I only started this genealogy business three months ago and at the time of starting I thought (due to the very few bits of information let go by my parents when they were living) that my ancestry was straightforward, half English and half Scottish.
Now I find after doing some research and tracing all of my ancestors back to their countries of origin that the real picture is half Southern Irish, one quarter Northern Irish, and one eighth each English and Scottish!
It is kind of a weird feeling as I have always thought of myself as genetically and culturally Australian/English. Now I find that while I may still be that culturally, genetically I am more Australian/Irish than anything else. It is strange to me that the family heritage could have been obliterated in just a few generations like that.
Anyway back to the matter at hand. I have found searching for Irish ancestors on Ancestry.com is a pretty fruitless exercise. Usually I get nothing at all and if I do get a hit it is dubious at best with the details (the few that there are!) not matching up with any degree of certainty.
Do most people give up when they get to this stage or are there some tricks of the trade that can carry people onward and backward so to speak?
Now I find after doing some research and tracing all of my ancestors back to their countries of origin that the real picture is half Southern Irish, one quarter Northern Irish, and one eighth each English and Scottish!
It is kind of a weird feeling as I have always thought of myself as genetically and culturally Australian/English. Now I find that while I may still be that culturally, genetically I am more Australian/Irish than anything else. It is strange to me that the family heritage could have been obliterated in just a few generations like that.
Anyway back to the matter at hand. I have found searching for Irish ancestors on Ancestry.com is a pretty fruitless exercise. Usually I get nothing at all and if I do get a hit it is dubious at best with the details (the few that there are!) not matching up with any degree of certainty.
Do most people give up when they get to this stage or are there some tricks of the trade that can carry people onward and backward so to speak?
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