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monicaregister
20-07-21, 16:58
If written records only go back to 1524, how can i know who were my relatives like a century earlier then? Im biracial, half american indian and half european... How can i take it to the next level then? Who can help me take it to the next level?
So have you already traced your relatives back that far?
If you haven't, I wouldn't worry about that yet. You may find you don't have any lines that you can take back as far as the 16thC.
If written records only go back to 1524, how can i know who were my relatives like a century earlier then? Im biracial, half american indian and half european... How can i take it to the next level then? Who can help me take it to the next level?
You can't.
A very good friend lost all family records when her house was bombed in WW2. With extremely common names and no clues to the family's origins, she became expert in all sorts of records, but wasn't able to take her tree back.
With any tree, you can only say it is accurate if you can prove the parents at every single stage. Miss out any step: in this century or four hundred years ago, and your tree is a fantasy.
ElizabethHerts
20-07-21, 17:30
Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on the parts of the tree you can do rather than worrying about hypothetical situations.
We all have to begin somewhere and the enjoyment from this hobby is every small step you make. I have just discovered the identity of the father (my great-great-grandfather) of my great-grandmother who was illegitimate. I never thought I'd manage that.
Some branches you will get completely stuck on, whereas others branches might be far easier to take back.
Start asking forums such as this one for help on individual people in you tree, working backwards generation by generation to avoid errors, and enjoy the journey.
kiterunner
20-07-21, 17:58
If you (eventually) manage to trace one line back to a famous person from history (what is referred to as a "gateway ancestor"), you might find that there is more information available about that person's ancestors than there is about most people from that time. But of course you might never get to such an ancestor.
kiterunner
20-07-21, 17:59
Also, some European written records go back much further than 1524.
monicaregister
21-07-21, 02:04
But how can i know who were my relatives like in the year 1305 if written records just dont go that far back? Should i ASSUME that they were originally native americans? If my family tree only goes back to the early 16th century, who were my ancestors prior to that?
If there are no written records then no one can know. We all have brick-walls where a time machine would be useful.
If you are serious about tracing your family tree, then start with your parents and see how far you can go back. Until you try, you will never know.
It is extremely likely you will not be able to construct a tree going back to the beginning of written records in any country, no matter what date those records began, so why worry about even earlier periods?
You say you are half European. Do you know which countries these ancestors came from and in what time period(s)?
monicaregister
21-07-21, 17:34
Im mestizo, which mean im half native american and half european from spain. Who were my ancestors in the year 1470? Were they native american people or white settlers from europe even though nobody from europe had come to el salvador in 1470!
ElizabethHerts
21-07-21, 17:55
We aren't able to answer these questions, nor can anyone else.
Just concentrate on getting information your more recent ancestors. Unless you find them, you can't get back to 1470.
Ooh, they could have been Moorish, Castilian, Aragon: at that time you have a huge palette to play with. I've got people gallopping off to Venice at that sort of period.
Im mestizo, which mean im half native american and half european from spain. Who were my ancestors in the year 1470? Were they native american people or white settlers from europe even though nobody from europe had come to el salvador in 1470!
Surely you will find your Spanish ancestors arrived in El Salvador after 1524 and quite possibly a very long time after that date.
No one can know the answer to your question about 1470. Have you actually begun your tree yet?
I am a bit confused. On this site https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1242169/
you seem to claim to be born in Argentina and of German descent. Have you done some research since that has changed your thoughts on this?
Monica said she was born in El Salvador in her opening post on 31 May 2021. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Mary from Italy
21-07-21, 20:27
I am a bit confused. On this site https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1242169/
you seem to claim to be born in Argentina and of German descent.
Is that the neonazi organisation Stormfront? I won't be clicking on it to find out.
Is that the neonazi organisation Stormfront? I won't be clicking on it to find out.
Yes it is. :eek:
maggie_4_7
21-07-21, 22:39
Is that the neonazi organisation Stormfront? I won't be clicking on it to find out.
Yep :eek:
Olde Crone
22-07-21, 08:14
If you have four ethnically German grandparents (rather than German nationals) how can you possibly be half mestizo? Can you explain please.
OC
kiterunner
22-07-21, 09:09
We don't know whether the thing about German grandparents is true or was even posted by the same person who started this thread. As far as I know, someone just found it by Googling.
Olde Crone
22-07-21, 09:31
Kate, true, but enough coincidences to need the poster to confirm her details.
OC
This probably isn't her either?
https://www.expatforum.com/threads/fatca.1435161/
ElizabethHerts
22-07-21, 10:46
Banned from that forum!
To be honest has the poster actually done any real research of their own or just made assumptions based on dna/family stories.
If they really want a genuine family tree the research has be done stage by stage ie birth, marriage, death certificates, themselves, parents, grandparents etc etc.
Given that some countries records are very poor in relation to others and finding the relevant ones might be nigh on impossible.
Even US records are very patchy depending on the state and how far back they go.
Even in the UK - I have found pre civil registration parish records with partial or full blank pages due to being water damage.
Outwith the UK - I've looked for records in Poland and Malta without luck and even looked for fil in the 1931 US/Canadian census but didn't find him.
I think the poster would be fortunate to get back 200 years especially with Indian heritage (did they keep written records?) as even those with Irish roots prove to be a really big brick wall for many.
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