We're still working on it of course, but at this point it looks like I have a great great Grandpa on me Mums side from West Virginia who was on the Northern side who saw just the tiniest bit of action(we tracked his unit)in Pennsylvania before being captured and then quickly died of illness in a Southern prison.

Other than he had a kid; he may as well have been written off the history books.

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As a checkout clerk exclaimed to me last year: "Yankees are like hemorrhoids; they're always coming down, they're a pain in the A**, and they never go back up!"

(Revealing a little of my age) - When I was in High School in Panama City, Florida in the late 60's, they still all stood (Black and White) when the Band Played "Dixie".

Yep, Southerners still rue the loss. History books are all re-re-revised, and with each revision, they tell less of the Confederate story of the dispute than the Victors'. Present-day books present a MUCH abbreviated and nearly one-dimensional picture, eliminating most State's Rights issues. Most egregious of these IMHO, is the "Three-Fifths". Look it up - if you dig hard enough, you will find that that term was inseerted into the dispute by the NORTH, to keep the South from having more Representatives in the House, not by "Slavers".

Probably too much info, and sorry to sidetrack the thread.

[size=small]Well my grandfather was the Confucius geneologist for his village, which as you know is very family/ancestor-oriented so it's an important job to get right. So I guess the info I have is pretty darn reliable. Our family can be traced back 14 generations, back to when the Emperor sent his Yangban (scholar of the court) to find out about this new-fangled thing called Confucianism over in China. How's that for ancient history? Anyhow since then we've been in that yangban/scholar lineage and our family history began to be recorded and there have been plenty of Governors and other public servants and such in the lineage. Apparently 3 or four generations in, there was a family split of three brothers, and our lineage was from the second brother. Therefore there's still a kind of unspoken thing that if you share the same surname it's fine to marry, but not if you're from that same brother's line.[/size]

[size=small]As far as famous folks, I believe this individual is the most famous from my direct line (I believe he was a great grand uncle).[/size]

[size=small]An Jung-geun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/size]

[size=small]I can tell you, it is very strange to chill in the USA and chow on taco bell, then go to the mother country and see your ancestor's freaking palace and monolith with your last name chiseled into it, and then check out the public park named after your descendant - it's humbling.[/size]

[size=small]Here's a little tidbit to the Imperial Assassins - my friend 1911 is an Emperor in Exile, how's that for nifty? But yeah his line had a bit of an ouster and most of the royal family changed their surname and headed for the hills - only his line kept the name, and so can claim the fame. Another mutual pal is also from royal lineage, and he can trace his lineage back to the Emperor who was responsible for our country's written language.[/size]

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Okay, thanks Guy/guys. I hesitate to take this further off-course, but is continuing to call it The War of Northern Aggression any more a complete picture than calling it a variety of other names (The Civil War, War Between The States, The War for Southern Independence, etc.)? I mean unless you're using the terminology consistently for sovereign - no matter how short term - nations (the current war in Iraq would now be The War of U.S. Aggression, etc.), it sounds dismissive of Southern causes also of the war, no? The Civil War may be (at least to people here in the states) the constantly re-defined war (even during), but can you talk about the war without discussing state-rights (especially only a few generations after the War of Independence) any more/less than slavery compromises leading up to (three presidents, congress even further back, and pre-Independence discussions) or even whose side fired the opening shots? You wouldn't call it The War/Battle of Southern Aggression on Fort Sumter, would you? I'm sympathetic to claims of exaggerated historical facts by the victors, but The War of Northern Aggression is a bit to wrapped in victim-hood for me. Unless I suppose anyone can claim succession and the roots and aftermath are irrelevant. Maybe it is. We recognize some countries immediately. The key is to keep history from being forgotten (which may actually be a point of this thread ), and likely the South has suffered here more. Certainly the average Southerns view is forgotten, which I think was your point. On the other side, the question of weight of slavery being a root cause is also strangely lightened, even though you had Lincoln making public promises to not challenge existing slave states, succession taking place before he took office or any major change, blacks being hung in the North because they were "the cause" of the war, etc. It's difficult for me to not think slavery a motivator (not for a altruistic North or 'evil' South, but in association of conflict which required escalating military responses from both sides). Am I way off here?

