Miscellaneous Forum

Do you know much about your ancestors and whether they travelled (apart from emigrating) or were interested in travelling?

I know several ancestors of mine were sailors and they sailed the oceans of the world seeing the various sights of the 1800s.

However, in doing family research, I've come across a will of an ancestor of mine from 1766 in which he leaves his son his two volumes of Universal Traveller. I've been trying to find out what that book is, I think it might be this: The Universal Traveller: Or, a Compleat Description of the Several Nations of the World... . Illustrated with a Great Variety of Maps and Cuts by Thomas Salmon. It's circa 1752 so fits the dates and is in the British Library (might have to make a visit).

I've no idea if they did travel but do wonder about it. I know my Nanny loved to travel, we were always getting postcards from her from wherever she happened to be.

Most of my ancestors were peasants and serfs who farmed for somebody else's benefit.

I've got my fair share of them in my family tree, this particular ancestor, however, was a Schoolmaster, though one of his sons seemed to have made quite a bit of money as a Worsted Weaver as his will has him leaving money to people left, right and centre. 10 pounds here, 50 pounds here, etc etc. His father (the schoolmaster) had only left him one shilling and a dictionary.

Oh for a time machine to travel in (sigh)

My ancestors, apart from all the brothers and sisters of my grandmother, the mother of my father, and one sister of my grandmmother, the mother of my mother, who emmigrated to the USA (the latter eventually returned to Sweden), did not travel at all. In fact not even my parents travelled until they became retired. In my childhood we only went by car three times to Norway, the latest time partly through Finland, although I grew up in a town with fifteen daily ferry connections to Germany. We of course visited those neighbouring ports in the GDR and West Germany on day trips and weekend trips respectively, but never travelled any further. When I left for my first Inter Rail tour in 1972 it was the first time I was south of Lübeck.

None of my ancestors had the money to do any sort of travelling. Few of them moved far from where they were born and many of them stayed in the same village or town all their lives. A few moved from one English county to another.

Some came over from Ireland (circumstance, not choice). I have strong suspicions that a few others originally had a travelling life, but that is a cultural matter and not something I can easily confirm.

Until the 1950s working practices and pay in the UK generally did not allow ordinary workers to travel for leisure purposes. So even my most recent ancestors didn't travel other than daytrips and short England-based holidays (apart from my grandfather's journey to Belgium during the First World War).

My Great Granny on the maternal side was a bit of a traveller you could say (nod nod wink wink) apparently she went without permission with a group of mostly men and went travelling...one picture we have seen is of her in a very racy (for the time) swimsuit leaning provocatively over a Rolls Royce near the dead sea and of course the obligatory newpaper in the dead sea shot...but you cant see the date unfortunately..there is also a picture with a wall in the background...the wailing wall?..we dont know...and she would never speak of those times ...sad really as she propbably had a great time but got very chastised when she finally came home...

A toast to your Great Granny!

My granny did her solo trip to and fro M'sia and Hainan (China) twice during 60s on a big vessel which carried mainly goods and with some passengers nothing luxury like cruise ship. A son's family live in M'sia and another son live in Hainan (China) keeping her travelling between these two countries. Apart from this, she also travelled from north to south in M'sia and Singapore to visit friends, I followed her up and down at the age of 4 or perhaps younger. My parents specialize in China, been to many tourist attractions in China, love to visit Hainan at least once a year. My brothers and my sister been to most of the countries in Asia. My brothers like BIG things, they are more interested in US; my sister and her husband love Japan from A-Z. We are 'world citizens' but live in one roof :D

my grand, grand, grand, grand, grand's father was a lonely traveler around 17th century. While he was travelling he was became guest one family due to bad wheather conditions. At that night, house was threatened by bandits to get all food but my grandfather saved the family and father of the house told my grandfather; stay here and marry to my daughter. He said he must get permission from his family and come back. And 3-4 months later, he came back and married.
What also we know that one of his grandson became kind of landlord at that area. His family became very populated (Ardesen town is the main center for them and they are about 20.000 relatives).

