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A project I started to work on a few months back was my family tree. It's one of those things that always intrigued me, but I never really got around to sitting down and trying to piece the entire thing together. And, like most projects of mine, it suffered the same fate, a victim of my attention span. I tend to get really enthused about something for a few weeks, then that interest gradually tapers off until the item I was working on lies forgotten in the back of a drawer.
Well, I found it a few days ago, in the back of the before-mentioned drawer. So far, I've been able to track both sides of my family to outside the US, but beyond that it's kind of a dead end. Still, I found out a few neat facts about myself and my ancestors:
1. My nationalities. What had always been kind of a guess for me as to what my nationalities were is actually verified now - I'm half Italian, a quarter French, and a quarter Irish. Apparently most of my Italian genes are the visible ones on me (dark hair, etc.) while my brother John got most of the blatantly Irish ones. This may have been noticeable at the wedding, based on the amount he drank and the amount I ate. ;)
2. My hometown. On both sides of my family, I'm a 4th-generation Brooklynite. And again, my brother inherited all the "accent" genes for this one.
3. So far, the Italian side of my family contains seven people named Tony (or Anthony), six people named Vinny (or Vincent), three people named Joseph (or Giuseppe), two people named Salvatore, and one person named Rocky. I may just be related to the Sopranos. The names of the ladies on this side of the family are much more diverse (and interesting), with a Philomena, Ophelia, Angelina, Isabella, Antoinette, Carmela, and two people named "Maria Fortunata".
4. The farthest back I've traced so far is to the Gillett family in France, in the early 1800's. And yes, just because it had to be in there somewhere, I do have a Pierre on the French side of my family.
So far, so interesting. Now, I need to get back to work. If I find out anyting else of value, I'll probably post it.
Well, I found it a few days ago, in the back of the before-mentioned drawer. So far, I've been able to track both sides of my family to outside the US, but beyond that it's kind of a dead end. Still, I found out a few neat facts about myself and my ancestors:
1. My nationalities. What had always been kind of a guess for me as to what my nationalities were is actually verified now - I'm half Italian, a quarter French, and a quarter Irish. Apparently most of my Italian genes are the visible ones on me (dark hair, etc.) while my brother John got most of the blatantly Irish ones. This may have been noticeable at the wedding, based on the amount he drank and the amount I ate. ;)
2. My hometown. On both sides of my family, I'm a 4th-generation Brooklynite. And again, my brother inherited all the "accent" genes for this one.
3. So far, the Italian side of my family contains seven people named Tony (or Anthony), six people named Vinny (or Vincent), three people named Joseph (or Giuseppe), two people named Salvatore, and one person named Rocky. I may just be related to the Sopranos. The names of the ladies on this side of the family are much more diverse (and interesting), with a Philomena, Ophelia, Angelina, Isabella, Antoinette, Carmela, and two people named "Maria Fortunata".
4. The farthest back I've traced so far is to the Gillett family in France, in the early 1800's. And yes, just because it had to be in there somewhere, I do have a Pierre on the French side of my family.
So far, so interesting. Now, I need to get back to work. If I find out anyting else of value, I'll probably post it.
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