Folks, it may be ancient politics, but it's politics nonetheless. Let's not go all Hatfield and McCoy here please!

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Not too kid, but we have quite a bit of incest on my moms side.. No wonder we have a lot of health problems in our family..

My sir name is Kivlehan.. My great grandfather changed it to Kivlehen, cause the latter sounded too Irish, & had trouble finding work.. My moms original name was Flannery.. Again, was changed to Flanery cause it sounded too Irish.. Kivlehen is a very rare name.. If there are other Kivlehens out there we are related for sure..

^ sorry - the incest thing caught me off guard.

Are you one of the Walsungs?
(Opera joke)

That really kind of sucks for you. The stigma that goes with it is justified, but no one thinks of those who are the product of such relationships.

Luckily, we have none of that which can be traced on either side. Not many health problems on either side. The women on both sides tend to live until ~90. The men, well, they tend to die of heart attacks (but all of them were avid smokers). My mom's side has a lot of that german and some irish blood. Thus, they can drink like fishes. Seriously, you can not have an open bar with these people. They will make you broke. At least, they can all hold it and there is never and issue of bad behavior.

I'm a genuine person, so the only thing I know about my father's side is that he was of Dutch descent. Until recently I was only aware that my grandmother and great-grandmother emigrated from Liverpool in 1910. A couple of years ago however, an aunt received a call from some distant relative on my grandfather's side who had tracked her down through genealogical research. She sent us a pile of birth and marriage records from England going back to the early 1800's. It seems I come from a long line of English/Irish farmers and domestic help, most of whom signed their names with an " X ". Last month through the internet and armed with the knowledge of the name of the ship on which my grandmother came to Canada, I was able to find her name listed on the ship's 1910 manifest.

According to DNA testing by the National Geographic Society's "Genographic Project" (which costs $100), it appears that a very long time ago we all came from Africa, through the Middle East, and are all related.

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mbriant did you do the Genographic Project? Couldn't tell from your wording. If so how did you find the results? I went with 23 and Me for other issues, but curious your experience there.

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Yes I did. I went with the Paternal test, but have since ordered and received the Maternal kit as well. (haven't sent it in yet).

I haven't looked at the website in several months to see if there's more info provided as yet, but what I received was a rather basic general explanation of how my father's ancestors wound up in Europe. Not really much more info than I got from watching the National Geographic TV special on the project. I did notice, when I looked back at the site after receiving my results, that there were several other sub-studies being done, but to be honest I didn't pay a lot of attention.

This is the first I've heard of "23 and me", but I'll be looking into it as well as getting my Maternal cheek swabs sent in and studying the results I've already received some more. I imagine these results would be more accurate and specific for people who are closer to their original village/tribal roots than someone like myself ... a mixed nationality western European/North American .... coming from two seafaring, world exploring country's like England and Holland, where a lot of international blood-mixing might possibly have occurred over many generations. I imagine that the Roman invasion of England 2000 years ago alone, could confuse and muddy the gene pool somewhat.

EDIT: After a quick look at the 23 and me site, it's obvious that it's much more detailed and interactive than National Geographic's study. Then again, it costs $1000 vs. National Geo's $100.

23andMe was founded by Anne Wojcicki, Sergey Brin's wife. We'll see where it goes. Fortunately, I got a discount through a friend. For those interested in genetic drift and family backgrounds (not to mention what's happening to your Y chromosome - hint, not good) you may find Adams Curse interesting. It's up at Google Books.

AFAIK, my family is 1066 - some French nobleman came over with William, helped beat up Harold &, as with other Norman nobles, was awarded land etc. There's a village on the south coast that carries my family name (Sidley Green, nr Bexhill). Went there once, decided I should run for Mayor

1545 in Alpersbach (sp?) Germany.

I have volumes of genealogy that trace it back with all primary sources.

I didn't do any of the work, but several people contributed.

I am a descendant of Dutch royalty dating back 700 years, just look up the House of Orange. I am almost 100% Dutch. With a bit of German in there. Oh yeah, grovel at my feet, peasants.