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gateway ancestors!!

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  • gateway ancestors!!

    How far back do I need to go to get a 'gateway ancestor' what they kept talking about on YDYTYA?

  • #2
    You might not even get one I'm afraid. On one of my lines I was lucky enough to get what may be considered a gateway or more of cat flap ancestor. I had done my research back to this particular man who in this case was nothing special however lots of other researchers had done their research down to this man so in the end I got from the 1860s to 1600s in about 10 seconds.

    Normally a gateway ancestor is a person of importance and may have titles. All my ancestors were normal people so I haven't got a hope of finding one.
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    • #3
      I dont think any of mine were normal......lol

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      • #4
        I have got back to 1500 on oneline with certificates and parish records etc then they switch over to Denmark.

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        • #5
          To get back to a "Gateway Ancestor" is really as Pippa has said, it all depends on whether or not you have managed to find ancestors with titles/position/land etc and there is no time scale, so you may find one immediately if you are somehow related to the Duke of Norfolk or other personage or you may get back to the 1600's and find one then. I have to say that I am back to 1633 and am moving in the right direction as some of my ancestors back then are yeomen farmers!! But methinks I have a long way to go! No matter, as the ones I am finding in the 1600's and 1700's are giving me a lot of pleasure at finding out that they do work for the bigwigs!! And now I know where my family got their airs and graces from! They may not ever have had any money but they did work for those that did.
          Once you do find a "Gateway Ancestor" you will have no trouble with the rest of your "Tree" so you will certainly know when you have found one! I might find that a bit boring!

          Janet
          Last edited by Janet; 12-01-08, 10:43.

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          • #6
            LOL at "cat flap ancestor"

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            • #7
              I don't think the defenition of a gateway ancestor (imho) needs to be anyone famous or well connected.

              If my ggg-grandfather had been called William Smith rather than Job Smith then, due to the circumstances of his life, I would never have been able to get further back or sideways. Some of his children and siblings, in particular, lead very colourful lives and made my whole tree far more interesting. So I consider him a gateway ancestor, but he was neither rich nor famous.

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              • #8
                My famous Owd Timothy o'th'Looms is a Gateway Ancestor. He was a big fish in a little, very little, pond, and hundreds, if not thousands of people have written about him.

                He cetainly wasn't rich, nor did he change the face of history, except in a minor and very local way, but he has over 5000 proven descendants and that makes him a Gateway Ancestor for an awful lot of people!

                OC

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                • #9
                  Of course many Americans have Mr Justinian Holden as their gateway ancestor!

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                  • #10
                    pmsl, Merry, I decided not to mention him!

                    But you have a point - just because 40 million people SAY "this is my gateway ancestor" doesn't make it true - you still need to prove it in the usual way, including the very existence of the said gateway ancestor!

                    OC

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                    • #11
                      The gateway ancestor I found was one Sir Peter Scott - which was an unfortunate choice of name - trying googling that and all you get are page after page of THE Sir Peter Scott.

                      Yes, it took the tree back to 1500's (and a few paces earlier) but it has been incredibly hard, frustrating work that has taken a couple of years (so far!) It's still very much ongoing - there are huge gaps and huge discrepancies of information. It's been enjoyable also, of course, but certainly not easy!

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                      • #12
                        Ah well I am just about 200 years away from finding the connection with my Copes and that of the Canons Ashby Copes and Dryden. Might get there one day!

                        On visiting Canons Ashby one day for an exquisite meal I felt I had returned home!

                        Janet
                        Last edited by Janet; 12-01-08, 13:31.

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                        • #13
                          My uncles had researched my mother's family and got far enough back that the names threw up matches on GR. One contact there was kind enough to pass over a copy of a well-researched tree back to the C16th, so I guess that my mother was a bit of a gateway ancestor, herself. Having the surname CHRISTMAS was always likely to help, of course!

                          Christine
                          Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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                          • #14
                            Nudged for Merseybabe.

                            OC

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                            • #15
                              Thanks OC

                              Ann
                              merseybabe passed away in March 2016

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