Your American Story

[NickO'Time]

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]

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]

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.

[lizziebith]

On my Dad's side I'm a Schoonover. Originally Van Schoonhoven (which means from the Dutch town of Schoonhoven, or "safe harbor"), my ancestors came to upstate New York (New Amsterdam) in 1650. All Schoonovers are in this one big family, as the last name was created here in America. I am related to famous artist Frank Schoonover, of the Brandywine School (Wyeth, Pyle et al.). My husband lived for many years near Kingston, NY (our family seat) -- and of course knew who Frank Schoonover was -- so he pretty much flipped out with excitement when he found out I was a Schoonover!

On my Mom's side I'm Irish -- half Catholic, half Protestant hehe. We were always told to wear green AND orange on St. Patty's Day. Family legend has it that we are Mayflower descendants (LOL seems like everybody claims that) and DAR and...horse-thieves. There were many name-changes due to criminal behavior. We think the original last name was McHugh. Or Campbell. On my Mom's side there are many tellers of tall tales though, so at this point in my life I have to admit that I am not sure about any of that.