Your American Story

[€uroMeinke]

With the 4th of July celebrating the Declaration of Independence - an occasion that happen in 1776 - I have to confess a bit of a disconnect with me as none of my relatives were anywhere near the new world, rather they were slugging out other conflicts over on the European Continent - somewhere in the amorphous border-zone of what now is Germany, oh and probably France - Europe's battlefield.

Still, I have my own family story for coming to America. It's a rather contemporary one. My parents left Germany after the war as refuges in Canada, where they lived till 1961. They'd be considered economic refuges today, coming to the new world for greater opportunities and something far far away from the politics of 1930's Germany.

My parents became citizens in 1968, something my father was always proud of. His business cards at the time had patriotic quotes emblazoned on the back.

So, back to me - I really am the first American in my family, and probably realizing the success my father had hoped to achieve for himself. I am my father's American dream in that respect. And so, while I may not be able to directly identify with those colonial idealists - I still come to them, from a family that hoped to have a taste of that which the founding fathers created, a world still new and full of promise.

So that's my truncated American Story, what's yours?

[flippyshark]

I can't top that one.

According to some of my relatives on my father's side, I can trace a line back to the Mayflower, but I haven't seen the documentation on that one. (Whenever I mention it, someone invariably says "oh EVERYone says that!")

Somewhere on a limb of my family tree is William Jennings Bryan. I am less certain, but I hear that Gen. George Pickett of Pickett's charge is distantly related, but again, no documentation.

Chris' much more recent story is a lot easier to relate to, and pretty damn keen.

[JWBear]

One of my father's mother's ancestors was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature during the Revolutionary War; and my father's paternal grandfather's father fought in the Civil War (for the Union).

My mother's father's family came to the US in the 1880's from Wales. We don't know much about her mother's family; except that her grandfather (mother's father) owned a saloon in Yakima WA. He also had a pet bear that he kept chained-up outside the saloon to attract customers.

[katiesue]

My grandmother came over from England when she was 6 or 7. My great grandfather had dream of owning his own land so homesteaded in the Madeline Plains (which is that kind of now-where's ville in the north eastern corner of CA). Don't buy land unless you see it. My great grandmother made the trip alone with all 6 kids. They were originally scheduled to sail on the Titanic (says family lore) but had to change plans as my great-grandmother ended up pregnant with my great Uncle George. They came from an estate in England (great grandfather was an estate manager) with their own cottage and servants - to Ravendale with 10ft high sagebrush and a homestead with a dirt floor. Apparently at some point my great grandmother had at least on nervous breakdown.

Interestingly all the women in the family got college degrees and were working professionals. Neither of the boys got any higher education.

My Dad's famlily on the other hand have been here forever. Great great great someone was the first white child in the territory. I'm 6th generation born in Lassen County. Three of my grandparents and both of my parents graduated from my high school. We're somehow related to Daniel Boone and someone's got the documentation so I could join the DAR should I ever feel the need.

History is big in our family. I've got tons of useless information. That I recall we've got no big celebrities. Farmers, loggers, carpenters - average joes.

[3894]

Not Afraid and I have a common ancestor who came over on the Mayflower. That's on my mother's side. My mother's family are 110% WASPs who came over very early in the game.

My dad's side is completely different. His father left the Jewish ghetto in Riga, Latvia and (probably illegally) came to New York City. There, he met my grandmother, a Canadian through and through. They stayed long enough for their two children to be born in New York, then moved to Toronto. My dad was a U.S. citizen by birth but proud that he had grown up and gone to school in Canada.

[Morrigoon]

My mother is a green-card toting Canadian. She came to California when she was 25 with her first husband and my 2 or 3 oldest siblings (I'm not sure if Drew was born in the US or Canada, but since he died about 6 years before I was born it's neither here nor there). So two of my brothers are Canadians. The youngest (7 years my senior) is American born to Canadian parents. Then after the divorce she met my dad and had me (out of wedlock). So I'm born in the US to a Canadian and an American, but because my parents didn't marry till I was like 4, I have the right to claim my dual citizenship. Hmm... I never really thought of myself as 1st-gen, but on the maternal side I am I don't know about her family's emigration to North America though because my mom was adopted. Her mom must have been English though, because her last name was Walters.

On my dad's side... the old story about someone coming over on the Mayflower. I know he had one French grandmother, but the rest is (to the best of our knowledge) pretty solidly English stock (puh-leeze... can I get any more WASPy?)

[wendybeth]

My Great grandfather Michael (x many gens back) and his brother came over in 1755. They settled in Kentucky and my uncle Nathaniel became best buds with Daniel Boone- there is even a place called Nat's Creek named after him. It was a family tradition on his side to name sons after Daniel, which they still do to this day. My grandpa fought in the Revolution, and was at Valley Forge during that terrible winter. (Eric's grandpa was there as well).


On the French-Canuckien side, we are second generation Americans. My grandfather and a few of his siblings came down from Quebec and settled in Michigan, Minnesota and New York around the turn of the last century. Their family name is one of the oldest in Quebec, and they are supposed to be descended from one of the founders of Quebec.

[libraryvixen]

My dad came to the US from Indonesia after his company transferred him to California in the 60s. He got married to a lady here about mid 60s. They divorced in the late 60s.
He met my mom on a trip back to Indonesia. They got married in 74 with my mom in Indonesia and my dad back in California. They got married by phone! My mom flew out to California to begin her new life with my dad. I was born soon after in 75.

My brother and I are first-gen in our family.

[katiesue]

I was just thinking when I was out watching fireworks from our complex parking lot - this is really "our" holiday. You can be from wherever, worship whatever - the 4th is about America. And you don't have to be born her or even a citizen here to celebrate. It's an across the board thing - except for the morons who let their car alarms go off for the duration of the fireworks - they need to have their little remotes taken away at the door.

[Not Afraid]

On my father's side of the family I have the genealogy traced back to William Brewster who was a Pilgram colonist leader and a preacher. He arrived at the Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower.

My last name was originally McCoe and my namesake arrived in America in the 1700's on a prision ship from Scotland. I don't think anyone has ever figured out if he was a prisioner or not. I've always thought it would be fun if SOMEONE other than myself wasn't an upright citizen! His name was Daniel Cone and his was was Mehitable Spencer (which gets has a connection to the same line Princess Diana is from).

Otherwise, I am so white bread American from UK descent. I have NO relatives that were not English, Irish or Scottish. Everyone in my family (both sides) were famers and very religious. (My mom was a Holy Roller!)

I, however, am first generation Native Californian. My parents moved to California when I was -3 months. My Grandmother disowned my Mom because she was moving to the other side of the world. (She had never been on a plane when she died in 1968 and I doubt if she ever got much outside of her small farming community.