Ancestry.com and/or Genealogy

[ajzepp]

Anyone use Ancestry.com at all?

 

I'm using their free trial to play around a bit. I've already figured out that my great, great, great grandfather, Johann Engel Zeppenfeld, came to America with his family some time between 1839 and 1860 and settled in Allentown, PA. I guess that makes me 6th generation German-American, which is deeper than I expected it to go. I knew we came over before the Nazis took power in Germany, but I didn't realize it was 6 generations ago.

 

Johann Engel Zeppenfeld (1801 Germany/Prussia) - Frederick (1839 Germany) - Frank (1880 Allentown, PA) - John (1917 Pittsburgh) - My Dad (1940s Erie, PA) - AJ (1972 Erie, PA)

 

I also found that my dad's grandmother had the surname Steeb, which is also about as German as it gets. So between the Steebs and the Zeppenfelds, I'm about as German as it gets.

 

(I know someone will say it's dumb to post this info, but all of it came from census data, which is obviously public record)

 

I've also come across other people out there who have done family trees where my ancestors intersect. It's pretty cool!

[Chef Jim]

No but I googled my grandfather. I found a website with his original last name which he changed when he ran away from home. I found out that one of his ancestors came over on The Fortune. So Iooked up that ship and it was the second ship to arrive at Plymouth. And this isn't some sideway move on the family tree. Same last name and everything. At first I was excited. How cool is that? Then I got pissed. WTF dude where you too busy that day to set sail on the Mayflower.

[ajzepp]

Holy crap, you have me beat...that's pretty damn cool. That's some serious American heritage.

 

I have my work cut out for me with my mom's side. She was adopted, but I'm pretty sure the surname was "Altmann".

[Chef Jim]

I have to edit that. It wasn't the same last name. It was on his mother's side. Below is his listing and William Bassett of Plymouth was on the passenger list of the Fortune.

 

http://www.bassettbr...=I14816&tree=1A

 

http://www.packrat-p...ips/fortune.htm

 

And not only did he not make it on the Mayflower he as a couple weeks late for the first Thankgiving.

 

BTW we always laughed at my grandfather because he said he was from decendent of the Royal Family. Well not quite but pretty damn close if you ask me.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Chef Jim

[ajzepp]

1621....that's just unreal to me. Very impressive heritage!

 

I'm just glad I could confirm I'm not an inbred Nazi.

[Chef Jim]

1621....that's just unreal to me. Very impressive heritage!

 

I'm just glad I could confirm I'm not an inbred Nazi.

 

My grandfather on my father's side was from Ancona Italy. Last name Giovanelli. I interviewed with a chef in LA a long time ago and his name was Robertino Giovanelli. After the interview I asked where he was from and he said Italy. No **** what part? I thinking to myself "say Ancona, say Ancona, say Ancona." Guess what, he was from Ancona. I asked if that was a popular name and he said no, there were probably 5 Giovanellis in Ancona. Dude was probably some cousin or something. I never followed up on it. What a dumass.

 

BTW what's interesting is I was a chef, my dad was a chef, my grandfather was a chef and this guy was a chef.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Chef Jim

[boyst]

I really do not have to look up all that much. I actually know a whole lot about my family tree. My fathers side I can trace back 5 generations, more or less, and then some. The 5 names going back before my maternal grandparents go as far back as Hungry. When looked at even more I have to think hard but we have found the original "Bosts" in Germany along with the Pitko's in Hungary, the LaDue's in France...etc. My great, great, great grandpa was the 2nd largest shareholder in US Steel at one point. We have 6 time or more removed cousins that have lived 45 minutes away that I have never met, same last name and all. My great great great and greater some more attempted to kill the Prince of Hungary.

 

My maternal side goes back very far but not as clear. My grandmother's side is nearly impossible to uncover - rough lives there in the past. My grandpa goes back to some of the oldest names in this county. It is funny, as a Yankee and younger then most here I get treated so differently. When people ask why I am here now I give them three of the biggest names in this area - then who they all married to...and they're usually like "oh, we are related" or then you know my neighbor. Of course, I have no idea who they are... I have found traces going back to the early 1800's easily. Some of my older grandcestors say we may have been given land grants in the NC by Walter Raleigh... I am not so sure but it sounds good.

 

My grandfather on my father's side was from Ancona Italy. Last name Giovanelli. I interviewed with a chef in LA a long time ago and his name was Robertino Giovanelli. After the interview I asked where he was from and he said Italy. No **** what part? I thinking to myself "say Ancona, say Ancona, say Ancona." Guess what, he was from Ancona. I asked if that was a popular name and he said no, there were probably 5 Giovanellis in Ancona. Dude was probably some cousin or something. I never followed up on it. What a dumass.

With those names, you should totally go on Jersey Shore.

