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| Celtic Radio Community > General Discussion > Mum, Dad, Or Both |
| Posted by: Therasa 30-Nov-2003, 02:36 PM |
| I have been told all my life that when someone asks what your background is you are supposed to tell your fathers side. That has never made any sense to me. What do you all think/say? I personally acknowledge both parents. After all it's only with both that I am here.  Has anyone else ever been told, or heard that? If you have do you know why that is said? Take care all. |
| Posted by: maggiemahone1 30-Nov-2003, 03:13 PM |
I have never heard that, Therasa! Maybe that explains the reason why I started doing my genealogy I started with my Dad's side.  maggiemahone1 |
| Posted by: CelticRose 30-Nov-2003, 04:25 PM |
| Theresa, I have never heard that either! My father's side came right from Italy and that was easy to research, but my mother would be horrified if I didn't mention her side which is English and Scottish! It is her side that I have been doing the geneaology. |
| Posted by: McHaggis 30-Nov-2003, 05:09 PM |
| Well, when you'r doing blood work you have to consider both sides of the pedigree, I'm thinking. My father, born in Glasgow, gives me 50% Scots blood, but if you consider his family migrated from Ireland, that would change things? On my Mom's side, my grandfather was Swede, my grandmother, English, Scots and Irish.....so somehow I get over 50% on the Scots side if you throw in Granny's blooding. But since my father was a born Scotsman, I gotta go with that for at least 50% of my blood in one generation only.....lord, that only makes me first generation Scottish American on my Father's side, but 2nd generation Swedish American on my Mom's side......then if we go way back over a hundred years, I have a great-great (or more?) grandmother on my Father's side who was actually born in America of Irish parents but moved back to Ireland while still a child because her parents were killed in a fire in America....there she met and married an Irishman who moved the clan to Scotland before the turn of the 20th century...gets confusing, eh? Then if we kick in the relatives on my father's mother's side (Fleming), it traces back to 1066 and the Norman invasion. However you slice it, I guess my particular loaf is pretty much Northern European white bread....but you don't know where the heck those Viking ancestors dropped seed along the way. Somehow this all has got to explain my attraction for Redheads, I'm thinking.  RON |
| Posted by: Catriona 30-Nov-2003, 05:19 PM |
| Traditionally, Scotswomen married into a family (or clan)... although I know both my Dad and my Mum's genealogy back to about 1500s (any earlier and it all becomes a bit hazy unless you were a prominent family - and we weren't!) I honour both sides of the family. Dad's from Argyll, Mum's from Sutherland. Me? Edinburgh I have no other bloodlines in my family except Scots - not even any Irish immigrants (which is a common 'addition' in Scotland since the mid-1800s). Boring, I know. |
| Posted by: Therasa 30-Nov-2003, 08:46 PM |
| Hello all- Thanks for all the responses. I asked my mum today about this. She can't remember where either. So I called both grannies. I got hold of my little gran and she said she remembered hearing it when she was young, the reason she was given was,'the man is the head of the household and he is the more important of the two parents.' Then she laughed, I had to as well. She definately wore the pants in her marriage. She figures it must just be something from her day that was carried over. She's not too sure. Catriona- I told my gran about this site and she thinks it's wonderful. She also told me that if I didn't get onto the Ireland forum she was coming over to give me a smack. (Her family is originally from there.) LOL Never mess with the little old ladies, they're pretty darn tuff. She would have to be, she had six kids.  Take care all. |
| Posted by: Cailiosa 30-Nov-2003, 09:10 PM |
I've been attempting to do genealogical work on both sides of my family, but unfortunately I've only been able to find information for my dad's German/English roots. I would love to learn about my mom's Irish background, but there are so many Bryants/O'Briens that research has been difficult at best. My mom's half Polish (from her mom), but I haven't been able to find any information whatsoever. Seems that Ediskey is not common enough of a name. It's all quite frustrating but fun at the same time.  |
| Posted by: Therasa 30-Nov-2003, 09:22 PM |
| Cailiosa- I know how you feel. My grans' last name is Doherty. Her family has been the hardest to trace. We at least have family books that take us back to the middle of the 1600's. (on both sides) If not, I think I would have to cry. Don't give up, never give up. It's wonderful to learn where you came from.  Take care |
| Posted by: sjboren 30-Nov-2003, 09:34 PM |
| I think that both are importnant. I would like to say I have ancestors from many places. It makes me feel more connected to people all over the world. I think it is fun to listen to my gran tell me stories about ancestors from many countries. |
| Posted by: CelticRose 30-Nov-2003, 10:24 PM |
