Oddbean

Took some time today to see how far up on my family tree I can go. I found the first Pamplona from 1370, linking the names of 17 grand parents up. < 1370 in Pamplona, Spain 1370 in Porto, Portugal 1530 in Azores, Portugal 1770 in Florianopolis, Brazil It's weird how many old documents you can just find on the web... I guess I should add Boston to the list... 🚀

My family tree stops somewhere back Hesse, Germany in the mid 1700s. The name isn't Ross though. It's Fockenroth. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/2C1S-M1Z/johannes-george-vockenroth-1753-1830 Then, in the early 1800s one Fockenroth family moved to Ohio and then about 10 years later moved back and changed their name to Ross. They had the same family member's names, same kids names, sexes, and just aged 10 years according to the census. It's odd. My great grandmother said it was because they were horse thieves. But we're not sure if that's true or not 😂

The first name was Vasco Pamplona. Vascones were the native tribe in that area. So, I think he didn't live in the city (which was controlled by the French at the time) but on the boroughs. That would justify not having documents anywhere about this person. Given that they spoke a different basque dialect, I wouldn't be surprised if his name wasn't easy to pronounce. He might have just adopted a new name when he moved to Portugal. I am guessing that the Portuguese didn't know his name and nicknamed him as Vasco de Pamplona.

My family tree also dies around an ancestor who was probably an outlaw of some sort. Some sources say he was Spanish, some he was Portuguese. No records of who his parents were. But he married the daughter of a "coronel" (title given to rich farmers or merchants) and got the title of captain himself. That on my father side. On my mother side I can trace the maternal line up until Karay-yó Terebê, princess of the tupiniquim tribe in são Paulo.

I became an amateur genealogist precisely because of that. You start working on your family tree, and then you start to take pride in reading old documents from the 18th century and visiting old cemeteries. You might even start buying DNA kits for your family members and relatives. It can become an expensive hobby, but it is extremely rewarding.

My blood line spans the globe … my people signed the mayflower compact … but also American slave etc … wild how many bloodlines I have https://nostrcheck.me/media/2aadfb8ac7d43aca6d164ed99248147910048269601ff60d4463c4d5b3abfdcd/faeb6724bc63094a5a0719dad9c4f550d5c5e426f0a906fdff3e1ab4d5197170.webp