tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post2823808540420321410..comments2024-03-17T12:34:47.729-07:00Comments on Ancestral Discoveries: "Who Do You Think You Are?" - Rita WilsonJanice M. Sellershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-49016244824211334712023-05-17T16:42:59.569-07:002023-05-17T16:42:59.569-07:00Everyone under the Ottoman umbrella was not Turkis...Everyone under the Ottoman umbrella was not Turkish. I know this because friends are Algerian. Algeria was part of the Ottoman Empire until occupied by the French in 1830. It was not a dictatorship. The people of Algeria spoke Arabic and Berber as they had done before. They had their own government leaders. Only when the French invaded were they forced to speak French and became subservient to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-35351655169888378232020-06-10T21:34:36.504-07:002020-06-10T21:34:36.504-07:00Thank you for the contribution. From where did yo...Thank you for the contribution. From where did you learn this information?Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-72402041175778686722020-06-10T21:28:16.870-07:002020-06-10T21:28:16.870-07:00Her mother was cham(albanian)Her mother was cham(albanian)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425492047137662475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-81140574164051951402020-03-24T08:19:20.241-07:002020-03-24T08:19:20.241-07:00It's possible, but that doesn't seem to be...It's possible, but that doesn't seem to be the direction the information is going.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-45625327894102998882020-03-24T08:18:11.101-07:002020-03-24T08:18:11.101-07:00The Celts made it to the area of Greece, so yes, C...The Celts made it to the area of Greece, so yes, Celtic does make sense.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-72732148469434261702020-03-24T05:57:42.250-07:002020-03-24T05:57:42.250-07:00It’s possible she’s part TurkishIt’s possible she’s part TurkishAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-37547535315515952482020-03-24T05:55:24.901-07:002020-03-24T05:55:24.901-07:00Celtic?Celtic?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-85462278782736268872020-01-11T18:26:06.888-08:002020-01-11T18:26:06.888-08:00Thanks for posting. It does seem relatively clear...Thanks for posting. It does seem relatively clear from what everyone has described that her father probably was a Pomak/Bulgarian Muslim. That's an interesting trivia bit about the Bulgarian that Tom Hanks spoke in The Terminal.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-30597034860589231532020-01-11T18:00:04.009-08:002020-01-11T18:00:04.009-08:00Rita's father was not Turkish, he was Pomak. P...Rita's father was not Turkish, he was Pomak. Pomaks are Bulgarian Muslims. They speak Bulgarian and have Muslim names. Most of the Pomaks live in Bulgaria, but some part of them live in Greece. Muslims were Bulgarians/ Christians who converted into Islam after the Ottoman Empire conquest of that part of the country in 15th Century. This whole mountain area was part of Bulgaria until late Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05693923749033719877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-12607991632939122172016-11-04T09:20:56.442-07:002016-11-04T09:20:56.442-07:00Thank you for the additional supportive comment.Thank you for the additional supportive comment.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-78150884398253337892016-11-04T04:22:49.809-07:002016-11-04T04:22:49.809-07:00Correct, it was Bulgarian land at that time and Po...Correct, it was Bulgarian land at that time and Pomaks are Bulgarians forced to muslims.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-9801227205343081332014-10-04T18:49:55.239-07:002014-10-04T18:49:55.239-07:00Thank you for the compliment! And thanks for the ...Thank you for the compliment! And thanks for the additional background information on the area. It is a complicated history, and the more information people post, the better educated I feel.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-55785440158771046732014-10-04T15:23:42.488-07:002014-10-04T15:23:42.488-07:00Hi Janice,
Great blog you've got there. I have...Hi Janice,<br />Great blog you've got there. I have been interested in the history of the region for quite some time now, celebrate some relatively old books on the subject, have had the chance to listen to both Turkish and Bulgarian scholars on the subject of islamisation etc. I am willing to accept the idea that forced islamisation happened in each of the conquered lands with the main idea Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-87968446836532431422014-08-28T23:39:52.007-07:002014-08-28T23:39:52.007-07:00Thanks for the additional references. I have read...Thanks for the additional references. I have read previously about the population exchange, which was similar to what happened in India after partition. People on both sides had to leave where their families had lived for generations. The division there was also based on religion.<br /><br />I really should watch the episode again to figure out where the comment about forced conversions comes Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-2931589284972002262014-08-28T23:25:53.319-07:002014-08-28T23:25:53.319-07:00I forgot to relate a humorous genealogy story that...I forgot to relate a humorous genealogy story that is somewhat related. I have a Nebraska friend whose father was Jewish.