Apologies, this isn’t directly SSIW-related, but I just wanted to share.
I was born in England, but I’ve been fascinated by Welsh and Wales for as long as I can remember. I’ve been looking into the family tree off-and-on for a while now, and I was very pleased when I finally discovered a 3 x great-grandmother who was from Llanidlois.
Her ancestors have so far proved to be difficult to find, so I figured that would be the end of it. But then the other day, on a different family line, I had a mini breakthrough, and found a 4 x great-grandmother (1796-1870) who I was able to continue tracking back. I reached 12 x great-grandfather, and found he was from Usk, as was his father. Going backwards I found ancestors from Llanfeugan, Abergavenny, and quite a few other places. The trail has temporarily ground to a halt at the 17 x great-grandfather level (1380-1470), but I’ve found anecdotal evidence that his person’s line can be traced back to about 1088… I would bet my last dollar that most of them, if not all, would be Welsh or have extremely strong Welsh connections.
I just wanted to share my happiness with a group of people who I know will understand!
A couple of years ago, the local ceredigion archives and then ancestry.co.uk helped me back to Hywel Dda and even further to Buddug/Boudicca/Boadicea. It was great fun and very seductive. To be honest, however, I found the most interesting history related to my ancestors from the middle of the 19th Century. In other words, people who were actually known to my grandparents from whom I got direct personal anecdotes.
Have you been tempted to go down the DNA route? A facility which is now being offered (presumably at some cost). I haven’t, but I’m fairly sure there’s a high percentage of Neanderthal in me.
@davidht Fascinating indeed! Happy to hear of your success in finding some lineage Wonderful to know that you’re enthused about your heritage. How’s your Welsh coming along?
Also, @hewrop, how do local archives and ancestry.co.uk help lead far back enough to Hywel Dda and even to Boudicca? That’s quite a task, and wouldn’t think going as far back as Boudicca was possible without some DNA sampling. I’m quite curious.
I’ve actually thought about getting a DNA test done. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to trace my Armenian heritage (50%, from my dad) at present far back at all. I’m not vitriolic about it, though I’m fascinatingly curious and would love to know more.
My mom is half Cuban and half Asturian-Spanish. Though, that really means either side can be from all over Europe, and a few other places! I’m itching to know. Doubtful I’m Welsh, however
I did an Ancestry DNA test, which gave me some interesting news. Lots of Scandinavian influences, but mostly Western Europe and English & Welsh. I had hoped it would be a bit more specific. There are other tests I can try so I might explore that.
My family (although all very supportive) gave me a lot of sideways looks when I was growing up, as I had always expressed an interest in the Welsh language. The sideways looks were joined by raised eyebrows when I announced that I was off to Uni to do Welsh Studies. It was only about ten years later that a good friend researched my family tree and found that my Great Grandfather was a Welsh speaking minister and lived for all of his life not fifteen miles from the University I attended. That was a spooky moment! ‘It’s all in the genes!’ I cried!
My Grandfather grew up there and left for the big smoke (of Weston-Super-Mare) and that was seemingly the end of the connection to his home, as none of his children knew about it, and he died when they were very small. My Grandmother never talked about him, so it was a huge surprise - especially to have been so near for years, but not knowing!
how do local archives and ancestry.co.uk help lead far back enough to Hywel Dda
Local archives are good as far back as parish records allow which, in mid Wales, might take you back reliably to the early 19th or late 18th century.
I don’t want to promote ancestry.co.uk in particular because any genealogical software can achieve the same result. What you need to take you back further in history is one eminent or “noble” ancestor because he/she will probably have a well-recorded lineage which is corroborated by historical records. I had to go back a few generations before I found an ancestor of historical significance, but I suspect that most people would be able to identify someone equivalent without going too far back. With ancestry.co.uk the search is helped by prompts and also links to people who may be making parallel searches.
My main advice, however, is just to take this search as a bit of fun (actually a lot of fun).
@aran That’s exactly what it felt like - coming home. One day I’ll be there again, and this time I’ll know he was there, even if he never knew I was.
That last bit sounded exactly like something you’d have us say in a particularly mind-bending challenge!
My brother is very good with our family tree. Interestingly he has found that someone in each generation since about 1820 has passed through Borough in South London, including my Great-Grandfather from Amlwch.
17 great-grandfathers is very impressive!! With the same surname? Or did that take you back before that convention in Wales?
AncestryDNA’s dna analysis is fairly useless for anything other than finding links to other members of Ancestry.com who ‘may’ be related to you. However, you can download the dna data file and upload it to other sites if they support that feature. My family have lived in West Wales as far back as the 1700’s at least but all Ancestry could say was that I’m 53% British!
A better bet is CymruDNA (aka myDNA and others). They give you a much more technical analysis down to the haplogroup (sets of related DNA markers). Mine was R1b-S21 which apparently first appeared in what is now Germany thousands of years BC. How we got from there to West Wales I don’t yet know but possibilities include Viking or Flemish settlers.
DNA analysis for genealogical research is still in it’s infancy and they are making new discoveries all the time. The more people who get their DNA analysed the more we’ll get to know about how we got where we are today (and how we are all interrelated).
@davidht, yes, I get you! My family has included a lot of genealogists, but I didn’t get hooked until the past 7 years. It’s quite addictive. I’m American, and I’ve always known about my Welsh great-great-grandfather who left Pontardulais for the US in 1851. On my visit to Wales last summer, I tracked down one generation farther back, which was exhilarating–a tucker at the pandy in Pontardulais. I visited the building, which is now a home. More recently it occurred to me that my Revolutionary War ancestor Reuben Jones must have been Welsh. Right there in my mom’s records, I found him traced back to Sir William Jones of Caernarvon, a 15h-century lawyer and judge. So as you say, an illustrious forebear leads to lots of names. How my mom (or grandfather) found him, I don’t know. BTW, I got a DNA test from myheritage.com, and it was incorrect–made no mention of German ancestry, although four of my great-great-grandparents were born in Germany, and another one was of pure Swiss German lineage. Half of me was identified as from “Britain and Ireland,” not bothering to break it down into Welsh.
