I've been messing around on the Ancestry.com thing for the past couple
of days and was able to trace back, making all the intermediate
connections, to a 9th great-grandfather.

He's on my mother's father's side who's family originated in France.

The dude I found was named "Pierre Martin Pelland" and lived
from 1593 t0 1656.

*That* is a long time ago ..... back in the latter days of
the French Renaissance, if I am not mistaken.

Most of my ethnic origins are from Sweden and Norway.
My mother was about half Swedish by ancestry and the
rest was Irish, British and French.

My father was strictly Sweden and Norwegian.

I was just curious how far back I could trace the French connection.