Hunting History - Finding Family

It's been said that everyone on Earth is separated by just six degrees of separation.  Now, this is referring more to the fact that people are connected to everyone else by these degrees, in other words, in terms of who you know, each person is connected to every other person by an average of six degrees.  Say I know 100 people.  If each of my friends also know 100 people, then I'm now technically connected to 10,000 people.  Give each of them 100 friends and you've got 1,000,000 people.  Now that the internet and Facebook and networking sites have come along, that number has actually shrunk to 3.5 degrees. In genealogy though, it's a little different.  I've heard that everyone, EVERYONE on Earth is separated by fewer than 100 degrees, although of course I now cannot find that fact to validate it.  The way to determine connection or separation is to take a person (any old person will do) and find a common ancestor.  Trust me, they're there. Then...

No other county in Kentucky (a state notorious for its feuds- Hatfield-McCoy, anyone?) was as bloody as Clay County.  An extended feud called the "Cattle War"is thought to have been the reason for forming Clay co in 1806, created so legislators could have more jurisdiction over the area of the so-called "war", which was the headwaters of the three forks of the Kentucky River. Clay co in early 1800 was also famous for their salt.  General Hugh Lowry White was not the first to open a salt works there, but with his slaves, money, and entrepreneurship he certainly conquered the business.  Hugh came to what would eventually be known as Clay co in 1804 from Pennsylvania, after his already wealthy older brother James bought bought the Outlaw/Collins Salt Works.  Daniel Garrard showed up in 1806, and the two quickly made Goose Creek salt famous.  Hugh not only produced copious amounts of salt; he and wife Catherine Cain also produced a "remarkable family of over-ac...

The only thing I really wanted for Christmas was the Ancestry DNA test. Could I afford it myself? Absolutely. Is it more fun to receive it was a gift? Yup. So I'm sure by now everyone knows the premise: Spit in a cup, send it in, and wait. AndwaitandwaitANDWAIT.  I actually had some kind of error happen the first time around, so after waiting six weeks or so I got to wait AGAIN while they tested a new sample.  But let me tell you, when that email comes in telling you it's ready, the excitement is totally worth it. My Ancestry DNA results came back as follows: Great Britain: 69% Europe South: 10% Scandinavia: 7% Europe East: 7% Europe West: 3% Caucasus: 1% Ireland/Scotland/Wales: <1% Finland/Northwest Russia: <1% European Jewish: <1% At first these results threw me a bit.  I know my Nona was 100% Italian, and my grandpa was 100% German. I also know we're heavily German/Dutch on my mom's side.  So first I learned a few things. Apparently even ...