After power were lost, 4 of kids left the land. My grand, grand, grandfather was one of them (around 1780).He settled in Guneysu town and his crue is about 2000 now:))

And another traveler became in power. My grandfather's father; He was in the army during the war againist russians between 1877-1878. He was taken as a slave . After for a while they released him and he started to travel to find job and he settled in Sukumi city. He probably married there too??? and stayed about 15 years. He also became wealth enough too. But when system changed to communism there he lost all his wealth and and returned his village. He married in his village and there we are:))

I m still wondering if he really had got married in Sukomi and if we do have relatives there???

:) :D :X :0 L:0)L

":) :D :X :0 L:0)L" Could we ask for a translation, please?

They all mean one international language 'Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha.....'

Of course several generations back my family came to the US from France, Ireland and places unknown but the ones I know about had little means to travel for pleasure or vacations. My great-great grandfather moved from Alabama to Texas in 1852 and I have no ideal how he travelled but is recognized in Texas as one of the early Caucasian settlers in the area and evidently maintained cordial relationships with his Native American neighbors.

Another grandfather moved his family of 7 from Missouri to Oklahoma in a covered wagon in 1903.

When I was growing up a really huge trip was to go to Oklahoma City by car, a trip of about 150 miles.

I come from a long line of working class people so travelling for pleasure was very hard to come by for any of them.

I have looked a lot in to it though as this really interests me and my grandmothers cousin worked as a deckhand on a scientific round the world sailing journey in the 1930´s.
The boat sank at the Solomon islands and he ended up getting malaria, but his journey is well described in a book written by another crew member who was onboard as a journalist.

And my grandfather had a brother who emmigrated to Canada.
I looked in to his story and learned that he did not do it out of poverty, but because he was a restless soul who could not sit still (i know that feeling).
A few years ago I went over to the island off the canadian west coast where he finally settled and found the house he build himself there and spoke to his neighbour who rememberd him very clearly even if he passed away 32 years earlier and i found it quite funny how similar he was to me.

The thirst for travel is frankly in the genes of all Icelanders. I remember a news item from about 30 years ago wherein it said that over half of the entire population of the country travels abroad every year. You would be fairly hardpressed to find grown Icelanders that have NOT been to other countries.

It most certainly has a lot to do with "rock fever" and the fact that we have no borders to cross. In the old days, the term was "go sailing". I remember that all the Icelandic cargo ships had waiting lists full of young men, eager to "go sailing". Many would get a job on a trawler and go fishing in the icecold Greenland seas, for three bloody months, just to be able to go to Germany (Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven and Hamburg), and England (Leeds, Liverpool), for two or three days to sell the catch. I grew up in an environment, where you were not full grown until you had "been sailing". The proof was in a tattoo. Not a big one, just a tattoo, as a tattoo was unobtainable in Iceland back then, so it was undisputable, but oh so necessary proof!

As for ancestors, I have a handwritten ledger handed down, that traces my ancestry back to the 700s, and you can put about fifty "great great grandfathers" in a line, as I do have ancestors that landed on the North American continent in the year 1000. (sticks tongue out at Columbus.....d:o)

So yes, I would say that travel/discovery is pretty much ingrained in our psyche, but me personally no more than any other Icelander.....and yes, look far enough, and we are all pretty much related.....d:o)

My dad did but many of my ancestors were farmers and stayed in the same general area.

I smiled when you mentioned the postcards. Many years ago I sent my sister and nephew a postcard of Neuschwanstein. When some friends came over my nephew (then about 4) showed them the postcard and said proudly "That's my Uncle Jimmy's House".

