How far back can you trace your ancestors?

[Grace O'Malley]

How many of you work with actual paper-trail, as opposed to computer-generated hints and copy-pasted trees?

I've only used verified paper trails. On my mother's paternal side I had to pay for professional genealogists to trace my ancestry due to her having an extremely common surname. Her father had one of the most common christian and Irish surnames ever. The surname is one of the most commonest in that area. They traced further back on both sides of my mother's ancestry than I could but they were in the country whereas I'm not.

[Grace O'Malley]

There’s only a couple common gallowglas names, Sweeney is on of them if my memory is correct

I can give you a few Gallowglass surnames that went to Ireland.


The Fighting Norse-Scots-Irish Surnames.
As I mentioned previously, whole Galloglass families left Scotland to settle in Ireland. So, although some of these surnames originated in Scotland, they are now considered Irish and include the following surnames:

McCabe, McCallion/McCallan, McColl/McColley, McCrory/McRory/Rogers, Gallogly/English, McGirr/Short, McGreal , Sheehy, McSorley and McSweeney/McSwiney.

However, a larger number of Galloglass families either went to Ireland on a seasonal basis – and later returned to Scotland – or only parts of clans moved fully to Ireland. As a result, there are a number of Gallowglass surnames that could be considered both Irish and Scottish – and are still found in both Ireland and Scotland today. These include:

McAllister/McAlister, McAteer/McIntyre, McAuley/ McAulay/ McCauley, Campbell, McClean/ McLean, McCoy/McKay, McCollum/ McCallum, McDowell /McDougall (some became Doyle), McDonnell /McDonald, McFadden/McFayden and McNeill.

https://www.aletterfromireland.com/t...es-of-ireland/

[Ricki]

That's very sensible. I do the same for the trees I manage on Ancestry and Geni for friends and people of interest, but I'm pedantic to a fault when it comes to my own family tree, which is maintained completely offline. Every line of information is verified with a scanned source. Ultimately I hope to turn my research into a kind of album focusing on my ancestors and their immediate families. I've started working on it, but I find little time between maintaining a relationship, social life, work and studies:

That's a really good idea too. I was thinking of doing the same for my family tree.

[Skjaldemjøden]

I've only used verified paper trails. On my mother's paternal side I had to pay for professional genealogists to trace my ancestry due to her having an extremely common surname. Her father had one of the most common christian and Irish surnames ever. The surname is one of the most commonest in that area. They traced further back on both sides of my mother's ancestry than I could but they were in the country whereas I'm not.

I've been in that boat so I can certainly relate. Had my share of Pedersens, Jensens, Levins etc to overcome. Your best shot in these cases is address-based records, the kind that are rarely available online. I've only used a professional once to search a local archive in Russia, but I have poured a lot of money into commissioning scans. All worth it, as nothing tops the joy of a breakthrough.
It's a bit like solving a personalized puzzle.
I've had a little experience with research in Ireland, mostly around Dublin. I know how scarce records are. Props to you for rising to the challenge.

[Creoda]

I can go back as far as it matters. Pretty much don't care about individual ancestors 10+ generations ago, who are impossible to verify anyway. My name is also tied to my ancestral area and Y-DNA since time immemorial.

[Creoda]

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[Longbowman]

How many of you work with actual paper-trail, as opposed to computer-generated hints and copy-pasted trees?

Ancestry's hints include documents. Then you read the document and decide whether it applies. Often it doesn't. If it does, is that not a paper trail?

[The Blade]

Till about century and a half ago. For Bulgaria that's rather good as we don't usually collect data.
I often think I should start writing family chronology for both sides of my family at some point of my life.
I really should.

[Skjaldemjøden]

Ancestry's hints include documents. Then you read the document and decide whether it applies. Often it doesn't. If it does, is that not a paper trail?

Trust me, use the search form instead. It's more accurate and managable. The algorithm behind the hints relies on very loose indicators and user-generated trees.

[Longbowman]

Trust me, use the search form instead. It's more accurate and managable. The algorithm behind the hints relies on very loose indicators and user-generated trees.

Yes but as long as you read the hints, which I and hopefully everyone else does, you can weed out the obviously wrong stuff. Some of the hints are spot on. Recently it came up with a list of slave my ancestor owned.