Cailosa! On another thread you mentioned doing geneology research on Rootsweb.com and through the LDS church. My cousins have done most of the work but are stuck, so I think I am going to try to start doing this and see if I can solve the problem, hee hee! So is Rootsweb a good place to start or can you and anyone else recommend any other sites? Thanks!  |
| Posted by: Celeste of the Stars1 01-Dec-2003, 03:31 AM |
| I asked my mom the same question. She told me that traditionally the woman takes the mans last name and through out the ages the womans maiden name get lost so its harder to track her side. I tell about all four of my parents. My mom and dad because, well thats obvious. My step parents because they both have been in my life since I was 2, so they had a very big effect on me as well. |
| Posted by: Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 01-Dec-2003, 06:46 AM |
| On my direct paternal line, I've only been able to go back as far as an early 1800's ancestor who family oral tradition says immigrated from Ireland. Family names on my father's side are mostly Scots (McDonald, Campbell, Abbott), and a couple of German (Deppe, Ulmer). On my mother's side, I hit a brick wall with her maternal grandparents who immigrated from Sweden in the late 1800's. However, with her paternal grandparents, I have been able to track some lineages back to pre-Norman Conquest times. I tend to view anything pre-conquest with a good deal of skepticism, as it is largely oral tradition or downright mythical. I have compiled a huge Gedcom, which combines several Gedcoms I have found in a variety of places including the LDS online material. I'm still trying to convince my daughter that the Gandolf she found in the large gedcom file is definitely back in the realm of myth. I do have a bit of editing to do:>). |
| Posted by: Cailiosa 01-Dec-2003, 08:44 AM | ||
I've had great luck with both the LDS site and RootsWeb. Most of the other genealogical websites I've come across have been pay sites, so these two were certainly a blessing. Both of them certainly don't have records on everything, but are pretty extensive. Good luck on your search! |
| Posted by: CelticRose 01-Dec-2003, 01:28 PM |
| Thanks Cailiosa! I am not sure where to start. To start with my living mother and go back, although it has been done already. Or try to find this missing person back in 1800 that we are stuck on, simply because we think his nickname is recorded instead! Someone told me of another site www.ancestry.com Have you seen that one? It is free too. |
| Posted by: Therasa 01-Dec-2003, 02:18 PM |
| Cailiosa- Thank you so much for putting the web page, rootsweb here. I think it will not only help out myself, but alot of others as well. I appreciate it, I think everyone else does too. As far as lineage, thank goodness I am not alone. I totally agree that you need both names. Your mothers family does not disappear only because she married. Good lord, it took both to get you here. I think both are important, I mean if you look at yourself and you mother and her family, I'm sure you have some of her traits. So it only makes sense to 'find' both. I think though, that alot of you are having the same trouble as I am. Not only do nicknames affect your efforts, but the fact that the mothers family name(s) have been lost in the past. Not very many people kept really good records. Take care all. And good luck to everyone in their searches. |
| Posted by: Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 01-Dec-2003, 02:28 PM | ||
CelticRose, My experience in doing internet genealogical research has been that it is usually most productive to start as far back as possible, and work forward. If rootsweb.com, ancestry.com, etc. are not productive, I can sometimes find the person I am looking for by doing Google searches. I generally phrase the search as something like: "[last name] [first name]" [date of birth] [place of birth] adding and varying whatever information I do have. Each of the main genealogical sites has different strengths, and different data. None of them have all the data available on the web. Good luck with your search! |
| Posted by: maisky 01-Dec-2003, 02:29 PM |
| For all of being a member of the Fitzpatrick Family, a proper Irish clan, the difficult thing about geneology is that, people being people, we can have a fair chance that our parents are who we think they are. Our grandparents give us a much less clear chance of being right. 5 generations back? Forget it. Between raiding Vikings and the Irish propensity for strong drink and all that comes with that, only village priest for each generation can know the truth. Maybe we should just enjoy being who WE are. Maisky Chicago |
| Posted by: CelticRose 01-Dec-2003, 02:56 PM |
| Hi Mailagnus! Thank you for that information. If I go back as far as I can, that is where we are stuck and would make sense to start there as I have information from 1800 and forward. Maybe I can find something that my cousins have not been able to find! Thank you for you help! Very appreciated! Maisky! I have heard the same thing about a lot of things in ancesteral history do get twisted and turned because of certain circumstances such as those you speak. But it is still fun to know as much as you can, if you can! I have always had an interest in culture and anthropology and so it has all been a major interest to me. However, I let my cousins do all the hard work and now I want to join in the task and see what else I can find out! |
