Your American Story

Alex · 07-05-2008, 10:01 PM

25% of my anscestry is pretty much lost to me. My mother's father died when she was six and any remaining connection to his family was tenuous at best and did not continue beyond her.

For the other 75% I don't know much. My paternal grandmother has a well research family tree that is pretty much all people in the United States as far back as the mid-1700s. First in what is now Maine and then shifting to Kansas and then a significant post-WWII migration to the northwest to work int the timber industry.

A German surname that was in the United States at the time of the Revolution. For a long time I liked to think that they came from a group of Hessians brought from Germany by the British to find on their side in the Revolution. But apparently that's not true. No information on the actual migration or where they came from in Europe. In the 200+ years of that family tree segment, not one single person has ever risen to even local prominence. Farmers, sheepherders, and timbermen for the most part.

I know the names of three of my great-grandparents (and only because I knew them personally) and none older than that.

I can't decide if this is an american of an "American Story" or essentially the epitome of one since I am so engrained genetically within this country that I can't barely trace myself to a root outside of it.

However, my non-genetic family has all been immigrants (my stepfather from Germany; and Lani from Japan). I ended up related personally to people who fought on the wrong side in World War II in both theaters.

Snowflake · 07-05-2008, 10:17 PM

My father's side of the family, I do not know much about except someone hailed from the UK, but I am not sure if it is Ireland, Scotland, Wales of Britain. He hailed from Michigan and my paternal grandmother died in 1933 (my dad was then 11). His father remarried and he had 1 full sibling and added 2 step siblings (one of whom I've never met) and I grew up knowing Grandma Lulu. She was fabulous and full of vim and vigor. I loved visiting her and she loved visiting here, game old gal trekked Hearst Castle at 80. His father died in 1945 of lung cancer or emphysema.

My mother's side of the family hail from Russia (and now a part of Poland). My grandfather arrived in the US in 1905, grandmother in 1906. They were farmers and settled in New Britain, CT. 8 siblings in all, only one has passed away. My grandmother lived to be 100 and never spoke a word of English as I recall. Grandfather passed away in 1968 and I do not remember him. I remember my Great Uncle Adam, who was such a lush, he'd fall off the barstool and the patrons would carry him home to sleep it off. He lived to be 95. All the kids were bi-lingual (alas, never taught to me since my parents were the maverricks who moved away to California - Dad was a navy man). As an aside, Mom talked in her sleep sometimes, and it was the funniest thing to hear as a kid, not knowing it was in Russian. It sounded like Martian as I imagined.

NickO'Time · 07-05-2008, 11:11 PM

All I know is that my family dates back too the 16th Century where there were no last names?

After dodging being apprehended by Hitler's Gestapo in the Friesland region of Holland,(with the help of his soon too be wife and mother) my grandfather moved the family over here in 1948.
My grandmother and my Great grandmother flirted with the Germans while my Opa was underneath the floorboards 6 ft under, staring up at the soldier's foot.
My Opa refused too register with the German requirements.
The thing is with anyone who went through this, they never want to talk about it.
So for some reason lately we have been getting a story here and there. They just celebrated 60 years of Marriage back in May.

The economy in Holland after the war seemed too be slow to recover, so my Opa decided to move on to America.
Funny, a year later the Holland's economy improved after his family left.
My dad was born in Winschoten with a mid wife present. The home they lived in has some historical architecture that in 2004 was made into a museum or historical monument of some sort, a year after we visited.
My Dad and two of his 4 brothers were born in Holland. The others were born here. The rest of my Opa's brothers and sisters toughed out things in Holland.

Sponsored by another Dutch American, my grandfather(Opa) immigrated with his family moved over to Ripon, California. (Little Holland as we call it here.)

My Opa was a meat cutter, then moved on too start his own business.

My mother's side is unknown, she was adopted with her sister, and unfortunately a fire took out the records of her real parents in Iowa.
The sad part was one day my mother was told in elementary school by some kids who knew her real parents. (At least that was what we were told)
Kind of vicious isn't it?

I truly envy those who know more about their families. I would love too know more about mine.

wendybeth · 07-07-2008, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TicTocDragon

All I know is that my family dates back too the 16th Century where there were no last names?

After dodging being apprehended by Hitler's Gestapo in the Friesland region of Holland,(with the help of his soon too be wife and mother) my grandfather moved the family over here in 1948.
My grandmother and my Great grandmother flirted with the Germans while my Opa was underneath the floorboards 6 ft under, staring up at the soldier's foot.
My Opa refused too register with the German requirements.
The thing is with anyone who went through this, they never want to talk about it.
So for some reason lately we have been getting a story here and there. They just celebrated 60 years of Marriage back in May.

