Going To Far Back In Search Of Family History?

Question

I’ve noticed that some people when asked about where they are from they reply with a few different nationalities like “My mother's mother is half British and half American and my dad's dad is half Jamaican and half Scottish” which is ok but then some people go as far back as their great great grandparents

What’s the point in this? Do their nationalities really have anything to do with the person I’m asking about anymore?

I would usually not think or really care about this but I was talking to a girl who said she was 1/14 Jamaican which I don’t understand at all! Is that possible?

What's the point couldn’t we just start over and say we are 'wherever we were born'?

Answer 1

To a point I agree with you, But in to days world People are striving to stand out as a individual and our ethnic back grounds are part of that. Yes we are who we are but part of who we are stems from our genetic history.

Just be proud of who you are and of your Family

Answer 2

I'm with you. Let's talk about my brothers kids for a minute. Both of their parents and all four of their grandparents were born in the US. Why can't these children just say that they are Americans. Do they really need to say 1/4 Spanish, 1/4 Italian etc. When do we get to be Americans? 2 of 4 of my grand parents were born here. I hate when I tell someone that I'm American and they ask for more. I have made a family tree and the who is much more fun to learn about then the where.

Answer 3

The fun part in going back as far as we can is to see if we have famous ancestors, or royal titles, or something similar. My aunt in Arkansas printed up a family tree for her son once, and it went some 40-50 generations back to the Biblical Abraham. She said she could have gone back to Adam and Eve, but couldn't find a marriage certificate, let alone a birth certificate for them. LOL
As for your friend--she could be 1/16 Jamaican, but not 1/14. It goes full blood, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.

Answer 4

You meant going bach TOO far, I suspect.

1/14th isn't possible. She meant 1/4 or 1/16th; probably 1/4th, which would be one Jamacian grandparent. Most normal people don't know where their great great grandparents were born. Genealogists do, and I sometimes tell people I'm 3/64ths Huguenot.

Where you were born isn't very telling. If a cat gave birth in the back seat of a car, her kittens wouldn't be Chevrolets. There are people in San Francisco whose ancestors were born in California for three and four generations who still consider themselves Chinese. (In Peru, too; Lima has a huge ChinaTown.)

People will go into detail about their health, Internet habbits, politics, religion or ancestry if you ask them a leading question. If you just want to know where someone was born, ask them that, not where their family is from; or, instead of asking that, ask them if they have read any good books lately.

Answer 5

Sarah, this is what genealogists DO.
some people like crossword puzzles, some can tell you who made how many home runs in 1972, some love knowing who Paris Hilton partied with last night, and how many drinks she did/did not have.
Some people love the challenge of discovering who and where their ancestors were. It's an exercise in learning.
Is there something in your life that you are passionate about? I hope there is, and whatever it is, I hope it brings you a sense of accomplishment, and a positive connection with other persons. It might bore ME to tears, but if it makes you feel good, hey, more power to yah.

Answer 6

It is just a matter of interest,and can be fascinating, the problem is that research is very complex, and it is too easy to go off on the wrong trail. there are an infinite number of people with the same name, some change the spelling of their name. So you may well ask "what's the point"?

Answer 7

I'm a European mongrel, and I'm proud of my mixed heritage. I don't go on about it though, because I know that many people find the whole subject tedious, and while your research might have been really exciting to you, it's dull as dishwater to someone else, because it doesn't relate to them.

I tell people I'm English, because I was born in London. Prior to that is your genetic makeup, but people aren't asking for your lineage.

Answer 8

I think people are just trying to place themselves within some knid of cultural identity. It is a way of defining who you are and where you are from, and what has shaped you as a person in a genealogical sense. Which works for some people and to others seems a little silly. Works for me, though - I am one of those people who can tell you all the bits I am, which I like as I feel connected to a lot of cultures.