<br />(descendant of a Jewish Nebraska clothier) He married a Catholic woman and the kids were all raised Catholic. After the TV show roots, my friend and her sibs wanted to trace their Catholic mom's roots. To their shock and surprise, her mom<br />was actually a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-43470953967928555122014-08-28T23:16:31.257-07:002014-08-28T23:16:31.257-07:00Thanks for the response. I just did some resear...Thanks for the response. I just did some research about Albania and was shocked that 59% of the population notates as Muslim. I thought that much of the Muslim population had left, but it seems otherwise. I believe that the forced conversion concept was from a statement made by Rita Wilson herself when she visited the home village of her father and saw that it was 100% Muslim and heard the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-41541638683645990322014-08-28T16:12:17.912-07:002014-08-28T16:12:17.912-07:00You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that the...You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that the information and discussion were helpful and were relevant beyond merely the TV program.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-80027812981032086312014-08-28T16:08:48.323-07:002014-08-28T16:08:48.323-07:00I really enjoyed this post! I had drifted away fro...I really enjoyed this post! I had drifted away from the "Ancestry" shows, partly because of the focus on celebrities and on Colonial American/British/Western European roots. But this episode, which I happened to catch as a rerun, was refreshing. I'm of half-Slovenian descent, married to an Ashkenazi Jewish husband, and will soon have a Kosovo-Albanian daughter-in-law, so the Blair K.http://www.slovenianroots.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-83403168825208319562014-08-27T23:33:13.106-07:002014-08-27T23:33:13.106-07:00I said that Wilson's mother was an ethnic Gree...I said that Wilson's mother was an ethnic Greek born in Albania, but nothing else about Albania. I understand that many areas in that region are very mixed.<br /><br />We don't know for sure about the background of Hassan's first wife. While the name seems to be Armenian, it isn't guaranteed that she was.<br /><br />I'm still wondering where the program got the information Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-75881391582772428402014-08-27T23:12:15.494-07:002014-08-27T23:12:15.494-07:00Janice,
Nice blog, but you have information that ...Janice,<br /><br />Nice blog, but you have information that is not complete and some is inaccurate. ie Albania was and is a very mixed country. I have a friend in Istanbul who's parents are both immigrants from Albania. Further, villages in Northern Greece/Southern Bulgaria can be either Muslim or <br />Christian. Additionally intermarriage was not uncommon as we see from the first Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-21785357149105665172013-09-08T02:00:57.669-07:002013-09-08T02:00:57.669-07:00Wilson's mother is ethnic Greek but was born i...Wilson's mother is ethnic Greek but was born in what is now Albania, and she grew up Greek Orthodox. We don't know if Hassan converted to Christianity, stayed Muslim, or perhaps didn't practice any religion.<br /><br />In the episode Wilson found her parents' marriage record from June 10, 1951 on Ancestry. What's interesting is that I can't find it now. I don't knowJanice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-44258323753020628172013-09-08T01:03:05.091-07:002013-09-08T01:03:05.091-07:00Willson is Greek on her mother's side, which i...Willson is Greek on her mother's side, which is not explored in this episode. The critical part is that when her parents met, the maternal side dominated. It's possible that her father converted to Christiansim (this is never explained) or at least Willson grew up in Greek-Orthodox culture and she is even interested in it.<br />We also don't know WHEN and HOW her parents met or what Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-37097586293696049262013-07-31T23:54:48.553-07:002013-07-31T23:54:48.553-07:00She feels Greek because of her ancestry on her fat...She feels Greek because of her ancestry on her father's side. People can become attached to different things from their heritage.Janice M. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08466785140555595069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-90096158775373155142013-07-31T22:13:16.941-07:002013-07-31T22:13:16.941-07:00how is rita Wilson Greek because he was born in Gr...how is rita Wilson Greek because he was born in Greece it doesn't make sense<br />understand he had a Greek nationality it doesn't make her a Greek her nationality is Americsn<br />her dad was Turkish unless he was Greek and his parents were not allowed to use a Greek name due to the TurksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350318808703965214.post-51475323740979877322013-07-31T22:06:23.673-07:002013-07-31T22:06:23.673-07:00the ottoman empire didn't like Christians th...the ottoman empire didn't like Christians that's why they had the armenian genocide Armenians residing in turkey Ottoman empire same thing for the Syrians in Syria and Greeks from Greece the Turks wanted to take their country to become IslamicAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com