Skip to main content

Friday Family History: Family Migrations

My mom recently decided to order an Ancestry DNA test.  She has spent the past 35 years or so researching family history, and she has a pretty good knowledge of where her ancestors lived.  Still, she was curious to see what she would learn from the test.

Two exciting results came:  1. She found a 3rd cousin, with whom she was able to share information.  2.  Her results declared her ancestry 92% British Isles, 6% Eastern European, and 2% uncertain. 

Many of my ancestors came to the United States even before it was an independent nation.  I don't know of any ancestry other than British Isles from my dad's side.  I think if I were to take the Ancestry DNA test, my results would probably show a greater than 95% British Isles makeup.  I told my mom it appears our family skipped out on the whole "melting pot" idea. 

Growing up, I always viewed my family as fairly stationary. Neither of my parents moved much while growing up, and my grandparents stayed in my parents' childhood homes for many years.  However, as I've researched more of my extended family's history, I've come to realize just how many different places in the United States they have lived, met, married, or died.  I decided to create a visual representation:



I suspect I'm actually missing some; it seems to me that West Virginia, New Hampshire, and perhaps Maine should be highlighted, but these are the states I could find with a quick perusal of my extended family tree.  Update:  Thanks to my Mom, who informed me of some of the states I was missing, I have updated the map.  Maine and New Hampshire are still missing, along with Delaware, New Jersey, South Dakota, New Mexico, Hawaii, and possibly Alaska.
 
 
Have you seen the RVs with the maps on the back, where the owners mark in which states they have traveled?  Well, this map represents the travels of my extended family--pretty amazing for a family that I thought stayed put. 
 
How about your family?  Where did they come from?


Thanks for the melting pot this nation is, even if my ancestors didn't really "melt" well. 



Pin It

Comments

  1. MarissaJanuary 11, 2013 at 8:49 AM

    Just amazing! The whole map is almost blue! wow- a third cousin... wonder how many I have?... My Father side came from Spain and my Mothers side Mexico but they both were born in the US of A!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DebbieJanuary 11, 2013 at 9:07 AM

    Neat map idea! I didn't know you could get an ancestry DNA test done. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ChristineJanuary 11, 2013 at 10:45 AM

    So interesting! When I was growing up, if a teacher asked what nationality our family was, I would answer, "I'm half Canadian," since I knew my mom was born in Halifax. Now I know we are mostly German. I don't know what our map would look like, but Hawaii and Alaska would be filled in. Two siblings have lived there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. BiancaJanuary 11, 2013 at 11:25 AM

    I was always very curious about the history of my family and how far back it's traceable. I never did so, because it's very hard to get in to archives over here. And I have to much hobbies as it is ;-D
    But very cool to see your family has been moving all over the US.
    Do you know the tv series "Who do you think you are?" ?? It's a british series where they let famous persons search their family history. Very impressive and interesting to watch.
    How far back have you traced your family??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Misty Pines HomesteadJanuary 11, 2013 at 5:00 PM

    Over 20 years I've done mine.We are Irish and Scottish and Wales, a mix of something we think indian,hadn't figured it out YET.We we migrate farmers and always moving around but usually only the southern states.Yours' look like it was a huge family.

    ReplyDelete
  6. icansaymamaJanuary 15, 2013 at 9:22 AM

    Wow, that is really interesting! I always wanted to do some ancestry research, too! It is still in my life list! (TALU)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

  A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others.  Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...
3 comments
Read more