The economy in Holland after the war seemed too be slow to recover, so my Opa decided to move on to America.
Funny, a year later the Holland's economy improved after his family left.
My dad was born in Winschoten with a mid wife present. The home they lived in has some historical architecture that in 2004 was made into a museum or historical monument of some sort, a year after we visited.
My Dad and two of his 4 brothers were born in Holland. The others were born here. The rest of my Opa's brothers and sisters toughed out things in Holland.

Sponsored by another Dutch American, my grandfather(Opa) immigrated with his family moved over to Ripon, California. (Little Holland as we call it here.)

My Opa was a meat cutter, then moved on too start his own business.

My mother's side is unknown, she was adopted with her sister, and unfortunately a fire took out the records of her real parents in Iowa.
The sad part was one day my mother was told in elementary school by some kids who knew her real parents. (At least that was what we were told)
Kind of vicious isn't it?

I truly envy those who know more about their families. I would love too know more about mine.

My Aunt Liliana is an Italian Jew and one of the few to survive from her hometown, which was near Florence. She seldom talks about her experiences, but last week we visited her at the hospital where she was holding court after a big surgery. Hopped up on morphine, she told us about when her cousin was shot dead in front of her and his parents by the Nazis, and then she went on to relate some of the other atrocities she saw committed by those sick bastards. She's such a cool lady, and she seems to bear no ill will or bitterness for her ****ed up childhood, but just listening made my blood boil. I want to get her to start recording her experiences- I think she wants to talk about them, and her family should have a written record on a big part of their history.

Kudos to your Opa.

NickO'Time · 07-07-2008, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendybeth

My Aunt Liliana is an Italian Jew and one of the few to survive from her hometown, which was near Florence. She seldom talks about her experiences, but last week we visited her at the hospital where she was holding court after a big surgery. Hopped up on morphine, she told us about when her cousin was shot dead in front of her and his parents by the Nazis, and then she went on to relate some of the other atrocities she saw committed by those sick bastards. She's such a cool lady, and she seems to bear no ill will or bitterness for her ****ed up childhood, but just listening made my blood boil. I want to get her to start recording her experiences- I think she wants to talk about them, and her family should have a written record on a big part of their history.

Kudos to your Opa.

Thanks Wendy, he's tough as nails.

We toured the Hotel in OosterBeek, where a few Allied Soldiers were surrounded by Germany's best Panzer Divsion.(Operation Market Garden)
One that was disregarded as "old Men and children" for soldiers.

My Opa turned the corner in the German section of mannequins and went straight back out the museum.
I have always heard the suggestion of sharing those personal stories for record and have always wondered how many have succeeded in recording it.

Moonliner · 07-08-2008, 05:09 AM

According to Mom, Her maiden name goes all the way back to the Mayflower. However when I researched it a few years back it did not take long to discover that every pilgrim with her name died before the first year was out. So I guess I'm half zombie on my mothers side.

On dad's side, we came in through Ellis Island from Scotland, err or at least that was the story. When I visited Ellis (and did some other ancestry searches) there is no record of Grandpa ever entering the country at Ellis or anywhere else. So put me down as half zombie half illegal alien, or in other words I'm your typical American.

Stan4dSteph · 07-08-2008, 06:03 AM

My ancestors on my father's side came over from Germany in 1884. The male relative was the oldest son of 11 children. The primary industry in the area was growing grapes and making wine, but the harvest had been bad for a few years before that (as recorded in the town hall in Germany), so the hard economic times helped push my relative to seek his fame and fortune in the USA. He was pre-Ellis though, so no record of him through there. Strangely enough, the female relative was from a town nearby in Germany, but they didn't meet until they both settled in Indiana.

