So Who do I think I am? My ancestry comes from all over the Europe!! Over the last fifteen years or so Kathy and I have done a lot of genealogical studying of our family trees, her tree, due to her great skills at genealogy, has many, many more branches than mine!! My ancestors I’m convinced were in the 1800’s equivalent witness protection program! But actually I don’t think it’s that bad so let’s see where those roots reach. On my father’s mother’s side they reach into Saxony and Dresden, Germany. We have a picture of my great-grandfather Herman Meyer in his uniform – he was in the king’s guard! The Meyer family came to the US in 1912. Herman had come a year earlier and according to what I’ve heard he had to get out of Germany, but the relative who told me that wouldn’t tell me why!!! (But I do know that there were some racy pictures of Herman in his house on Walters Avenue in Delanco) My great grandfather and grandmother both became citizens in the 1940s. wonder why?? Now my father’s side also comes from Germany but where I’m not sure! But I do know that his grandmother was from Switzerland and the Haechler family came to America in 1882! So that side of my line is German and Swiss!!
My mother’s side is much more diverse – her paternal great-grandfather the second of four John Sherrington Ashton’s came to the US in 1851 and settled appear in the 1860 census in Beverly. His family line goes back to Holbeach, England. The earliest records there are from the late 1790’s. Her greatgrandfater’s wife was Mary Parezo (actually the name is French and is Pariseau) any John B. Parezo (Jean Baptiste) her father immigrated from Canada in the early 1800’s!! Her grandfather married Margaret McCloskey who family immigrated from Ireland around 1870. So, Let’s see so far I’m German, Swiss, English, Irish and French!
On her maternal side her mother’s side goes back mostly in New Jersey let’s see there are Trouts and Pyott’s (which is a Scottish name) and Corsons (Dutch), Campbells, Lippincotts, Johnsons, Clivers and Regars and maybe a few more. Most of the family lines are scattered around South Jersey in Camden, Gloucester and Cumberland Counties – oh the Johnson Line was in Monmouth County and the Pyott line goes back to the early 1800s in Pennsylvania. So now add Dutch and Scottish to the mix!
A couple of years ago, we had DNA testing done through 23 and ME(They’re still running the special $ 199, marked down from $499) and according to the DNA testing I share chromosme segments with people whose grandparents are from (in addition to the above) Belarus, Russia, Mexico and Sweden! So while I am 100% European my ancestry covers most of it!! So who do I think I am yes – I’m a Mutt!!