[Chef Jim]

I really do not have to look up all that much. I actually know a whole lot about my family tree. My fathers side I can trace back 5 generations, more or less, and then some. The 5 names going back before my maternal grandparents go as far back as Hungry. When looked at even more I have to think hard but we have found the original "Bosts" in Germany along with the Pitko's in Hungary, the LaDue's in France...etc. My great, great, great grandpa was the 2nd largest shareholder in US Steel at one point. We have 6 time or more removed cousins that have lived 45 minutes away that I have never met, same last name and all. My great great great and greater some more attempted to kill the Prince of Hungary.

 

My maternal side goes back very far but not as clear. My grandmother's side is nearly impossible to uncover - rough lives there in the past. My grandpa goes back to some of the oldest names in this county. It is funny, as a Yankee and younger then most here I get treated so differently. When people ask why I am here now I give them three of the biggest names in this area - then who they all married to...and they're usually like "oh, we are related" or then you know my neighbor. Of course, I have no idea who they are... I have found traces going back to the early 1800's easily. Some of my older grandcestors say we may have been given land grants in the NC by Walter Raleigh... I am not so sure but it sounds good.

 

With those names, you should totally go on Jersey Shore.

 

Don't fuuck with Jimmy Giovanelli.

[boyst]

Don't fuuck with Jimmy Giovanelli.

[The Poojer]

my dad is working on his family tree, he used the mormons and also contacted some agency in county cork, ireland where the family is from and got some good information there.

 

Several years ago i went on ellisisland.org and found the ship register that my grandmother and her brothers came over on from italy, i wound up framing the register and finding a post card of the ship and gave it to my grandmother as a gift...it's pretty cool to do that kind of stuff...good luck with it, sounds like you are off to a good start

[shrader]

I'm kind of curious after reading this. I know that all of my maternal great-grandparents came over from Poland as kids. I don't know much about my dad's side though. His father did a lot of searching on his family back in the early 90s, but I don't know what ever came of that. I think there was some sort of early death/remarriage that clouded that branch of the tree quite a bit.

[KD in CA]

My late father and some other relatives did quite a bit of genealogy work. Something I look forward to picking up at some point.

 

We found ancestors who traveled across with Gov Winthrop in the 1620s. Also found headstones in the Mystic, CT area from colonial days. In fact, one of the exhibit houses in Old Mystic Village is named after my great-great-etc. grandfather, who lived there and worked as a ship builder.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

If anyone needs any help at all, I've been doing genealogy for 20 years, long before ancestry.com Just PM me!

[BillsWatch]

Never looked into genealogy since half of my family is unknown (parents divorced when I was 3 and did not see mother or any other relatives again except once at her funeral viewing 10 years later) and my father's side is not real talkative but someday I will, probably when I retire.

[ajzepp]

Never looked into genealogy since half of my family is unknown (parents divorced when I was 3 and did not see mother or any other relatives again except once at her funeral viewing 10 years later) and my father's side is not real talkative but someday I will, probably when I retire.

 

If you ever do take an interest in it, you might be surprised at how many tools there are, even just on ancestry.com. I know I've been pretty taken aback by the clarity of the documents and the way they allow you to manipulate and examine everything you come across. It's really pretty amazing.

 

Another cool thing is that you may come across others in your family - even very distant family - who have created family trees that intersect with you. That happened to me when I was doing my search. I found my great grandfather on someone else's tree, and it helped to fill in some gaps all the way back to the "boat". It was also pretty amazing because this person had like 200 people in the tree, with info about each one, and that's when it hit me just how German I really was. I'm talking like an entire legion of Germans must have landed in Allentown, PA back in the 1800s.

 

But yeah, it's a very impressive resource.

Edited August 30, 2013 by ajzepp

[Buffaloed in Pa]

Yeah my great,great great,great grandfather came here from the black forest region in Germany in 1762 at 19. Our last name has changed a bit over the years. He came to the Philly area and settled in a area called grindstone hill.I found my info on goggle. Someone else had did a lot of legwork. My great grandfather fought and enlisted in the civil war 3 times. Must have been good at dodging bullets.

[ajzepp]

Yeah my great,great great,great grandfather came here from the black forest region in Germany in 1762 at 19. Our last name has changed a bit over the years. He came to the Philly area and settled in a area called grindstone hill.I found my info on goggle. Someone else had did a lot of legwork. My great grandfather fought and enlisted in the civil war 3 times. Must have been good at dodging bullets.

 

Wow, three times? lol

 

By the way, I don't know if any of you guys have seen that show "Who Do You Think You Are", but it's still on the air. The current season has had Christina Applegate, Chelsea Handler (this one was extremely interesting), Chris O'Donnell, Kelly Clarkson, and a few others. I've always found this show to be pretty fun.

