GenealogyBuffs: Anyone Intersted in Comparing Gedcom Files?

[bookmarm]

I fully expected to climb through the branches of our family tree and find some individuals who made choices I wouldn't understand and perhaps be ashamed of, but I realized they lived different lives in different times...I wasn't there, so I can't fairly label them by some actions and they aren't here to defend. I can't do anything to change what was then. Who knows what our own descendants will think of us. One thing I do enjoy seeing, when we research our families, is the diversity of the individuals. I admit I like having a colorful ancestor who's hand was cut off by Elizabeth I (he wrote something political she didn't agree with, but she liked him enough she didn't want him killed). One of hubby's g g g granddads always had an English wife and an Indian wife...at the same time. When both wives died, he got a new pair. It is what it is!

[kellee]

I loved reading about all your families.!! All i have is a bunch of names & Dates... I would much rather have some iteresting stories to include... I have also wanted to start a book... with all the info but with only names & Dates I really dont see much reason to it..

All of Families are mostly from Ohio.!

Holcomb- Perry County New Lexington Ohio.

Benner - Franklin County, Columbus Ohio.

Nail- Jackson County, Jackson Ohio

Holcomb is my Grandmothers Family,

Benner is my Grandfathers family

Nail is my husbands family.!!

I also have Adams, Ballard, Watts, Huddleston, Mc Donald, Barbee, Breckenridge.

all seem to be from Ohio area.!

Where do you all find your info... I cannot afford ancestory. com so I just play around mostly... but Would LOVE to know where I could find more info.

I have always been told we were Cherokee indian... but Ihave no idea where to find that info... and I am interested to know as much as possible.!!

I have uploaded all my info to http://familyhistree.tribalpages.com

Kellee

[NotKateHepburn]

On my fathers side, Cherokee, Kiowa and Choctaw, we can only trace back to a g g g g grandfather on the paternal side and then nothing. Lots of name changes and adoption by a white family. No one talked about it much. It wasn't until I was in my mid 20's that they finally told me that our last name had been changed more than once in recent memory.

On the maternal side of my fathers family we can only go back as far as my great great grandparents. It's like they never existed.

Names on that side are DYE, SMITH, THREADGILL

My mother family on the other hand have left behind so much information it nearly just fell in my lap.

Names include SMITH, GRIFFIN, LANTRIP, PHILLIPS, STEPHENSON.

The SMITH name includes First Landgrave Thomas Smith and Second Landgrave Thomas Smith. Father and son were both appointed gov of both Carolinas. The second use to own Cape Fear and Bald Head Island use to be Smith Island They helped found Charles Towne aka Charleston. A Plantation was owned in Goosecreek called Medway. Thomas Smith the First Landgrave is buried there. The bricks to build Fort Sumter were produced at that plantation.

Another Thomas Smith (popular name no?) was a merchant of London and was named Ambassador to Boris Feodorich Czar of Russia. This same Sir Thomas Smith was knighted by King James and named the first gov of the East India Company, gov of the Somers Island Company and the First Treasurer of the Virginia Company. He was among one of the first who invested in the Bermuda Company to colonize the Bermuda islands from 1615 onwards. Smith's Parish and Smith's Island in Bermuda are named for him.

Interesting to note: The East India Company was the Company that had their tea that was dumped from their ships in Boston Harbor in Massachusetts in the Boston Tea Party right before the revolution.

The Virgina Company was a group of men, under the crown, who funded and sent the first group out to the New World and settled Jamestown.

George Stephenson was the inventor of the "Rocket" and known as the Grandfather of the Railroads in England. He didn't invent the first steam engine locomotive, but he did invent the first modern one and is the one that all steam engines today are modeled after. While working on his steam engine he also invented the first miners lamp. His son Robert helped him on the Rocket and designed and built many bridges in England before becoming a member of Parliament. I have postal stamps from England that I just got not long ago in the mail. Pretty cool.

Other Family Ties, George Washington, the Uncle , Sir John Shelton, (and by extension herself) of Anne Boleyn and of course her daughter Queen Elizabeth if you want to stretch it that way lol and Sidney Lanier, lawyer and poet. The one most people know, and it's a bit more recent, is Pat Buttram, aka Mr. Haney from Green Acres.

Many, many other stories. They were fascinating.

I loved reading all y'alls posts. So fun!

[havanaholly]

One of MIL's brothers found an association of their family and joined and they trace their ancestory back to King Alfred. When we were in Little Rock four years ago I spent half a day trying to find out about my father's family; I found a picture of his father that looked like the twin of some pictures I ran across of the local Native Americans; but no info on his family; his mother was also fun because her maiden name was spelled at least three different ways! Another record we ran across in my father's birthplace contained a lot of misinformation about my family; found out from the librarian that the source for the information was my father's brother!

I don't know if any relatives are pursuing the geneology on my mother's side. DH has been trying for both sides of both our families, but I gave up trying to keep up!lol I did locate one of my cousins after 40 years, using the online white pages; and I used a hint from a man we met at our last campsite who graduated from my highschool the same year as my stepsister to try to get in touch with her again after nearly 50 years.