I have two uncles that might qualify as travelers. One was John Chisholm, who carved the Chisholm Trail. The other one was Johnny (Appleseed) Chapman, and now you know the rest of the story as to why I am so strange. LOL

interesting thread Laura

i've been most curious about my great grandfather who as a Jesuit priest travelled all the way to an island in the Philippines in the late 1800's to begin his new post and ended having the fun of his life in the island and remained there til his death

when i said having the fun of his life was due mostly to what all else he did do after giving mass (and possibly much more before that too) to the female helpers in his convent! he fathered so many broods that to this day this said island's greater population are related to one another under dizzyingly varying last names! my great grandmother took care to wash and iron his vestments, so what escapades this priest character must have had

i've started to do some research to trace his origin and background but hitting against many snags so far...but wholly exciting and what a journey indeed

forgot to mention he was a Jesuit from mainland Spain

Gabriel, it is interesting to know that your great grandfather was a Jesuit priest. He must have shared Father Vivaldi's attitudes regarding the practice of celebacy. (Please don't get upset with me for making this statement. It was intended in a friendly way)

Gab, if you can find where he was baptized, the Church keeps records like you would not believe.

Lol, Hund, yes he (Padre Juan Aballe) and Padre Vivaldi must have!

Lee Ann, yes the Church of Christ Scientist has an amazing repository of worldwide family records for which they're trying to help me (as everyone interested in finding family history) at free of charge (truly amazing, it's true what they say the church itself is interested in saving everyone's souls!)

The thing is practically all elders including my grandpa (the priest's son) are all since long gone and verbal records, never mind written documents, are skimpy accounts at best. I've been suggested to make my way to the arhives in the Vatican where surely it possesses all priestly records...something I will do for sure once I've settled in Portugal for my eventual retirement

For now the Mormons are pulling up all sorts of combinations...we'll see but am so nervously excited over it...pretty sure I've got relatives still somewhere in Spain

Do you know which church your father was baptized at? By looking at his certificate it might give you some clues. If you can come up with a city of your grandfather's birth, it will narrow down the possibilities or at least to a single diocese. Once you have even a diocese, they may be able to pull up the record from there.

good thought Lee Ann

yes i have knowledge of exactly where my gradfather was born in (the very same place/city on the island where precisely the jesuit priest was assigned

i'll have to talk to my 93 yr. old mom out there to pick her brains to see what's what in terms of extant records, that is if she'd entertain the question and the resulting thought to be rehashed - it's still considered a highly sensitive and also one to be dismissed as possible the original sin story and background, something in old cultures such as my ancestral one that isn't only so protective but hopelessly Catholic thru and thru

to really pursue this matter in earnest, i just might fly home for another good excuse at the next chance

oh, wait, did you say my father? yes i think i know too his baptismal background

Sometimes it will give a place of birth of parents for certificates. Another angle to look at is to see where he was ordained and by whom. Or even confirmed. I understand them wanting to be quiet about such things. But people commit sins. This does not take away from the beliefs.

Wow, some really interesting stories you guys have!

<where he was ordained and by whom>

this one is one big missing one...i'd say somewhere in Spain

reason the Vatican archives will have to be the principal source

yes, understood about church antinomies and all that

as i've jokingly repeated to my mother in the past, 'but i'm innocent!'

He would have had to have been sent to a seminary by the his local bishop. Hence the diocese he grew up in would have the records.

I traced my family back to 1698 in Ioannina, today Greece..
That time ottoman Empire, one of my ancestors was wealthy mechant maily with sheep, wool and grains.
At that time Balkans is very had to travels, not many ppl have do nit. His on, went to school to Thessaloniki, than to Istanbul and to Marseilles in France..
He come pack to Ioannina, married and had 6 girls, in early 1700, (we think around 1737) he took his family to "Haj" to the Holy Land & Jerusalem.
To visit the Holy land in that time was difficult, specially if you are making your trip from the Balkans..
That is the only "big" trip I know of that any of my ancestors did it. But to go to the Holy lend in that time was something to be expected from wealthy and prominent member of society.
At my mums house we still have icon which was brought from Jerusalem. And there is an biggish Icon with silver inlaid in one of the local churches in Ioannina, with my ancestor name on it, date and that was brought back from the Haj in Jerusalem..
I know that my grand parents were relatively well off and in the '30 made opposite travel from Belgrade to Venice with Orient express, and than made their way to Rome and Marseilles....
Going to Greece, Bulgaria or European part of Turkey, wasn't counted as travelling...