| Posted by: Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 01-Dec-2003, 03:56 PM |
| CelticRose, I have a subscription to genealogy.com, which quite often has information not available on the free sites, so if you want to send me your 1800's ancestor's name (with possible variations), and birth/death dates/places, I could see whether there's anything there to help you go further back. |
| Posted by: oldraven 01-Dec-2003, 04:03 PM |
| This is the first I've ever heard of this 'tell only your father's side' business. I've always celebrated my mother's Scottish and father's English heritage. |
| Posted by: MDF3530 01-Dec-2003, 04:15 PM |
| My gene pool is trans-European. On my dad's side, the genes come from Scotland, Ireland and Germany. On my mom's side, Slovakia and Poland. |
| Posted by: Catriona 01-Dec-2003, 04:22 PM |
| Celtic Rose You mentioned that you have an ancestor that you suspect may have been recorded by a nickname... Are you aware that in areas of Scotland (up to the present day) - people in a village may have exactly the same names as someone else in the village... in Scotland this has resulted in people being given 'by' names - ie names they go by...! Murray the Milk, Murray the Neb (if, for instance, he had a large nose!). The same tradition happens in Wales, too.... I wonder if this is what may have happened in your family? |
| Posted by: CelticRose 01-Dec-2003, 05:06 PM | ||
Mailagnus, you are very sweet to offer. From what I can tell from all these records in my hand is that there was Powell Sutton who married a S. Rhoda Taylor in 1800. He is the one we're stuck on. We don't know if Powell was his nickname or what? We don't know what year he was born. We think he was born somewhere in Asheville, North Carolina.  If this is any help, before him was an Ervin Andrew Sutton, born April 30, 1858 in Forsyth Country, GA and died November 27, 1933 in Pickens County, GA. He was married to a Carolyn McArthur Tatum on January 17, 1875 Hope this doesn't become a burden. Thank you. Catriona! No, I was not aware of that. I know one thing my ancestors were good at were giving each other nicknames! Sheesh! That's what has made it so difficult! Thanks a bunch! All this helps |
| Posted by: Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 01-Dec-2003, 07:00 PM |
| CelticRose, The only thing I could find on genealogy.com for Powell were a few gedcoms with his descenants, nothing for ancestors. I also did a search on the other three names, but couldn't find anything. I've run into the same sort of dead-end with some of my own lineages. I have one ancestor, Norman Morgan, who just sort of appears out of nowhere in Scott County, VA. The only thing I've found that could be linked to him is a court record in NC indicating he failed to appear for trial. I suspect that Norman skipped over the line from NC to VA, and covered up his past well enough that even the descendants who still live in Scott County can't track him down. Sorry I couldn't be of any real help. |
| Posted by: CelticRose 01-Dec-2003, 07:37 PM |
| Oh Mailagnus! You were a real gem to do this for me and a great help. Thank you for doing this and hope it was not a lot of trouble. No telling what happened to ole Powell's ancestors, eh? Maybe they were outlaws! |
| Posted by: CelticRose 01-Dec-2003, 07:39 PM |
| Oh Mailagnus! Thank you for taking the time. You were a great help. I hope it wasn't a lot of trouble for you to do this. No telling what happened to ole Powell's ancestors. Maybe they were outlaws, eh? |
| Posted by: Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 01-Dec-2003, 08:32 PM | ||
No trouble. I enjoy doing this sort of research. A couple of nights ago, I got lucky and found a Carpenter ancestor for my wife who immigrated to England with William the Congueror. It turns out that the "Carpenter" name was given to him by his fellow invaders due to his prowess in swinging a Danish battleaxe during the Battle of Hastings. As my wife has always that her family is much more gentle than mine, this was a bit of a shcok for her. I've found plenty of my own ancestors who could be considered outlaws--except in Scotland, they considered themselves "raiders." As I understand it, so long as the raiding was done openly, it wasn't stealling. Unfortunately, at least one, by the name of Francis Hopkins, continued the tradition as a Tory in Rev War SW VA, and was hung without benefit of a rope in the crook of a tree over a river, for alleged cattle-thieving and counterfeiting. See, for example, http://home.insightbb.com/~1twig/francis_hopkins.htm The family view is that he was merely a loyal subject trying to assist his king. Sometimes when you are successful in researching your ancestors, the results aren't real pleasing. :>} |
| Posted by: CelticRose 02-Dec-2003, 04:41 PM |
| Mailagnus! It seems that when you do this searching of ancestors it really opens up a can of worms, does it not? I mean so much work to do! I have one great.....grandfather who was a Baptist preacher and during his sermon one day, there was a drunk man outside. Apparently this upset my ole grandpa enough to stop in the middle of his sermon and go outside and whip the drunk! Real Christian of him, eh? My cousins are the ones doing all this research and they live in one state and I in another. They are also very busy with their jobs and so I never hear from them anymore. That's why I am frustrated and want to continue the journey on my own, but it all seems so overwhelming. I think it is really neat that you are doing this and getting so much information from it all. I just hope I can do the same. many thanks again. your info was very interesting, btw. |
