Identifying

all

Ancestors

of a

Given Person

Backwards from 2022

The facts as presented:

An email was received from a man who lived not too far away from me, in January of 2022. He was desirous of discovering something about his family and their origins in Europe. He said initially that he was not interested in extensive branches - just parents and grandparents, but this changed soon after starting. The names and birth dates of his parents were known, but nothing else. He wished to know where in Europe some of his ancestors were from, because a trip to the UK had been planned for later in the year, and he hoped to visit some of their home turf.

The challenge:

Both of the man's parents were born in a period where no vital records are accessible, so the start-up was a challenge. But once that hurdle was over, things moved along quickly.

The results:

Within a reasonably short time, details for his parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 great great grandparents, 32 great great great grandparents, and about 12 great great great great grandparents were in hand. A full narrative report was prepared, and we met to hand it over and discuss the circumstances. At that point, the project morphed to one where all possible ancestors were to be identified, again along all paternal and maternal lines, as far back as possible, within reasonable time committment limits.

Ultimately, the quest took us to England, Scotland and Ireland, way back in France, and Germany. Ancestors in England were chased back to the late 1700s, as were ones from Scotland. Facts about those ancestors who were from Ireland became difficult to chase back beyond the early 1800s with any certainty, while the lineages established in France were followed back to the mid-1600s. Time constraints limited work on German origins, but several lines could be traced to American immigrants in the early 1700s. Some of the ancestors were relatively recent immigrants to Canada, some came as either UE Loyalists, or a relations of a Loyalist. Some had settled in New France long before the British conquest in 1760. Most had been farmers. Some had been lumbermen & loggers. One or two were politicians. A real mix. And an absolutely fascinating case!

- - - - Project #220125    (Completed 26 October 2022)