How do I find the oldest ancestor in my family tree?
How do I find the oldest ancestor in my family tree?
Answers
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Adam?
I am not aware of any easy way to do this in FamilySearch. How hard to do it by trial and error depends on the extent of your tree.
One option is to use a family tree program that links to your FamilySearch account. Programs such as Legacy and Ancestral Quest spring to mind (free versions available). These will allow you to download your tree and then search facilities in those programs should make it much easier.
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Additionally, there is a program made available through BYU Family History Technology Labs, which you can find via this link: https://virtual-pedigree.fhtl.org/login It will allow you to navigate your tree fast through it's elastic technology (you don't have to click on arrows, the tree just expands automatically). However, keep in mind, once you pass the 1500 year mark, whatever goes back farther is hard to verify. Hope this helps
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Actually loganc24 meant to type 500 AD not 1500.
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I would have thought 1500AD was closer to the mark. Major uncertainty arises well before you get as far back as 500AD.
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Thank you all! I've tried searching specific branches (my dad, his dad, his dad, etc.) and reached the 1300's.
I tried following matriarch branches (my mom, her mom, etc.) and seen similar.
But I imagine that somewhere, more work has been done to get back further in time.
I'm at the beginning of learning about ancestry, and have already found discrepancies in some of the records, so I've been working on some of those, but the oldest ancestor thing is just a curiosity. I'm excited to try the ideas you all have mentioned.
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I agree that 1500 was very definitely not a typo or error. In fact, in most places and times, anything before 1700 is likely to be fictional, or at least not provable. I think you need to have Chinese ancestry to get anywhere near 500 CE, and even there, it's only for the direct patrilinear line. In Europe, anything that far back is guaranteed to be pure myth.
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With random clicking, I was able to get back to 700BC on both sides. However, with a little more clicking I got one side back to Zeus…so I have a few questions about the accuracy.
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Sorry but how can any of this be remotely verifiable, unless your family happens to link provably into a genealogy supported by academic research? I have found my 19th century relatives, supported by genuine sources, far more interesting and relatable anyway, even if they never troubled the history books.
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I've seen several authoritative sources plainly state that historical records get sparser and more questionable as you go further back in time beyond 1500 AD.
Before 1500 AD your most reliable ancestry data should come from prominent historical figures/royalty.
But even there, there are good examples where even in royal lineages there were likely errors and sometimes (at least in appearance) fabrication and/or exaggeration of the lineage in some royal lines.
That doesn't mean that there is nothing to gain in data before 1500, just be reasonable about the fact that it is unlikely that you ever truly will know in this life your exact lineage back to Adam and Eve. 😅😊1