| Posted by: maggiemahone1 02-Dec-2003, 08:49 PM |
| CelticRose, Asheville, NC is in Buncombe Co. Try this link... http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncbuncom/ You maybe able to find something about your ancestors. Happy hunting! maggiemahone1 |
| Posted by: CelticRose 02-Dec-2003, 09:11 PM |
Hi Maggie! Wow! Thank you so much! You know I lived in Asheville, NC for two years. Had I known that my cousins had traced our family there and got stuck, I could have done a lot of research there. Now I have this site to work from. I was just in there checking it out. In the meantime, I tried emailing my cousin who I had not heard from in a couple of years to see if she has gotten anywhere and what sites she is working from. Many thanks again. I have another place to look because of you.  |
| Posted by: CelticRose 03-Dec-2003, 02:14 PM |
| Well, I am so excited because I spent the wee hours of the morning researching my mother's mother side of the family and found all kinds of stuff! I was able to trace my grandmother's side all the way back to 1701 to Grindleton, York, England! Now that I am in England, not sure where to go from here! All my grandfathers married Scots women and one of them was even an indentured servant for a wealthy British family in North Carolina! Also discovered one grandfather who was in the Revolutionary war and two great uncles were killed fighting in the civil war on the confederate side! So this has been fun! Thanks to the help of all of you! |
| Posted by: Cailiosa 03-Dec-2003, 04:26 PM | ||
Congrats on your successes! |
| Posted by: maggiemahone1 03-Dec-2003, 06:22 PM |
| CelticRose, I believe you have been bit by the "genealogy bug." Isn't it soooo exciting when you begin to find info on your ancestors! It's like finding a gold mine! I was in Ashe Co. NC at the old courthouse when I found the original copy of my great grandparents marriage license. I was able to get a copy of it, and it was wonderful seeing the original document. In one of your post you mentioned a great grandmother whose maiden name was Taylor. One of my ggrandmother's maiden name was Taylor and lived in Ashe County, NC. That is not too far from Buncombe Co. Who knows we may be distant kin. maggiemahone1 |
| Posted by: Therasa 03-Dec-2003, 06:27 PM |
 YEAH!!!That is great Rose! Isn't if fun actually finding what you're looking for? Goodluck on the continuing search. Take care |
| Posted by: CelticRose 03-Dec-2003, 08:40 PM |
Hi Maggie and Therasa! I have been hit by the genealogy bug bad! The problem is is that I don't have a clue what I am doing!  I just happened to run into all this stuff on rootsweb last night that one of my cousins had put together. So that was really exciting. But that was all on my grandmother's (Whitaker) side. The Sutton side I cannot find ANYTHING on the web about, not even in the LDS site, except for one of my uncles who died about 10 years ago! So that was frustrating! I know these people exhist because one of my cousins went as far as 1800 North Carolina,but she has one of the genealogy kits that you do on your computer, so the info is not on the web! I want to put it on there in hopes of finding others, but don't know how to do that too. I wonder if you find out more information by using the paid sites, than you do the free sites. And are they expensive? Clueless! Maggie, my great....grandmother was a S. Rhoda Taylor in North Carolina. They think in Buncombe county. Couldn't find her on that site though. Would be funny if we were kin! |
| Posted by: Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 03-Dec-2003, 09:27 PM |
| Way to go, Celtic Rose! It appears that at least three of us have Taylor ancestors. Mine is Elizabeth Taylor, b. arount 1707. Unfortunately, the only thing I know about her is that she married Captain Peter Hog, who emigrated from Scotland to Virginia in the early 1700's. It seems to me knowing who your ancestors were really brings history to life. Good luck on your continuing research. (I know from personal experience how hard it is to stop looking once you get a few hits.) |
| Posted by: CelticRose 03-Dec-2003, 09:41 PM |
| Well, Mailagnus! I love history so this is all very fascinating to me! I just wish I didn't wait so long to seriously try to do it. But I was doing other things in life when younger! My grandmother, Rhoda Taylor, was born in the 1700s too! |
| Posted by: Annabelle 03-Dec-2003, 11:18 PM |
| When my dear friend who's in charge of the DAR chapter here in Ga started helping me get started in Geneology she said you always follow your father's family since that is the name you come down with. But I really wanted a complete picture of my family so I explored every generation and it is sometimes too much to understand and gets confusing. Good luck in your search...I love geneology cause it's like finding another piece of the puzzle... Annabelle |