 

If you guys don't mind a quick personal story, I'll tell you about one instance that really impacted my desire to look into my heritage. About seven years ago I was working the night shift at a geriatric hospital when I was about to do rounds after taking report. The RN who was handing off to me mentioned what "a great story" one of the patients was, and that I'd be pretty amazed at who was on the floor. So I walk into this patient's room eager to find out what's up, and I see this short little guy sitting on the side of the bed almost as if he was waiting for me. He was very polite but he had an accent that I found hard to decipher at first. I asked him a couple questions about how he was feeling and I was about to take his vitals when I noticed that he was squinting and looking right at my name tag trying to read what it said. As one of his arms tried to tip it up so he could get a better look, he asked me to pronounce my name so I did. He asked me what kind of name it was but then sort of started answering his own question when we both said "German" almost as if we were saying it on queue.

 

Now I'm used to my patients asking me about my name...it happens all the time. But something about this little guy was just different. I told him that I was going to check his BP, so he reached over to unbutton the cuffs of his pajamas at his wrists and roll them back so that I could apply the stethoscope. As I held his arm to check the pressure, I noticed a very faded looking tattoo on the inside of his forearm. I looked a little closer and saw that it was a series of numbers, maybe five or six of them in a row. That's when I sort of put it all together given his age, his name, and the comments that the previous RN had made to me...this was a Holocaust survivor.

 

It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, and I can't even explain in words the way it affected me. Of course, I knew that my family had come to America before Nazi Germany and that I had grandparents who served in the world wars...but this guy didn't know that. I don't know what that must have been like for him having a 6'2" 220lb German in charge of his well being at night. I made sure that this guy had everything he needed during the three nights I took care of him, but I often think about this whenever I consider my heritage. So being able to confirm the information I discussed in the OP was really great.

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

 

Wow, three times? lol

 

By the way, I don't know if any of you guys have seen that show "Who Do You Think You Are", but it's still on the air. The current season has had Christina Applegate, Chelsea Handler (this one was extremely interesting), Chris O'Donnell, Kelly Clarkson, and a few others. I've always found this show to be pretty fun.

 

If you guys don't mind a quick personal story, I'll tell you about one instance that really impacted my desire to look into my heritage. About seven years ago I was working the night shift at a geriatric hospital when I was about to do rounds after taking report. The RN who was handing off to me mentioned what "a great story" one of the patients was, and that I'd be pretty amazed at who was on the floor. So I walk into this patient's room eager to find out what's up, and I see this short little guy sitting on the side of the bed almost as if he was waiting for me. He was very polite but he had an accent that I found hard to decipher at first. I asked him a couple questions about how he was feeling and I was about to take his vitals when I noticed that he was squinting and looking right at my name tag trying to read what it said. As one of his arms tried to tip it up so he could get a better look, he asked me to pronounce my name so I did. He asked me what kind of name it was but then sort of started answering his own question when we both said "German" almost as if we were saying it on queue.

 

Now I'm used to my patients asking me about my name...it happens all the time. But something about this little guy was just different. I told him that I was going to check his BP, so he reached over to unbutton the cuffs of his pajamas at his wrists and roll them back so that I could apply the stethoscope. As I held his arm to check the pressure, I noticed a very faded looking tattoo on the inside of his forearm. I looked a little closer and saw that it was a series of numbers, maybe five or six of them in a row. That's when I sort of put it all together given his age, his name, and the comments that the previous RN had made to me...this was a Holocaust survivor.

 

It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, and I can't even explain in words the way it affected me. Of course, I knew that my family had come to America before Nazi Germany and that I had grandparents who served in the world wars...but this guy didn't know that. I don't know what that must have been like for him having a 6'2" 220lb German in charge of his well being at night. I made sure that this guy had everything he needed during the three nights I took care of him, but I often think about this whenever I consider my heritage. So being able to confirm the information I discussed in the OP was really great.

 

Interesting story AJ. Sometimes there is a bit of awkwardness w/ancestry. My last name is Polish/German in origin and it was easily made to sound/spelled Irish so as my grandfather and his brothers (my great uncles) could work on the railroad. My last name is actually a place in West Pomerania (German border in Gmina Gryfino). Anyway, w/regard to some awkwardness... My wife's friend, here in Illinois, family is of German origin. I am pretty sure her grandfather was on the German side during WWII. Her grandmother and her children moved to the US and the Chicago area right after the war... Her grandfather was killed before they emigrated to the US. It was a bit strange meeting her @ first, she asked me about my last name. I said it was predominately Polish being close to Germany. She replies back: "My husband was killed by the Polish during the war." Huh? Very awkward. She mostly likely picked up on my last name... The town name tied to it and the ever changing borders of that era... Again very awkward... But, I saw a little bit of compassion in her eyes. Now, the rest of the family... It is a bit more awkward and I still get the cold feeling... Maybe it is just me.

