What's Your Family Heritage?

[Big Disney Fan]

DH & I went to see Gangs of New York last night (for those of you who don't know, it's about the Irish in New York in the 19th Century). Anyway, it got me thinking about (to quote U2's GG winning song) 'the hands that built America' and I was wondering about the 'heritage' of the people on the boards. I'm just curious because I lived in the US for a short while and eventually had to make the decision whether to settle down over there or return to Ireland - obviously I chose the latter, but I loved my time over there and still get nostalgic about it!

So, have any of you any interesting family history stories to tell? If so, please share...

 

[Helopoh]

The most I know about my family is that we once owned the oldest house in Kennebunkport Maine (I spelt that wrong?) Atleast that is what I have been told. I am also related to Betsy Ross and someone who was a traitor to our country...I don't remember the name. So I think I am on the good and bad side...LOL

 

[amid chaos]

My fathers side of the family kept excellent bibles. they trace our family back to the Plymouth colonies and then back to Wales.

 

[gina2000]

Both my father's and mother's sides of the family came to the US from Italy in the teens and 20s. Both families originated from small towns outside Naples. We have no contact with relatives remaining in Italy and have also lost contact with cousins on my father's side that settled in the Bronx.

 

[honeywolf7]

My family is Hungarian, Croatian, Romanian, and British. The interesting parts are that one of my ancestors was one of the first Colonial Governors of Maryland and they helped form the community of Sandy Spring, Maryland (see: http://www.sandyspringmuseum.com/b100.html If you look under 1713-28, James Brooke was my ancestor.) They were nobles in Britain but they still faced discrimination because they were Catholic. I am also related to Thomas Jefferson and Ulysses S. Grant (not considered something to be proud of in Richmond, Virginia but I'm still proud of it.) Finally (and this is something that I'm not proud of), one of my ancestors was Roger Brooke Taney who was Supreme Court justice at the time that the Dredd Scott decision was made: http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/t/ed_taneyR.htm

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Both my parents and their families had to escape from their homeland of Latvia during WWII. My Dad was 10, when they were on the ships leaving latvia as refugees, they were bombing all over, the ship next to them sank and my dad saw it all. My mom's family had to delay their departure because of an aunt dying. grandpa said they were going to wait for the funeral. When they left they were just ahead of the front (by less than 12 miles). Mom was only 8 when they left. MANY, MANY, MANY close calls throughout the war years as they endured occupations. My grandfather was a policeman and he learned that his name and family were on a list of people being deported to Siberia. In one day thousands and thousands and thousands more from all of the baltic countries were deported and had to work in slave labor camps in Siberia. They hid in the woods during this night of terror. Hearing the stories of how my grandfather saved his family, and helped other families along the way are amazing. He truly is my hero, and I miss him desperately!

Both sets came here to America in 1950, and created wonderful lives for their families. They managed to balance and instill in us a love of our heritage and respect for our new country.



A very proud Latvian American

 

[Big Disney Fan]

Wow! I'm so clad that I started this thread - it's really interesting to read the different stories. I hope many more are posted here! (No Irish yet, I notice).

 

[brerrabbit]

I am a sixth generation Texan and am decended from Irish Immigrants who came to Texas in the early 1830's by way of South Carolina and Alabama. They settled in Robertson county Texas, which is just north of Bryan/College Station which is the home of Texas A&M University. There are several short books listed on the web site http://www.robertsoncounty.info/ , and one of them is called "The Irish of Staggers Point" which gives the history of their migration and settlement. I am decended from William Henry.

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

I love reading family histories!

I know on my dad's side if you go back far enough we are related to John & Priscella of Mayflower fame.

On my mother's father's side, my great, great, great...etc. father fought in the Revolutionary War. Of course he was Scottish and was fighting on the "wrong" side. He was captured and offered Prison or changing sides. Well, he changed sides (if the Americans had lost he would have been a traitor). After the war he stayed in America, married and had five children. One small problem...he conveniently forgot that he had been married with 5 children back in Scotland! And SUPPOSEDLY he named his 5 "American" children the same as his 5 "Scottish" children!

