Building your family tree - How far back can you go?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Selanec
    Junior Member
    • Jun 2019
    • 30

    Building your family tree - How far back can you go?

    Hello all!

    I recently began writing my family tree, and I have been asking my extended family with providing me as much as they can about all my great aunts and uncles. Has anyone here done a family tree or have access to their family tree? How far back are you able to go?

    Unfortunately, most of my family’s memories goes no older than the 1900s (maybe a few late 1800s), and I was wondering if anyone here has a family tree going further back? Has anyone here contacted someone official in Macedonia to get older names from archival documents? I was trying to find if there was a place where records of our ancestors would be kept, but I wasn’t able to see much information online. I tried this site but it seemed generic: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en...onia_Genealogy My friends suggested churches or the local villages where your parents lived would have places where they keep archival records, but it may not be accessible to everyone.

    Has anyone here tried to get access this way and if they have had any luck? For records pre 1913 I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ottomans didn’t keep great records of the Macedonian region, but even a name/birthdate/death date would be great to have.

    Also does anyone have any good family tree website suggestions? I am using familyecho.com because it is free, but I am willing to try ones you would suggest.

    I feel like this would be something all Macedonians should try to do. I began my basic research and I found I was able to find long distant cousins on Facebook, so it was easy to begin with, but of course, when trying to find information about the dedovci and babi, it becomes a bit harder, and a lot of the mladi I spoke with for the first time didn’t really seem to care too much about their ancestors (za zal).

    Fala za shto citavte!
  • Risto the Great
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2008
    • 15658

    #2
    Welcome Selanec
    I am not confident for you, perhaps even less confident if your people came from Greek occupied Macedonia.

    Can you imagine the Ottoman's accuracy in the 1800's? It would be like USA when they were letting the first boatload of Chinese in.
    Risto the Great
    MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
    "Holding my breath for the revolution."

    Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

    Comment

    • Liberator of Makedonija
      Senior Member
      • Apr 2014
      • 1595

      #3
      I have a family tree that dates back to the early 19th century I think. It may actually be late 18th.
      I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

      Comment

      • Niko777
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2010
        • 1895

        #4
        Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
        Can you imagine the Ottoman's accuracy in the 1800's?
        In many ways they were more accurate than the Greeks in the 1900s.
        If a Turkish clerk heard the name Vancho, he wrote down Vancho.
        If a Greek clerk heard the name Vancho, he wrote down Ioannis.

        Comment

        • Carlin
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2011
          • 3332

          #5
          Hi Selanec,

          1) Has anyone here done a family tree or have access to their family tree? How far back are you able to go?

          I haven't done it but have access to it - it was handed down and recorded by others/previous generations. The family tree is (only) along the paternal (Vlachophone) line, and specific names of individuals/ancestors are recorded down to the "original progenitor" including some stories or legends. My father calls it the only source of truth for our family.

          2) Unfortunately, most of my family’s memories goes no older than the 1900s (maybe a few late 1800s), and I was wondering if anyone here has a family tree going further back?

          My family tree is older than that and it "originates" around the time of the devastation and destruction of Moschopole and nearby villages/towns. (Any older church "records" in this area that may have existed at this time, were almost completely reduced to ashes.)

          3) Has anyone here contacted someone official in Macedonia to get older names from archival documents?

          I may be wrong about this but most if not all of the birth or marriage records for Orthodox Christians, even during Ottoman times, were recorded and kept by the priests/churches. The problem for many is that a lot of these church records appear to have been completely obliterated, looted, confiscated or destroyed one way or another. Perhaps some were "transferred" out of Macedonia, after 1912/13.

          The family tree my family has kept does not seem to depend on any "official" records as far as I know, but appears to have been a collective effort of various family members over the years and decades.

          Also does anyone have any good family tree website suggestions?

          I don't know TBH. Last year, I took the ancestrydna test and was able to connect with some "members" and exchange some interesting information. I seem to have found some very distant relatives, and based on the localities and surnames the matches seem to check out.
          Last edited by Carlin; 07-02-2019, 11:44 PM.

          Comment

          • Selanec
            Junior Member
            • Jun 2019
            • 30

            #6
            Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
            Welcome Selanec
            I am not confident for you, perhaps even less confident if your people came from Greek occupied Macedonia.