 

For the record... My family has been here since before WWII, going back to the early 1900's. My father was a young child in 1939... He still remembers his mother (nee a "ski", which I take is more Southern Poland/Carpathia??) weeping to the reports on the radio as Poland got run over in September of 1939. I never really put all the pieces to together but w/my grandfather's family being so close to the German border (annexation in '38/'39), my grandfather's family (Poles) were probably the first to get run over by the Nazi's... Poles in Pomerania didn't fair much better than the Jews of that area and were mass murdered too...

 

Funny what a tit-for-tat world we live in...

 

Also... Speaking of some of the German hertiage (most of America has been always more German than any other hertiage)... My neighbor 2 doors down was born in Serbia (a few km's away from where Tesla was born), he just passed away last Christmas @ 85. I knew he fought Tito and fled to Chicago after the war... Worked @ Ford here on the South Side and retired 30 years ago! I just never knew he was still collecting a pension from the German Army till this day! 2012. Wow! I didn't think that was possible??

Edited September 1, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois

[ajzepp]

Interesting story AJ. Sometimes there is a bit of awkwardness w/ancestry. My last name is Polish/German in origin and it was easily made to sound/spelled Irish so as my grandfather and his brothers (my great uncles) could work on the railroad. My last name is actually a place in West Pomerania (German border in Gmina Gryfino). Anyway, w/regard to some awkwardness... My wife's friend, here in Illinois, family is of German origin. I am pretty sure her grandfather was on the German side during WWII. Her grandmother and her children moved to the US and the Chicago area right after the war... Her grandfather was killed before they emigrated to the US. It was a bit strange meeting her @ first, she asked me about my last name. I said it was predominately Polish being close to Germany. She replies back: "My husband was killed by the Polish during the war." Huh? Very awkward. She mostly likely picked up on my last name... The town name tied to it and the ever changing borders of that era... Again very awkward... But, I saw a little bit of compassion in her eyes. Now, the rest of the family... It is a bit more awkward and I still get the cold feeling... Maybe it is just me.

 

For the record... My family has been here since before WWII, going back to the early 1900's. My father was a young child in 1939... He still remembers his mother (nee a "ski", which I take is more Southern Poland/Carpathia??) weeping to the reports on the radio as Poland got run over in September of 1939. I never really put all the pieces to together but w/my grandfather's family being so close to the German border (annexation in '38/'39), my grandfather's family (Poles) were probably the first to get run over by the Nazi's... Poles in Pomerania didn't fair much better than the Jews of that area and were mass murdered too...

 

Funny what a tit-for-tat world we live in...

 

Also... Speaking of some of the German hertiage (most of America has been always more German than any other hertiage)... My neighbor 2 doors down was born in Serbia (a few km's away from where Tesla was born), he just passed away last Christmas @ 85. I knew he fought Tito and fled to Chicago after the war... Worked @ Ford here on the South Side and retired 30 years ago! I just never knew he was still collecting a pension from the German Army till this day! 2012. Wow! I didn't think that was possible??

 

Wow, so she just came right out with the fact that her husband was killed by the Polish? That's awkward for sure...

 

Is that true about America being more German in terms of immigration than anything else? I never knew that.

 

I've always wanted to spend more time in Chicago, cause a good friend of mine lives there and she was telling me it has one of the largest Polish populations of any large metro area in the US. I'm not Polish by heritage, but my mom was adopted by Polish parents. So I basically grew up around a HUGE extended family on my mom's side that was predominantly Polish. I've been craving some Golumpki, "punchkees", and pierogi for the longest time....

[ExiledInIllinois]

I think so. As ancestry goes, I think we are more German than any other. There was a link I have... I think I have it bookmarked @ work. When I find it, I will post it here. Note, this also includes our early history too. Not just the big Eastern European influx in the 1880's and beyond.

 

Anyway... That was sure as hell awkward... But I didn't sense bitterness. The rest of the family (older ones... Sons and daughter) seems a little more standoffish. I chalked it up to be dead honest... She lived through a lot! She loved children and took a great shine to my children. War, Europe in shambles and then making a new life in the US. The strange part was, even in the late 1990's she had her phone in her husband's name! I knew that because of the caller ID... I asked my wife and her friend about! He never made it here, but old school habits (husband's name) still took hold! Interesting to say the least.

 

Anyway... Since moving here... Had some other interesting stories. Used to be a man that walked the neighborhood... I asked my Serbian neighbor (the one who just passed away) who he was... He told me his story. Displaced from Europe... After WWII and ended up here... German. Was taken refuge here and ended up on a bus in the late 1940's... The bus driver dropped him off and said: "Here, there is a lot of Germans in this town!" Wow... He started working @ the Thornton quarry, married and built a life. I think he passed away (or went to live w/his children in old age) about 13 years ago or so... Interesting to say the least.

Edited September 1, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois