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