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I would be curious to find out how many Americans today have ancestors who lived in America during Civil war. Even more detailed question is with percentages co

by lsh123 6y ago

I would be curious to find out how many Americans today have ancestors who lived in America during Civil war. Even more detailed question is with percentages cohorts based on how many ancestors were in America vs somewhere else during that time.

hodgesrm 6y ago
There's a lot of us, especially in the South. My great-grandfather was a child in the siege of Petersburg. My mom still tells the story of how the family house was struck by a Union cannonball as they were sitting outside it. She heard it directly from her grandfather when she was a child herself.
mleo 6y ago
Possibly a lot, given the potential exponential descendants 1 person could have. I have several ancestors and their relatives that fought for the North. My kids could trace 5-6 generations back to the civil war, meaning 32-64 ancestors to consider.
irrational 6y ago
My earliest ancestors came over in 1620, the last came over in the 1850s. So during the civil war, all my ancestors were already on this continent. However, none of them participated in the war since they all lived out west, beyond the boundaries of the USA, throughout the war.
- stormdennis 6y ago
  In gangs of New York they portray immigrants getting off ships, being recruited and then being put on other ships to head south. Doubtless there's a good dollop of artistic licence involved but it possibly was a thing
- goda90 6y ago
  The West was involved in the war in various ways. California was a state and Nevada became one. Gold and volunteers were sent east. There were troops sent to secure New Mexico from the confederacy.
  - irrational 6y ago
    None of those are places my ancestors lived.
    - goda90 6y ago
      The civil war took place after the Mexican-American war and the establishment of the border with British Canada. What is the western US now was under US control. Some parts were states, some territories. There was military and political activity all over the region related to the civil war. My ancestors lived in Utah. They didn't go fight, but that doesn't mean they were entirely isolated from the events.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  1620 huh? You might be my distant cousin.
Izkata 6y ago
Through census and immigration records, it looks like every branch of my family tree came over between 1890 and 1910. Thing is, only one of those branches was even well-known among my family, the others are all lost history. Out of curiosity I've asked some friends and co-workers and several have said similar things - they don't know when their ancestors immigrated, their personal family history just doesn't go back that far.
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  It takes some legwork, but both my wife and I (thanks to our parents' curiosity during their retirements) have been able to go back to the 1700's for at least some lines. Even the europeans were moving around a lot internationally, though. The portion of my family tree from the US is about half pre-Civil War, of which most were pre-Revolution. (and my father told me that, while researching, he found the Mormons for some reason have records on way more people than just their adherents. Could be useful)
  - Someone 6y ago
    The Mormons believe they can baptize people after their death (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topi...). That’s why they collect lots of genealogical information, world wide (https://www.familysearch.org https://www.familysearch.org), so that they can baptize all forefathers of current Mormons. The baptizing leads to critique, for example when they baptize people of other faiths. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/mormons-holocaust-victims-baptism-lds-church https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/mormons-holoca...: “Mormons have recently posthumously baptised at least 20 Holocaust victims, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe and the Queen Mother, according to a researcher who has spent two decades monitoring the church’s massive genealogical database.”
    - lowdose 6y ago
      How does one baptize a death person?
adventured 6y ago
~31 million Americans in 1860, so it's likely to be a large number. Half of my family, of German Dutch ancestry, dates along the east coast to before the Revolutionary War, and spent the better part of 200 years as farmers in the northern Union Appalachia region (the last generation that were farmers is almost gone now; the family farm land - which isn't very valuable land - has been gradually sold off over the past century; the area is difficult land to farm, it's a rough way of life, and it's nearly impossible to compete with modern corporate farming). The other half came over during one of the large immigration waves toward the end of the 19th century.
pmiller2 6y ago
I have ancestors living in America in the 17th century.
bitbckt 6y ago
Some of my ancestors arrived as early as the 1620s. There have been several books about them. Here's one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1333427255 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1333427255 My Civil War era ancestors were in Nevada at the time, where we've largely remained since.

by lsh123 6y ago

hodgesrm 6y ago

There's a lot of us, especially in the South. My great-grandfather was a child in the siege of Petersburg. My mom still tells the story of how the family house was struck by a Union cannonball as they were sitting outside it. She heard it directly from her grandfather when she was a child herself.

mleo 6y ago

Possibly a lot, given the potential exponential descendants 1 person could have. I have several ancestors and their relatives that fought for the North. My kids could trace 5-6 generations back to the civil war, meaning 32-64 ancestors to consider.

irrational 6y ago

My earliest ancestors came over in 1620, the last came over in the 1850s. So during the civil war, all my ancestors were already on this continent. However, none of them participated in the war since they all lived out west, beyond the boundaries of the USA, throughout the war.

stormdennis 6y ago
In gangs of New York they portray immigrants getting off ships, being recruited and then being put on other ships to head south. Doubtless there's a good dollop of artistic licence involved but it possibly was a thing
goda90 6y ago
The West was involved in the war in various ways. California was a state and Nevada became one. Gold and volunteers were sent east. There were troops sent to secure New Mexico from the confederacy.
- irrational 6y ago
  None of those are places my ancestors lived.
  - goda90 6y ago
    The civil war took place after the Mexican-American war and the establishment of the border with British Canada. What is the western US now was under US control. Some parts were states, some territories. There was military and political activity all over the region related to the civil war. My ancestors lived in Utah. They didn't go fight, but that doesn't mean they were entirely isolated from the events.
pmiller2 6y ago
1620 huh? You might be my distant cousin.

Izkata 6y ago

Through census and immigration records, it looks like every branch of my family tree came over between 1890 and 1910. Thing is, only one of those branches was even well-known among my family, the others are all lost history. Out of curiosity I've asked some friends and co-workers and several have said similar things - they don't know when their ancestors immigrated, their personal family history just doesn't go back that far.

082349872349872 6y ago
It takes some legwork, but both my wife and I (thanks to our parents' curiosity during their retirements) have been able to go back to the 1700's for at least some lines. Even the europeans were moving around a lot internationally, though. The portion of my family tree from the US is about half pre-Civil War, of which most were pre-Revolution. (and my father told me that, while researching, he found the Mormons for some reason have records on way more people than just their adherents. Could be useful)
- Someone 6y ago
  The Mormons believe they can baptize people after their death (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topi...). That’s why they collect lots of genealogical information, world wide (https://www.familysearch.org https://www.familysearch.org), so that they can baptize all forefathers of current Mormons. The baptizing leads to critique, for example when they baptize people of other faiths. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/mormons-holocaust-victims-baptism-lds-church https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/21/mormons-holoca...: “Mormons have recently posthumously baptised at least 20 Holocaust victims, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe and the Queen Mother, according to a researcher who has spent two decades monitoring the church’s massive genealogical database.”
  - lowdose 6y ago
    How does one baptize a death person?

adventured 6y ago

~31 million Americans in 1860, so it's likely to be a large number. Half of my family, of German Dutch ancestry, dates along the east coast to before the Revolutionary War, and spent the better part of 200 years as farmers in the northern Union Appalachia region (the last generation that were farmers is almost gone now; the family farm land - which isn't very valuable land - has been gradually sold off over the past century; the area is difficult land to farm, it's a rough way of life, and it's nearly impossible to compete with modern corporate farming). The other half came over during one of the large immigration waves toward the end of the 19th century.

pmiller2 6y ago

I have ancestors living in America in the 17th century.

bitbckt 6y ago

Some of my ancestors arrived as early as the 1620s. There have been several books about them. Here's one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1333427255 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1333427255 My Civil War era ancestors were in Nevada at the time, where we've largely remained since.