On my mother's mother's side, we have family members who were in the Civil War (they didn't have the money to stay out of it). One relative was captured and thrown in Libby (SP?) Prison which was very harsh. He survived that, but died shortly after returning home.

My maternal grandfather who grew up in rural Ohio had wonderful childhood stories to tell (wish I had written them down). He met my grandmother on a train. She & her family were heading to California to visit relatives and he was heading to work for the state of Montana as a vet. They must have really liked each other because she told him if he ever was back east...Well, the state went bankrupt and guess who showed up on my grandmother's doorstep on day!

My maternal grandmother had 2 brothers. One who was incredibly talented as an artist, but died in his 20s of TB (he suffered with it for most of his teens). Her other brother was the adventurous type. He was a male model (I've seen some of the print ads that he was in) and held many different jobs, until he finally opened a travel agency here in NJ with his wife (who was related to Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame). They were able to travel all over the world as a result. Up until a few years before his death in 2001 he was still traveling and exploring (even though his wife had died many years before). In his 90s he experienced handgliding and went down the Amazon.

 

[honeywolf7]

Wow, Annie&Hallie'smom....Your family history is fascinating.

 

[doxdogy]

My grandmother's family (mother's side) came to this country from France. They came over in the late 1600's, early 1700's. My father's father was born in USA. But, his father came to this country from Poland. According to the family story, the last name was changed in this country from the last name that was used in Poland. My father's mother came to the USA from Poland when she was 16 years old.

 

[Talking Hands]

My father's family were some of the first settlers on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I am descended from Nicholas Fountaine who arrives around 1640. We have traced the family back to the 1400s in St Lo, Normandie, France. I have ancestors who fought in the Revolution and the Civil War.
On my mother's side I have less information but they are from England and Scotland

My husband's family we have traced back to the 900s. Crawford's are from Scotland. Immigrated to Va and then to NC and finally moved to Ga and now Fla. Interestingly last summer for the Tupperware Convention I had an interpreter with my same last name and her husband's family was also from NC originally. Was really interesting meeting her.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>My dad's side of the family is Spanish & Mexican. His great-grandfather came from Spain and married an Irish dancegirl out in New Mexico - back in the 1800's. Their son married a woman who was half Mexican & half Zuni Indian (my grandfather used to tell us about his Indian uncles who used to visit). My dad's mom was a little girl when her single mom brought her to the US during the time of Pancho Villa - General Pershing was over there in Mexico looking for Villa, and when he came back to the US a lot of families came back with him, among them my great grandmother & grandmother. On my mom's side of the family, my grandmother was born in Laredo, Texas. Her family was Mexican, and spoke Spanish as a first language. My mom's dad came from Spain when he was 19 back when Spain was starting its civil war (I'm pretty sure). My grandmother was his English teacher, and they ended up getting married - he always insisted that English be spoken at home so he could better learn the language.

My children's other family - on their grandmother's side it's Mexican descent, and on their grandfather's side - they can trace the family back to the colonial times when they came to America from England. I've been told by their grandfather that my kids could belong to the Sons and Daughters of America. Their great-great (great?) grandfather founded the Dwight Mission in Oklahoma (near Ft. Gibson), and a lot of Cherokee passed through there when the U.S. government took away their territory and put them on another reservation.

Here's a link about their great-great-(great?) grandfather:

http://hometown.aol.com/nanalbrown/TheWilleyFamily/Worcester.html

I have books that the kids' grandfather gave to me to hold for them that date back to the 1800's --- most interesting to me are the ones depicting proper behavior for boys and girls (maybe I'll post those rules someday on the CB )

 

[luvmydogs]

My father's side is 100% Irish--we still have relatives in Counties Galway and Cork! My mother is first generation American, her grandparents leaving Czechoslovakia(sp?) during WWII.

