Ancestry Search

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to have my family history researched. I want to hire a company that will do this for me. I am willing to pay top dollar only b/c this is something that I have always wanted to know. Does anyone know how I would go about doing this? I know there are tons of companies out there but I don't want to just google and throw my money all away. I figured I would ask b/c there might be someone on here who has done this and can recommend a good company.

 

Just a little background info as to why I am so curious. Both sides of my family come from El Salvador. I'm told by different people on visits I have made there that my maternal grandmother's' grandfather (my great, great grandfather) was known as "The Turk". Apparently he looked turkish and that is why they called him this. However, by some accounts some village people believe he was turkish. Also my mother did a search on her family's name and it is not spanish at all it actually comes from an old Greek-Turkish area. So we've always thought that its possible that maybe we are Turkish. Also, people always ask my grandmother, my mother, and myself if we are middle eastern. I think its possible we originated from somewhere else b/c we have very distinct features.

 

On the flip side, my father never knew his father. Its too long of a story to get into but basically my father has his mother's maiden name. One time I asked my dad what our name would have been had he taken his father's last name and he said "Moran". My dad never talks about his father but again some people in towns told me that my grandfather was known as "The Jew". Apparently he was an accountant and my great grandfather was a judge. Also during the Holocaust there was a group of jews known as Morano jews who fled Europe and settled into a lot of countries (including El Salvador) and they took last names that were derived from the word Morano.

 

So to make a long story short I have always wondered if I come from jewish ancestry and middle eastern or european ancestry.

 

So if anyone knows of any good companies or has done this before I would greatly appreciate any input and advice.

That is so cool. I always wanted to do this too.

I was a member of ancestry.com for awhile, and maybe my family tree is all convoluted, but it didn't help me personally. I was able to trace my paternal name which is quite rare back a few centuries in Europe, but I guess I was hoping to see info on relatives whose names I knew and that didn't happen.

 

I also was interested in checking the Ellis Island archives for tons of family that came through from Italy and although seeing the records was cool, again I didn't find what I was looking for. Not sure if I gave up too soon or what. My people don't have much American history either, the first of my relatives didn't get here until the late 1800's so I think someone with U.S. roots would have better luck.

 

Going further back, there has long been "talk" that centuries ago my Italian side mixed with Egyptian & Moroccan which could be true as the part of Italy they are from is really close to N. Africa. There used to be no way to really tell other than hiring a genealogist.

 

But now, there are easier ways to do genealogy through DNA. There is a specific Jewish test even. What a cool story Glenda, perhaps "the Turk" and "the Jew" were really Turkish and Jewish, fascinating! Check these out:

 

Family Tree DNA - we do genetic tests for your genealogy questions!

 

Trace Your Ancestry with DNA - DNA Ancestry Project

 

AncestryByDNA

Glenda-

My mom does geneology- not as a job or anything. Just as a hobby. She's currently reseaching Steve's side. He's Greek and his grandpa expressed that he wanted to know more. So my mom has been on the hunt and OH BOY- just in a matter of weeks she has all kinds of interesting stuff.

 

I can definintely ask her some pointers to get you started- like where to look, what to get, etc. Its like a big puzzle.

 

I could even ask my mom to look some stuff up for you. She really enjoys it so I know she wouldn't mind. She does it for people all the time. I would probably need to know info to give to her. Just let me know.

Thanks for the links Jamy! Are you saying that they can do genealogy testing through your DNA? I think I saw this done on a show or some documentary once but I couldn't remember the logistics of it. Do they just swipe your DNA and then test it against different ethnic backgrounds? Hmm I wonder if I could have my grandmother and myself submit to this.

Let me get in touch with my uncle, Glenda. He's done a ton of research for our family and I'm pretty sure he's used a couple of companies to help him out. I'll send him an email now to find out where he's gotten all of his info - he's been researching for probably close to 10 years and has enough to fill a book.

OMG are you kidding? I would seriously pass out from joy. If she could give me any pointers I would love it! Or even if she wanted to do it I would be more than willing to compensate her for her time. I don't need names of family members I just want to get a gist of where I came from KWIM?

OMG that is so cool. Thank you so much for asking your uncle! Wow 10 years that is a long time. I better get started. LOL.

I'm pretty sure that when they do DNA testing they are able to determine an area in which your genetic characteristics derived. I'm no expert though.

I'll talk to her when I go home tonight. She just started Steve's research a couple of weeks ago so I don't know how wrapped up in it she is, but I know that she would do it when she had time. She seriously has ADD and this is the ONLY thing that she can do for hours.

So far she has been able to find Steve's great grandfather's immigration papers. We know how much money he came to the US with and he listed his job as a popcorn seller. I thought that was too cute. She also has found all kinds of military records, etc. She also found that Steve's great grandma was married prior and Steve's grandpa never knew that about his mom. SOmetimes you find things like that. My mom always jokes that some geneologist will wonder why I was married in Vegas when I said for years I was married in PV.

That is so fascinating Rachel. I'm sure Steve must enjoy learning all about his family.

 

See the problem I have is that my parents were the first generation to emigrate to the U.S. So there would be no documents in the U.S. (military, Ellis Island, etc) that would show ancestry stuff. I guess these searches would have to be done in El Salvador or something.

 

Now I really want that DNA testing. Where do I get that? I bet it costs a fortune. LOL.