07-05-2008, 10:01 PM	#1
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	25% of my anscestry is pretty much lost to me. My mother's father died when she was six and any remaining connection to his family was tenuous at best and did not continue beyond her. For the other 75% I don't know much. My paternal grandmother has a well research family tree that is pretty much all people in the United States as far back as the mid-1700s. First in what is now Maine and then shifting to Kansas and then a significant post-WWII migration to the northwest to work int the timber industry. A German surname that was in the United States at the time of the Revolution. For a long time I liked to think that they came from a group of Hessians brought from Germany by the British to find on their side in the Revolution. But apparently that's not true. No information on the actual migration or where they came from in Europe. In the 200+ years of that family tree segment, not one single person has ever risen to even local prominence. Farmers, sheepherders, and timbermen for the most part. I know the names of three of my great-grandparents (and only because I knew them personally) and none older than that. I can't decide if this is an american of an "American Story" or essentially the epitome of one since I am so engrained genetically within this country that I can't barely trace myself to a root outside of it. However, my non-genetic family has all been immigrants (my stepfather from Germany; and Lani from Japan). I ended up related personally to people who fought on the wrong side in World War II in both theaters.
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07-05-2008, 10:17 PM	#2
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	My father's side of the family, I do not know much about except someone hailed from the UK, but I am not sure if it is Ireland, Scotland, Wales of Britain. He hailed from Michigan and my paternal grandmother died in 1933 (my dad was then 11). His father remarried and he had 1 full sibling and added 2 step siblings (one of whom I've never met) and I grew up knowing Grandma Lulu. She was fabulous and full of vim and vigor. I loved visiting her and she loved visiting here, game old gal trekked Hearst Castle at 80. His father died in 1945 of lung cancer or emphysema. My mother's side of the family hail from Russia (and now a part of Poland). My grandfather arrived in the US in 1905, grandmother in 1906. They were farmers and settled in New Britain, CT. 8 siblings in all, only one has passed away. My grandmother lived to be 100 and never spoke a word of English as I recall. Grandfather passed away in 1968 and I do not remember him. I remember my Great Uncle Adam, who was such a lush, he'd fall off the barstool and the patrons would carry him home to sleep it off. He lived to be 95. All the kids were bi-lingual (alas, never taught to me since my parents were the maverricks who moved away to California - Dad was a navy man). As an aside, Mom talked in her sleep sometimes, and it was the funniest thing to hear as a kid, not knowing it was in Russian. It sounded like Martian as I imagined. __________________ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde
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07-05-2008, 11:11 PM	#3
NickO'Time Missed it by that much.. Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 678	All I know is that my family dates back too the 16th Century where there were no last names? After dodging being apprehended by Hitler's Gestapo in the Friesland region of Holland,(with the help of his soon too be wife and mother) my grandfather moved the family over here in 1948. My grandmother and my Great grandmother flirted with the Germans while my Opa was underneath the floorboards 6 ft under, staring up at the soldier's foot. My Opa refused too register with the German requirements. The thing is with anyone who went through this, they never want to talk about it. So for some reason lately we have been getting a story here and there. They just celebrated 60 years of Marriage back in May. The economy in Holland after the war seemed too be slow to recover, so my Opa decided to move on to America. Funny, a year later the Holland's economy improved after his family left. My dad was born in Winschoten with a mid wife present. The home they lived in has some historical architecture that in 2004 was made into a museum or historical monument of some sort, a year after we visited. My Dad and two of his 4 brothers were born in Holland. The others were born here. The rest of my Opa's brothers and sisters toughed out things in Holland. Sponsored by another Dutch American, my grandfather(Opa) immigrated with his family moved over to Ripon, California. (Little Holland as we call it here.) My Opa was a meat cutter, then moved on too start his own business. My mother's side is unknown, she was adopted with her sister, and unfortunately a fire took out the records of her real parents in Iowa. The sad part was one day my mother was told in elementary school by some kids who knew her real parents. (At least that was what we were told) Kind of vicious isn't it? I truly envy those who know more about their families. I would love too know more about mine. __________________ Yeah, right.
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07-08-2008, 05:09 AM	#6
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	According to Mom, Her maiden name goes all the way back to the Mayflower. However when I researched it a few years back it did not take long to discover that every pilgrim with her name died before the first year was out. So I guess I'm half zombie on my mothers side. On dad's side, we came in through Ellis Island from Scotland, err or at least that was the story. When I visited Ellis (and did some other ancestry searches) there is no record of Grandpa ever entering the country at Ellis or anywhere else. So put me down as half zombie half illegal alien, or in other words I'm your typical American. __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
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07-08-2008, 06:03 AM	#7
Stan4dSteph Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: East Bay Area, CA Posts: 3,156	My ancestors on my father's side came over from Germany in 1884. The male relative was the oldest son of 11 children. The primary industry in the area was growing grapes and making wine, but the harvest had been bad for a few years before that (as recorded in the town hall in Germany), so the hard economic times helped push my relative to seek his fame and fortune in the USA. He was pre-Ellis though, so no record of him through there. Strangely enough, the female relative was from a town nearby in Germany, but they didn't meet until they both settled in Indiana.
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