Ancestors from the 1000's
I am a brand new member/user. I know I have a lot to learn about family trees and research. I just wanted to look at 4th, 5th generations of my family. Then I started going further back, my family tree shows ancestors living in the 1000's including a European king. There are then even further back ancestors to the 800's. There are numerous sources listed for many of these records. For me this is mind-boggling! Please excuse this naive/ignorant question: Can my current relatives' history really be traced that far back? Thank you for any replies and answers.
Best Answers
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Honestly, no, except where it happens to be possible to prove that your family intersects with one that has been the subject of detailed academic research for the period in question (in which case believe the academic sources, not FT).
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For most of us, it's nearly impossible to trace that far back with any degree of certainty. I recommend that you start from yourself, and work your way back and out, one careful step at a time.
By "out" I mean don't search just your direct line ancestors in isolation. To build a solid foundation, you need to research the siblings of your grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. That collateral research will help you to prove/refute your ancestors. Collateral research is especially helpful if you are working with common surnames.
Enjoy the search, and don't focus on finishing your tree.
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It is possible to genuinely descend from a king. They say everyone in Europe is descended from Charlemagne, but my francophone Canadian grandmother is linked, through parish birth records, to a French noblewoman who was his legitimate descendant. I wouldn't believe this without the documentation because, before parish records were kept, most noble or royal families in Europe made up genealogies to claim the right to rule. Personally, I taught myself enough foreign languages to read the parish records, so I can see for myself their signatures. How cool is that?!? And your genealogy ties you to history. One of my ancestors owned land that was an important crossroads in medieval france. It's now ruins in a farm field, but there's so much stone there they can't plow it, so you can see it in Google Earth. And he was the owner of record when it was mapped by the king for tax purposes. It's now an archaeological study site. How cool is that?!? Most interesting of all, one of my ancestors, the last viking to attack western Europe, sacked the land of a particular noble. That viking's descendant is my grandfather and that noble's descendant is my grandmother, and they married 500 years later! I have the parish records to prove the links. How cool is that?!?
So you don't have to have famous ancestors to find FASCINATING things in your family history. And the best thing is that if you stick to what you can document, you know it's true. Happy hunting!
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Answers
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Thank you both for the information and your recommendations. I need to learn so much more about how FamilySearch works. It's great to have the community groups available as a resource.
I'm in my mid-70's and am fortunate that I actually knew my maternal great-grandmother and great-aunts while they were living. There is a lot of family history, stories, photos, and public records, etc., about my maternal great-greats and their siblings and children. I have quite a few living cousins of different generations. I know there is a written family history that was compiled, and hope to track it down. I don't know much about my father's family beyond my grandparents and their siblings. I hope to learn more about his family.
I am enjoying my search and looking forward to learning more! I appreciate your help!
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Thank you Ingrid for sharing this amazing family history! I'm looking forward to continuing my hunt and learning more about my family.
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