r/Ancestry

I'm not sure if I can get this type of help here. My earliest US ancestor came to western PA in 1804 from Wurttemburg Germany. I have an extensive tree and have forgotten this person's name. There used to be a handy "journey" map at my DNA site showing her voyage and I relied on that in the past to jog my memory but it is gone. My question is: is there any way to find someone in a tree if we know where they died (Harmony PA) and the date they emigrated, but not the person's name? Hope this makes sense.

I’m 31 and I’ve realized recently how little I actually know about my own family.

My mom almost never talked about her childhood when I was growing up. I know very little about my grandparents, and I barely know my dad, so there are huge parts of my family history that have always just felt blank to me.

It’s only been in the last five years or so that my mom has started opening up more about her childhood and her parents. One thing that always stands out to me is the way she talks about them. She still calls them “mommy” and “daddy” when she tells me stories, instead of saying “your grandma” or “your grandpa.”

It’s a small thing, but it hits me every time. For a moment I’m not hearing about these people as my grandparents. I’m hearing my mom talk about them as their daughter.

And it’s made me realize that those are the things I actually want to preserve.

I can probably find names, dates, census records, marriage records, all of that. What I can’t find later is the way my mom remembers her dad coming home from work, what her mom was like when she was young, what their house smelled like, what they argued about, what made them laugh, or even just the way her voice changes when she talks about them.

The problem is that every time I try to intentionally get her to tell me these stories, it feels awkward.

If I sit down with a list of questions, suddenly it feels like an interview. She gets self-conscious, I start overthinking what to ask next, and the conversation loses whatever made it natural in the first place.

So for anyone who has actually done this with their parents or grandparents, what worked for you?

Did you have a list of questions ready, or did you just let the conversation go wherever it went?

Did you tell them you were recording, or did having a recorder out make things feel too formal?

And are there certain questions that seem to open people up more than others?

I’ve noticed that specific questions seem to work much better than broad ones. Something like “what was the house you grew up in like?” gets a completely different response than “tell me about your childhood.”

I think part of what’s bothering me is that I spent a long time assuming I could always ask these questions later. Now I’m realizing how much I’d regret having all the facts about my family someday, but none of their actual voices or stories.

I'm done. Cancelled my sub. This crap. I'm already paying a stupid amout for nothing.

https://preview.redd.it/g863bmj3e8kh1.png?width=1731&format=png&auto=webp&s=c98e83ffeda8d26f2397e81acfe1f7bd4d5ef3e9

Hi,

I'm new to all this and have reached an issue.

My great-grandmother died in 2016, and I am not in touch with any family who can tell me more about her.

I know:

Her name

Her husband's name

Her birthday

Her date of death

I've searched birth records, censuses and variations of her name but I cannot find anything that helps me identify her parents.

What do I do next?

So, my father died when I was thirteen. He ended his life to avoid a lengthy prison sentence after it was uncovered that he had extensive CSA material on his devices and had hidden cameras in our home to secretly watch me from the bathrooms, my bedroom etc.

I was just doing some research to learn more about my ancestors, and discovered that my 3x great grandfather on that side was charged with indecently assaulting his 8 year old daughter in 1870. I feel sick.

You know those moments in shows like Who Do You Think You Are? where a famous person finds out that their ancestor was also an actor, singer, dancer etc.? It's like that but much darker. It seems like certain traits get passed down through the generations and I'm horrified to see an example of history repeating itself here.

I just wanted to share this somewhere so it's not stuck swirling around my head. Thanks for reading.

I’ve been looking for my father for years and years and years. I know his name I know his birthdate. I just need to find a way to maybe try and introduce myself to him. I don’t want any money. I don’t need help with anything but I honestly would just like to talk to him.

Im in the uk so dont know how to search in america.

Im looking for a family. Mother and father lived and were born in america (we think possibly california) and moved to live in the uk after their children were born. They still lived in the uk in the 80’s but we think moved back to america.

Mothers name - Ida Warren (maiden name unknown)

Fathers name - Robert Warren

Daughter - Julia Ann Warren (dob 06/07/1959) - that is either 6th june or 7th july.

Daughter - shelly warren

Son - Stephen Warren

Thank you

Hello all! I am canceling my Ancestry subscription to try and save money. Before I cancel the subscription, does Ancestry allow you to keep your family tree how it is or does it just wipe all of your data? If they wipe all the data when you cancel the subscription, is there a way I can download my family tree? Thanks

So during research on my own family tree, I came across an Aunt and Uncle who seemed mildly interesting. Decided to dive down the rabbit hole. Couldn't find much on my Aunt (women back then weren't recorded well on paper). Decided to dive in from the POV of her hubby. Went to Archive.org, found loads of paper trails. Been reading them for 3 days . Suddenly, poof! My uncle no longer exists within their records. It's pretty weird bc it turns out that my uncle was some sort of famous pastor. They say he brought the Baptist church out of Virginia and into Kentucky. I was only able to read 2 books b4 it concked out on me. "The Land of Our Fathers" and "The Sorrows of Nancy. There were loads more books and I am very eager to read them all. Alas, it has concked. Is there somewhere else I can find these books? Oh, my aunt (DNA) was Sarah Rearden (Rardan, Rairdon, etc.) My uncle was Elder Robert Elkin. They were born in Virginia, migrated approximately 1770, give or take. They settled in what would become Clark County near Winchester. My uncle apparently had a church and congregation there on Howard's Creek. I guess at some point the congregation split and the church got renamed. I grew up knowing the Elkin name but I had no idea that they were distant cousins. That was cool. Anyway everything disappeared and now I'm stuck. Does anyone have a suggestion? Thanks.

Ancestry have just sent me a hint about my own daughter!

I'm a bit confused though because I don't think they should have access to it and I don't think they should be giving hints on someone who's still living. The info is her address, which unsurprisingly is also my address, from the 2014 electoral register but she opted out of the open register. Can anyone help me understand how they obtained this and if it was ok to share it with me?

I could be wrong, completely.

My great grandparents immigrated to Hawai'i in 1904 from Korea to work the sugar cane plantations. Before Hawai'i was occupied by the United States.

I was shocked to see pictures of my great grandparent's headstones (not sure if this is the correct term). Our family settled on the mainland (Los Angeles, CA) in the 1950s. I wasn't born until 1973.

We never really spoke about family history. In fact, I didn't even know we had Korean ancestry until I was in my very late teens. And, I was stunned. I always thought we were Hawaiian. I was completely wrong, but that's the culture I grew up with in Los Angeles as a kid.

So when I saw the headstones in pictures taken by a "Bryan Chapman," I mentioned this in a writer's group. I was told that Morman adopt dead folks, and document information about them.

I would like to visit my grandparents' resting place, but have no idea where they are. So I was hoping to ask "Bryan Chapman."

I guess it doesn't really matter after all this time, but there's some yearning I can't put away.

Thank you. I apologize for rambling.