Bonus question (I bet fewer people can answer this one):

It is 1822, where are your ancestors and what are they doing?

38 comments

  1. 1922: The Carolinas, growing tobacco

    1822: The Carolinas, growing tobacco

    1722: Pennsylvania, getting ready to move to North Carolina once it becomes a colony, in order to grow tobacco.

  2. North Carolina, farming all around

    Edit: Missed the 1822 question. See 1922 for the answer. 1722, if you’re interested, my Dad’s side in Virginia eying NC, my Mom’s side, in Rhode Island, eying NC. 1622, in England, doing English things.

  3. My dad’s dad’s family is still in Wales I’m pretty sure. The rest of them I have no idea.

  5. 1922: Most of them in Massachusetts in factories or farms. Some of them in Canada still.

    1822: Most of them in Canada. Some in Poland.

    1722: Same as above

    1622: They started to trickle into Canada, and they were traders and things like masons, woodcutter, etc.. But most were still in France. And Poland too of course.

  6. On my dad’s side, his father was a steelworker and his mom did some clerical stuff. On my mom’s side, Ontario dirt farmer.

    In 1822, probably Ontario or Welsh dirt farmers but no idea and no real desire to find out.

  7. 1922: Emigrating from their European homeland, eventually landing in the US.

    1822: Gossiping about the newly independent Brazilian colony, or being conscripted by the French army to fight for King Ferdinand VII in Spain.

  9. For 1922: Chicago, raising their first American-born generation.

    For 1822: living in shtetls across Eastern Europe.

  10. 1922-Oklahoma farming or working in the oil field

    1822-Virginia and South Carolina preaching and farming or in Bohemia farming

  11. 1922 I think my great grandmother is still in Germany being poor while my other ancestors are all farmers, day laborers, housewives or coal miners in the midwest.

    1822 More of them are in Germany doing some kind of manual labor and some might be in the midwest doing manual labor.

  14. 1922: they live in Cherokee Nation lands in the newish state of Oklahoma. Farmers, although I know eventually Claude worked for an energy company.

    1822: they live around Rome Georgia, in the soon to be stolen lands of the Cherokee Nation, most likely farmers.

  15. Mexican ancestors: post revolution times

    Americans: conservative normalcy back to the white house. Corrupt, drunk, and horrible politicians *cough * Warren G. Harding *cough*

  16. 1922: In New Jersey and Pennsylvania being low level mafia guys (nothing interesting, just labor stuff and some alcohol smuggling)

    1822: menial labor in Italy

    1722: menial labor in Italy

    Probably can continue that trend, going back

  17. 1922 Utah, mostly farming
    1822 Vermont and Massachusetts, mostly farming

  18. 1922…living in rural east AL in talladega County. Moms side either already in Montana or in Iowa about to move to Montana

    1822: moms side dads side is making their way across the US as it grows moving from the old colonies to Ohio and Wisconsin. Her moms side somewherenin belgium/France and the germans are one or two generations into settling in modern Ukraine.

    Dads side still in Alabama

  20. 1922 – farming in Indiana. Corn, hay, cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and a huge garden. Their farm was off of Ireland Road in Indiana

    1822 – farming in Ireland, they came over in 1841

  21. 1922

    Alabama farming

    1822

    Just moved to Alabama a year earlier for free land lottery.

  22. Scrabbling in the dirt in rural texas on both counts, just wasn’t texas yet for 1822.

  23. 1922. Pennsylvania farming. Or Philadelphia developing new versions of glass
    1822. Pennsylvania, Montana farming. Philadelphia, New York, butcher, something in city government.
    1722. Pennsylvania farming. Philadelphia writing and producing news papers.
    1622. Philadelphia Textiles. Pennsylvania some weird religious cult that thought they were the descendants of angels.

  24. My mothers family are in Germany, recovering from WWI and trying to keep afloat with hyperinflation. Both of her parents would emigrate to the US in the 50s.

    My fathers fathers family are Swedish immigrants homesteading in Jackson, Wyoming.
    And his mothers family are in Eskilstuna, Sweden. His mother would emigrate to the US in the 50s.

  25. On my mom’s side…

    1822: Poland, probably farming beets

    1922: Recently arrived from Poland to Philadelphia. They had my grandfather and his siblings. Grandfather joined the US Army in the 1930s and got out. Got recalled during World War II where he served in the Office of Strategic Services (precursor to CIA) — not sure what he was doing, but his service records are a hoot to read because they make zero sense.

    After the war, he came home and married my grandmother, who grew up down the street from him. They had my mom and her siblings. He retired from the US Postal Service.

    On my dad’s side:

    1722: A Huguenot family in Switzerland (probably Basel, from what we know). My great-something-or-other grandfather joined the British navy and became a cartographer. He ended up doing a huge four volume set of maps of the North American coast.

    1822: Still in Canada. The family settled in Nova Scotia, and stayed there until a little after World War I, when they moved outside of Boston.

    BONUS BONUS DATE:

    ~ 1150: One of my ancestors was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar and accompanied Louis VII on the Second Crusade.

  27. 1922: Chicago, working in the Stockyards/ Kentucky, working in a copper mine.

    1822: German Confederation, being Catholic peasants/ Kentucky, raising horses

    1722: Holy Roman Empire, wishing they weren’t Catholic peasants/ Scotland, hating the English and wanting to move across the ocean to get away from them.

  28. 1922: great Grandfather recently revoked British citizenship after fighting in WW1. Barely escaped after coming down with Pneumonia. Moves to San Francisco and settles down with a woman who’s ancestry were loyalists during the American Revolution

  29. 1922-Either In Ireland or In an industrial New England City, the typical union Catholic democrats.

    In 1822, there all in Ireland

  30. Father’s side:
    1922: Nebraska; farming.
    1822: Stavanger, Norway; fishing.

    Mother’s side:
    1922: Oklahoma; farming
    1822: Massachusetts; farming
    1722: Massachusetts; farming
    1692: Massachusetts; witchcraft

  31. Most of them were poor farmers in 1922. In 1822 they were poor farmers too. Spread out across the eastern VA/NC line

  32. 1922: Farming in South Dakota, carpentering in Ontario

    1822: Farming in Norway, farming in Quebec

    1722: Farming in Norway, farming in Quebec

    1622: Farming in Norway, farming in Quebec

    1522: Not sure…probably farming in Norway, something in Paris

  34. 1922: Settling into America (specifically, St Louis) after leaving a post WW1 Germany that saw them lose a good portion of their family.

    1822: Just an educated guess, but likely running a local brewery that was setup by their great grandfather.

  35. My dad’s dad was living with his uncle on a farm in California, my grandmother’s family was trying to GTFO of Germany to the US. My mom is English so they were mostly in England although some left and moved to Kenya and started tea and coffee farms.

  36. 1922: Mom’s family was farming cotton in West Texas and Arkansas. Dad’s folks were trickling into Dallas and becoming dudes and city slickers.

    1822: Beginning to crawl out of a bog onto dry land somewhere in Ireland.

    1722: Bog witch.

  37. My ancestor in 1922 was a young, mysterious millionaire named Gay Jatsby with shady business connections (later revealed to be a bootlegger), originally from North Dakota. During World War I, when he was a young military officer stationed at the United States Army’s Camp Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, He married a debutante. Later, after the war, he studied briefly at Trinity College, Oxford, in England

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