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[Dcazz]

My English ancestors were Puritans that came to the colonies in late 1600's - 1700's . My Irish ancestors (Ulster) came in the 1800's to escape persecution from the Black and Tans! My great (#?) grandfather was banished to the fields for being a teacher and succumbed to disease. However he had saved enough to get his wife and daughter to Salem, MA where they became teachers.
Of course us Caswell's like to go back to 54B.C. and talk about our great great.... grandfather Cassivallaunus, the first British king who defeated Julius Caesar in the first Roman invasion!   ha2ha

[Normandie]

My maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated to the US from the Ukraine after the Russian Revolution.

Interesting! There was a small concentrated population of Ukrainians in a neighborhood in central NYS that bordered the Irish neighborhood where my mom grew up.

As I've mentioned earlier, I'd like to try Ancestry.com to learn more specifics about my own heritage, but the Lithuanian immigrants on my father's side Americanized their name (though not much; my maiden name is still pretty ethnic-sounding), so I wonder if that would present a problem.

[KelMar]

As I've mentioned earlier, I'd like to try Ancestry.com to learn more specifics about my own heritage, but the Lithuanian immigrants on my father's side Americanized their name (though not much; my maiden name is still pretty ethnic-sounding), so I wonder if that would present a problem.

Probably not. My grandfather and his brother both changed their names when they came from Sweden. Do you know what it was before they changed it? Even if you don't there are all kinds of clues to help you figure it out. You just start with what you do know. In Sweden they used a patronymic naming system until the end of the 19th century but even with that I'm figuring it out. That means that my grandfather's last name was Eliasson, which was derived from his father's first name, Elias. Then there's the girls...his sister's last name was Eliasdotter(daughter) and they didn't take the husband's name. Once I figured it out it actually made it easier in some respects. I think I've made it back to the 1770's but I've still got a lot of verifying to do. So don't let that stop you! Just take it one step at a time and go through Ancestry's tutorials first.

My English ancestors were Puritans that came to the colonies in late 1600's - 1700's . My Irish ancestors (Ulster) came in the 1800's to escape persecution from the Black and Tans!

I am having a devil of a time with the Irish ancestors! I think they had the most common surname in Ireland in 1896.

[KelMar]

My maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated to the US from the Ukraine after the Russian Revolution.

How old were they when they came to America? Were they all from the same village in the Ukraine? My grandma was born in this country but I've discovered that her parents came from the same little village in Sweden as my grandpa. I'm thinking it was no coincidence that he showed up at their doorstep looking for a room. I do know for sure that Grandma and her sister were sitting on the porch and when they saw him coming down the road Grandma said "Here comes the man I'm going to marry."

[Hello Goodbye]

How old were they when they came to America? Were they all from the same village in the Ukraine?

They were in their early twenties and newly married when they came to the US and were from different nearby villages in the northwestern part of the Ukraine.

[KelMar]

They were extremely brave.