Comments on: Genealogical Smackdown: Colonials vs Immigrants

By: 10 generations back | mrog::blog

10 generations back | mrog::blog — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:34:35 +0000

[...] for European and American ancestries. I discovered Randy’s post through Steve Danko’s and Donna Pointkouski’s blogs. This time I decided to answer in English (see more articles in your [...]

By: Jasia

Jasia — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:42:39 +0000

Randy may have made some good arguments, and you certainly presented both sides very well but I still think researching immigrant ancestors is harder. The two main advantages that researching in the U.S. has that would make it easier are: 1) I speak/read the language (that is a HUGE advantage!) and 2) There is a much greater variety of possible sources to check out. Researching in Poland, my only shot at finding ancestors is in church records. There may be other records but I don’t know of them or how to access them from here in the U.S. My only choice is to pay someone else to do the research… and where’s the fun in that???

Here in the U.S. you have choices… census records, vital records, newspapers, military records, probate records, slave records, church records, voting records, books and magazines, and cemeteries! If you can’t go out and look for something yourself, you can ask someone else to do it on RAOGK or compare notes on message boards with someone who lives in the area. Oh how I wish I could do that!

By: Heather Rojo

Heather Rojo — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:01:00 +0000

My own ancestry is 25% “immigrant” (Grammy came through Ellis Island) and 75%ish colonial (Mayflower, etc. with a few who came as late as 1650, LOL!) However, I married a first generation American, and I have to say his ancestry was quite easy. Like Martin said above, once you have the village you can go back as far as the records possibly go – in this case back to the Napoleonic era or late 1700′s. Not all colonial lines are easy, I have plenty of deadends and brickwalls in 1600s and 1700s New Hampshire.

By: Janet

Janet — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:27:07 +0000

My own ancestors are European immigrants. For the sake of my children, I did some work on my ex-husband’s ancestry, and was stunned to find Colonial ancestors–Essex County MA. I can say that I find Colonial genealogy much harder–because so much research has been done. There are a plethora of family trees online, and they don’t always agree! I had a very nasty exchange with a woman who insisted HER genealogy was correct when I’d only e-mailed her to say that I had seen a chart where Colonial X had a different wife than she said. Oh, my. I don’t use online trees for any standard of proof, but I do use them to find somewhere to start. As hard as starting from scratch is, I think it’s easier than trying to verify much-researched colonials.

By: Martin

Martin — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:55:40 +0000

As someone who is completely 50/50 with that type of ancestry, I have to say colonial ancestry is harder. As a great-grandson of Slovak immigrants I knew three of the four home towns of those immigrants (I knew 3 of my four grandparents very well). I had to wait for the politics to change, but as soon as Communism failed. I was off back in all lines 200 more years.

European church records are so much more rich with information than any comparable U.S. records. I get biographical information here, but strictly on ease of use documenting one generation to another, there’s no contest. European immigrants–much easier.

By: grace

grace — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:36:53 +0000

Wonderful article and great writing. A real pleasure to read. Glad that I found you thanks to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LittleBytesOfLife/~3/cy2CcL3OQpA/best-bytes-for-week-of-october-29-2010.html listing you as a great read. Will be back to read more soon.

By: Greta Koehl

Greta Koehl — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:45:42 +0000

Really neat post. Because I have colonial/southern roots and my husband has the NY/NJ immigrant thing, I think about this a lot. Mostly it has seemed to be more difficult to research the immigrants, but I think your more balanced assessment is closer to the mark.