One of the things that was a hobby for a while was tracing my 'roots'.  I was so absorbed, it was all I used to do.  My dining room wall was covered with 3x5 note cards - all with random distant family members that I was trying to connect.   Two things about the Scots - they had big families and had a limited pool of first names in each family so that made it more difficult.  The other thing is that they spread all over the English speaking world. But, I was able to find every family member in my line back to the 1600s.  Thanks to Google Earth Street view, I have pictures of many of their houses, which are still standing in Scotland.
My Great Grandfather left Scotland to open a grocery store in Cape Town, South Africa.  He died at age 32 after contracting TB on the ship going back to Scotland for a visit, but considering his very poor family, he achieved quite a bit of success (judging by his will, which I have).  The best part about genealogy is that it is very portable and something that one could easily do on the road with an Internet connection.

One tid bit is that Alexander Davidson (grandfather of the founders of Harley Davidson) rented a cottage from a relative of mine before he emigrated to Milwaukee.  The little stone cottage is still standing and has recently been restored as a small museum.

I'd love to visit Scotland to see all the places the family lived.

Here's Great Grandad (on left) in front of his shop  and my great grandmother after his death, with my grandfather(on the rocking horse)

Genealogy is still one of my passions! So much so, that I have about 45 family trees on ancestry.com for me, friends, in-laws, DNA matches and a couple of people who have requested help over the internet! I guess I just love a good puzzle!!

That is so cool Ian!

Sadly, as an adopted kid, I have little information. I’m Irish. I don’t know much more than that. Wish I did. Lots of people enjoy tracing their roots back, the family that adopted me did for their biological relatives. It is really wild when you find a distant relative that looks just like you, or someone you are close to.




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Genealogy is soooo addicting. I have to set aside several days before I start up my ancestry family tree and delve into more research.

(11-06-2017, 04:09 PM)VivoEnMiFurgoneta Wrote: Genealogy is still one of my passions! So much so, that I have about 45 family trees on ancestry.com for me, friends, in-laws, DNA matches and a couple of people who have requested help over the internet! I guess I just love a good puzzle!!

Easy to get lost imagining the day to day lives of people in those times.  There is an amazing amount of info out there.  I found a survey from the mid 1800s of the town (Brechin) that they lived, giving the number of people engaged in the occupations of the town, their wages and even what the average person ate.  I am glad I came from poor people, rather than having famous relatives.  I identify much more with working people and their daily struggle.  There is a certain richness in lives that are carved out of meager resources.

High Street, Brechin then



High Street today

(11-06-2017, 04:19 PM)Blanch Wrote: That is so cool Ian!

Sadly, as an adopted kid, I have little information. I’m Irish. I don’t know much more than that. Wish I did. Lots of people enjoy tracing their roots back, the family that adopted me did for their biological relatives. It is really wild when you find a distant relative that looks just like you, or someone you are close to.




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I watched an interesting documentary about children who were adopted out of Ireland.  Many of their mothers were unwed women who were basically incarcerated in the laundries run by Irish nuns.  Their children were taken and many were sent to America.  I don't know your timeline, but the practice continued into the 1970s. Pretty horrendous. The woman in the doc had traced her path back to the Irish orphanage and discovered her mother and her circumstances. Some of the women were so institutionalized that they stayed, working for the nuns as virtual slaves until they died.

(11-06-2017, 04:56 PM)IanC Wrote:

(11-06-2017, 04:19 PM)Blanch Wrote: That is so cool Ian!

Sadly, as an adopted kid, I have little information. I’m Irish. I don’t know much more than that. Wish I did. Lots of people enjoy tracing their roots back, the family that adopted me did for their biological relatives. It is really wild when you find a distant relative that looks just like you, or someone you are close to.




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I watched an interesting documentary about children who were adopted out of Ireland.  Many of their mothers were unwed women who were basically incarcerated in the laundries run by Irish nuns.  Their children were taken and many were sent to America.  I don't know your timeline, but the practice continued into the 1970s. Pretty horrendous. The woman in the doc had traced her path back to the Irish orphanage and discovered her mother and her circumstances. Some of the women were so institutionalized that they stayed, working for the nuns as virtual slaves until they died.

I was adopted in California in 1960, my mother sold me for cash. So it is a sad story, but not one with any historical significance. I am the oldest of seven girls, we were all adopted out or abandoned. Drugs and poverty were the problem, nothing more than that.


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Debbie, did you participate in a documentary about your circumstances? Or maybe a news story or something? I remember watching something about a story that sounds like yours.

(11-06-2017, 05:24 PM)VivoEnMiFurgoneta Wrote: Debbie, did you participate in a documentary about your circumstances? Or maybe a news story or something? I remember watching something about a story that sounds like yours.

Nope, not me. I don’t talk about it too much. But genealogy is such a fascinating subject. When I gave birth to my first son I had an epiphany, I was looking into the eyes of the only biological relative I had ever met.

Later in life one sister chased us all down and did the dysfunctional reunion thing. Then I got the story.


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I saw a documentary about the Irish. One thing that struck me was it said there are more Irish in America than in Ireland. That is a lot of movement by a population and I was thinking maybe, maybe not... Then it struck me. My grandmother's maiden name is Sullivan to there's that.