            Can you imagine the Ottoman's accuracy in the 1800's? It would be like USA when they were letting the first boatload of Chinese in.
            Thank you Risto for the welcome, yeah I was lucky that as far as I know, a big chunk of my ancestors are from the Vardarski del.

            Originally posted by Liberator of Makedonija View Post
            I have a family tree that dates back to the early 19th century I think. It may actually be late 18th.
            That's incredible liberator of Makedonija. Out of curiosity, do you keep in touch with the distant family? Seems like there might be 4th and 5th cousins at that point, if the ancestors were traced all the way to the present.

            Originally posted by Carlin15 View Post
            Hi Selanec,

            My family tree is older than that and it "originates" around the time of the devastation and destruction of Moschopole and nearby villages/towns. (Any older church "records" in this area that may have existed at this time, were almost completely reduced to ashes.)

            I may be wrong about this but most if not all of the birth or marriage records for Orthodox Christians, even during Ottoman times, were recorded and kept by the priests/churches. The problem for many is that a lot of these church records appear to have been completely obliterated, looted, confiscated or destroyed one way or another. Perhaps some were "transferred" out of Macedonia, after 1912/13.

            The family tree my family has kept does not seem to depend on any "official" records as far as I know, but appears to have been a collective effort of various family members over the years and decades.

            I don't know TBH. Last year, I took the ancestrydna test and was able to connect with some "members" and exchange some interesting information. I seem to have found some very distant relatives, and based on the localities and surnames the matches seem to check out.
            Ah shame about the destruction aspects Carlin15. It just makes me envious about some of my non Macedonian friends talk about how (if they wanted to) they can go back 300-400 years in the past as the records would still be out somewhere in their countries archives, here in Australia there are a lot of Australians that pride themselves on tracing their lineage to having convict ancestors.

            Oh and very interesting, I was thinking of getting a DNA test done myself, wasn't sure which one to go for, the two I have heard of being Ancestry DNA and 23andMe. I read in another thread here somewhere some people were comparing the different services, but I can't find it.

            Fala all for writing.

            Comment

            • Liberator of Makedonija
              Senior Member
              • Apr 2014
              • 1595

              #7
              Originally posted by Selanec View Post
              That's incredible liberator of Makedonija. Out of curiosity, do you keep in touch with the distant family? Seems like there might be 4th and 5th cousins at that point, if the ancestors were traced all the way to the present.
              Almost all of us live in Australia now, but yes I cam quite close with my 4th cousins.
              I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

              Comment

              • Rogi
                Senior Member
                • Sep 2008
                • 2343

                #8
                We've so far got it to the mid 1700's on my paternal side thanks to a distant relative in Macedonia who has spent 30 years researching the "soj" and building the family tree.

                Going further is possible, the Ottomans maintained records of births, death and I guess probably most important to them, property rights and taxes. None of that is indexable, searchable or translated, so it requires some time in Turkey with a researcher and translater.

                Comment

                • Selanec
                  Junior Member
                  • Jun 2019
                  • 30

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Rogi View Post
                  We've so far got it to the mid 1700's on my paternal side thanks to a distant relative in Macedonia who has spent 30 years researching the "soj" and building the family tree.

                  Going further is possible, the Ottomans maintained records of births, death and I guess probably most important to them, property rights and taxes. None of that is indexable, searchable or translated, so it requires some time in Turkey with a researcher and translater.
                  Incredible Rogi, good on the person for going so far back.

                  I recently saw an old article saying all Europeans are in some shape or form related to Charlemagne. I wonder if that would apply to Macedonians and the rest of the people in the Balkans or it is more so the west/central Europe.

                  The advent of cheap genetic sequencing has given birth to a burgeoning ancestry industry. But before you pay to spit in a tube, let me give you a few facts for free

                  Comment

                  • Risto the Great
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2008
                    • 15658

                    #10
                    I'm more inclined to think Macedonians are more related to the Turks walking around on all fours based on current performances.
                    Risto the Great
                    MACEDONIA:ANHEDONIA
                    "Holding my breath for the revolution."

                    Hey, I wrote a bestseller. Check it out: www.ren-shen.com

                    Comment

                    • Selanec
                      Junior Member
                      • Jun 2019
                      • 30

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Risto the Great View Post
                      I'm more inclined to think Macedonians are more related to the Turks walking around on all fours based on current performances.

                      Couldn't agree more!

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X