Ancestry Insanity

William de Tracy, from the reign of Henry II, burst into Canterbury Cathedral with some fellow knights and smote Becket upon the head. It took several blows to end his life. De Tracy, a grandson of William the Conqueror, was part of the great religious back-and-forth--don't give Rome too much power, but don't give the English people too much power either. Challenge the authority of the Pope, but never the authority of the King. De Tracy was exiled to the Holy Land and lived out his life in penance. Or, he died on the way there, perhaps of leprosy. Or, he went as far as Rome and then returned quietly to live out his life in the English countryside.

Youngest son Henry was left landless when his father William died. One of his brothers got control of lands in Brittany and the other got England. Instead of relishing their good fortune, the older brothers immediately went to war against each other, leaving Henry on the sidelines. But not for long. Henry played his brothers against each other until he was the only one left, crowned Henry I, King of England. For the rest of his life he struggled to keep his quilt-pieced kingdom together.

Henry's grandpapa was William the Conqueror, who invaded England from France in 1066, defeated them at the Battle of Hastings, and established a Frenchified aristocracy. He is known for ordering the recording of land ownership in great detail, giving us a rich picture of medieval life in England. This collection is called The Domesday Book.

William the Conqueror was supported in his ambitions by Henry I, King of France. Henry's support was controversial because William was illegitimate. Henry had a hard time holding onto his lands and gladly took W the C's assistance. Henry I's son was Phillip I of France. Philip I ended up in many struggles with Henry II or England, who was behind the murder of Becket. So, we're back at the top of the page!



What do these ancients have to do with me? I think I'm related to them. Ancestry.com has become my new BFF. On a whim, I signed up for a month-long trial. Within hours, I was obsessed. I typed every name I knew among my grandparents and great-grandparents into a easy template and POP! the hints started coming. Just like the TV commercial says, green leaves started sprouting on the branches of my tree.

I was aided by a family history on my dad's side of the family and by the funeral book of my maternal grandmother on the other. The family tree grew rapidly and with a fair amount of accuracy. I could match new entries with names, birth and death dates, census records of location, names of sons and daughters and parents. Only in one branch of the family have I failed to get past the great-grandparents. (And even then, I discovered their names and places of residence--but no further genealogical information.)

At the end of my third week on Ancestry.com, I'm in the 900s on several branches of the tree. As I approached the 1100s and saw that the names were getting more and more French while the death locations were still English, I thought--aha, we're Normans. And shortly after that, I discovered my family's connection to the early Henrys and to William the Conqueror. I am especially tickled because one of my favorite actors, Peter O'Toole, played both of the Henrys in wonderful movies which I knew well.

The farther back in time I go, the less reliable I feel my results are. It's easy to get confused and put someone in as a parent who was born later than the child, for example. Also, multiple spouses make me crazy and sometimes the same children are listed under each spouse. It's messy. So, maybe I'm not related to these royal personages at all. But I'm sure enjoying the thought of it.

My month-long subscription to Ancestry.com cost $20, a huge bargain. I enjoy all of the "way back" stuff, but it's icing on the cake. The real importance to me is having a record for my niece, grandniece, nephews, and any children they have. The family records are handwritten and confusing. People on page 3 get continued on page 27 and 28 and it's easy to get confused. With Ancestry, you can zoom through the family tree by grabbing the screen and pulling it across. It's all right in front of me.


I'm struggling with the Dickerson side of the family. And I can't get the Grow/Groves people to open up either. I think both of them probably came from England. In its one stingy move, Ancestry charges a premium for British records, so I'm not able to search. Still, I have them back to the middle of the 1700s--that's pretty cool.

My conclusion is that I am distinctly of exclusively Northern European heritage. The countries of birth of my ancestors have been confined to England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, and France. It's a pretty contained geographic area. Most branches of my family were in the Americas by the 1700s and in Ohio by the early 1800s. So, I'm an Ohioan of Northern European extraction. I feel the royalty surging through my veins now, and even if not royalty, the blood of hundreds of ancestors who in some way shaped who I am.

Take the plunge on Ancestry.com. Take the information and take the fun!