bixby)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/44 "2002-03-17T08:33:26Z")
I know quite a few people who can trace their lineage back to some King or important personage. I, om the other hand, can trace my heritage back to a long line of peasant fisherman. That’s just as cool IMO.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/45 "2002-03-17T11:18:38Z")
Half scotch and dry. Actually, English (Bostock), Scottish (Brownlee), Welsh (Hook), French (Favelle), possibly some Irish, and centuries ago Spanish. There’s a distant Australian Aboriginal branch to my family, which is cool, but I’m pretty sure it’s only by marriage. On my mother’s side, I’m descended from an English convict named Bastard (or Bustard, depending on who you listen to). For some strange reason, he changed his name by deed poll to Bostock, which is my mother’s maiden name. I’m related to Henry Lawson (Australian writer), and the explorers Sir Thomas Mitchell and Charles Sturt. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/46 "2002-03-17T11:41:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chinaco \* > \*\*Herman Melville on my Dad’s side. Oh, and Atilla the Hun, too… > \*\* So… can we assume Herman Melville and Atilla the Hun are related, then? Somehow, that makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/47 "2002-03-17T12:51:15Z")
My grandparents were born in or near: 1. Kiev, Russia 2. Warsaw, Russia (this was before WWI) 3. Edinburgh, Scotland 4. Kansas, USA The two born in Russia were Jews who emigrated to the USA with their parents before WWI. The Kansan’s ancestry was the usual Anglo mix, with a bit more Northern Ireland Protestant than average. ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/48 "2002-03-17T13:04:34Z")
Nationality: Presently have a US Passport, and eligible for an Iranian one Parents: Both Iranian, from Azarbaijan area of Iran (North West) Before that: Mom’s parents moved from Baku to Ardebil Dad’s parents were Azari So, I guess I’m sort of Azari-Persian. Their native language is not the national language (Farsi). It is Azari or as we call it “Torki”. I don’t speak that, sadly, I only speak Farsi. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/49 "2002-03-17T13:48:03Z")
Mostly Spanish and French (strangely for an argentinian I don’t have Italian ancestors) also danish, and english. ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/50 "2002-03-17T15:27:59Z")
100% Eritrean (look it up) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/51 "2002-03-17T16:41:39Z")
Hmmm. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’m not sure about claims of mediaeval royal or aristocratic ancestry (I apologise if people have documents proving their links to more recent aristocratic lineages and thence to various kings). Scotland had one of the most reliable systems for recording births, deaths and marriages, and yet most people here can only reliably trace their lines back to the 18th century. Sharing a surname does not establish a biological relationship, especially in Scotland. On the other hand, I get the impression from writers like Dawkins that if you go back far enough in history you can assume that everyone alive today is a decendant of everyone who was procreating then (obviously migration means this isn’t 100% true). I don’t have a cite, but I believe that for a country the size of Scotland you’d only have to go back to mediaeval times for this to be the case. ---
**Author:** ![Sophie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Sophie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophie)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/52 "2002-03-17T17:01:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hillbilly queen \* > \*\*Mix a big whopping glob of Scottish and English with a medium glob of Irish, add a smidgen of Native American, and pinch of African American. Then you have ME. \*\* Well, hi there, cousin. ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/53 "2002-03-17T19:40:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by G. Odoreida \* > \*\* On the other hand, I get the impression from writers like Dawkins that if you go back far enough in history you can assume that everyone alive today is a decendant of everyone who was procreating then (obviously migration means this isn’t 100% true). I don’t have a cite, but I believe that for a country the size of Scotland you’d only have to go back to mediaeval times for this to be the case. \*\* I have to agree with you. After looking at our family records, even back then everyone seemed to be related to everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/54 "2002-03-18T02:43:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kambuckta \* > \*\*It’s pretty cool to be able to claim a convict in your ancestry here in Oz, but as far as I’m aware, I can’t even do THAT. \*\* Here on St Patrick’s Day I get to remember my one Irish line - my great-great grandmother was born to Irish parents in Tasmania in the 1820’s. As such, there may be a good chance of convict roots but I can’t find them yet. Overall: English, Manx, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Swiss. Many branches have been in the US since the Mayflower and the Winthrop expedition, so I’m really mostly American by now. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/55 "2002-03-18T20:16:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by G. Odoreida \* > Hmmm. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’m not sure about claims of mediaeval royal or aristocratic ancestry … This has come up before in other threads, questioning people’s claims to descent from Charlemagne and such. It it both easy and hard. Luck is sometimes needed. To give an example, just two weeks ago I established my descent from old Norwegian kings on my father’s side. (I already explained how I got my descent from Charlemagne in an earlier thread.) What was involved: Phase 1: A family history from the 1920’s gives the names of several ancestors born in Norway just before 1800. The history has since been confirmed by parish records. Phase 2: The Norwegian national census for 1801 is online. Those ancestors are easily findable in the census. One of whom lived with her parents and an old grandparent, Thormod Biornsen, at Waage farm, Imsland, Rogaland, Norway. Again, parish records add confirmation. Phase 4: (Skipping a few generations.) Most GedComs out there, and in particular much of the stuff at the LDS [familysearch.com](http://familysearch.com) site, are crap. But one GedCom available at rootsweb “austring” is quite well done, complete with citations and supporting information. It gives the genealogy of some of the most prominent families of Rogaland. One key person is descended from an illegitimate daughter of King Haakon IV. (Whose saga based lineage goes back over another thousand years, but that’s a different type of genealogy.) Phase 5: Exactly two generations span the gap from Thormod Biornsen to the austring file. I searched a lot of sources, but was careful to confim it all using the censuses in Rogaland from the 1660’s and 1701. As the austring file points out, most people with origins from Rogaland can claim descent from royalty in this way. But on the other hand, there is a one person bottleneck. Remove that person from the genealogical histories and I couldn’t do it. I am also lucky that this is Norway. Parish records typically go back to the 1700’s, which is far enough that you’ll usually find at least one prominent ancestor whose royal lineage might be known. Norway has been relatively untouched by war. Germany is practically a black hole because of wars. I don’t know about Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![Finnie\_the\_Pooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@Finnie\_the\_Pooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finnie_the_Pooh)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/56 "2002-03-19T01:40:11Z")
Mostly Finnish, with some Russian thrown in to lower my intellect. My father was an orphan from Salmi, which now belongs to Russia. He did not know much about his parents, so that side is a dead end.On my mother’s side the family goes back to 1727 on the same farm, that is where I get my desire to go where no Hyvarinen has gone before. Absolutely no famous people among my ancestors, they were all farmers, poachers and petty criminals. And I am the pinnacle of all that evolution! Makes a tear come to my eye:D ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582/57 "2002-03-19T07:02:27Z")
Mom’s side: 100% Polish, they came to the US in the 1940s. But my grandfather may have some Jewish, Russian, or Czech ancestry. We can’t trace his line very far back. Dad’s side: mostly English with a little bit of German thrown in. A great-grandfather was adopted, so we don’t know his background (oh well). Everyone was Catholic (until me) so they’d be WASCs, I guess. No one famous or infamous on either side, just lots of farmers, merchants, and, on my father’s side, a large number of pharmacists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-ancestors/98582.md?page=2)