 

[piratesmate]

Researching my family history was my #1 hobby - until DS brought home Kingdom Hearts!

My paternal grandmother was descended from French Huegonots who emigrated to DE. Her mother died when Gram wasn't quite 2. She's been difficult to trace since no one ever spelled her last name the same way twice - but she was either from Germany or Holland. In that line, my gggrandfather served in the Civil War as a Lt for the South, but quickly changed sides & served as a Cpl for the North - was wounded, captured & held a Libby. After the war he moved the family to PA & became a policeman and was hit by a train on his way to work on day.

My paternal grandfather's family was never spoken about, so I know very little. I assume they were German based on the last names. Civil War service there as well.

My mother's side is mainly German - actually we differentiate & say PA Dutch. I have ancestors in this line who served in the Revolution as well as the Civil War. A few of the men married Irish women, but they have been extremely difficult to find.

Deb

 

[AngieBelle]

Oh I love stories about the past! I have some interesting ones too, although my knowledge of my own heritage is limited, I know very little beyond my grandparents particularly on my father's side.

My grandmother on my dad's side was a Jewish immigrant from Russia in the late 20s, early 30s when she was about 14. She came by herself because her parents' had already left, and she didn't want to wait. (at least I think that's what happened...I never met her) Anyway, my dad told me a story about how she traveled through Germany and bought a dress from a Jewish merchanted. The lady at the hotel, who didn't know my grandmother was Jewish, told her she had been robbed by the Jew who sold the dress to her and forced her to go ask for her money back. She later repaid the merchant.

On my mom's side, my great-grandmother came to America from Poland around 1910 or so. I know she was a seamstress's apprentice as a young girl, but that's about all I know. My gramma on that side was actually a member of a female communist league! (very ironic considering my other grandmother was fleeing Russia....) She and a friend hitchhiked across the country when she was about my age during the Depression. They worked in fields to earn money. We have photo copies of the letters and postcards she sent home to her mother and sister.

 

[Muffin]

This is the most interesting thread!

My maternal grandfather's side of the family has been traced directly back to the sister of the emperor Charlemange (I don't even know the year). The first person from the family to come to the US was sent here by the king of France in 1757 to settle New Orleans. My grandfather's oldest sister kept very extensive and detailed records the entire family tree. The one that I remember most, though, is that one of the females in the family was married off to the first American governor of Louisiana in order to try to better the relationship between the French born citizens and the American born citizens in Louisiana.

My grandmother was cajun and German.

I don't know about my father's family, I think they may be English/Scottish.

 

[snoopy]

This has been an interesting thread to read.

All I know about my family is as far back as my grandparents. My maternal grandparents were both born in Italy (Sicily), as was my mother. They came to America in the early 50's when my mother was 11.

My paternal grandfather was the only grandparent of mine born in this country, as were his parents. His father was of Italian descent, his mother was French and Irish. My paternal grandmother was also born in Italy, and moved to this country when she was a teenager.

Growing up, since my mother was born in Italy and my father's home was primarily one with Italian customs, I always felt so "ethnic". I used to love to go to my white bread American girlfriends homes where I could eat ho-ho's and American cheese and processed food, LOL, and where there were only one or two kids and each kid had their own bedroom. My family was large, loud, and food was a major ordeal in my household - nothing ever processed or store bought. Sunday dinners were always not just my immediate family (all 11 of us), but always included my grandparents and usually aunts, uncles and cousins too. I've learned to really appreciate my ethnicity as I grow older, but growing up I always felt a wee bit different.

 

[caitycaity]

my paternal grandfather was english and swiss. my paternal grandmother was norweigan. my maternal grandfather is russian and lithuanian. my maternal grandmother is english.

though we don't know a lot of history on my maternal side, we can trace my paternal grandfather's side back to the 1400's on the english side and the 1600's on the swiss side. thanks to the help of some of our relatives still in switzerland, we have a lot of interesting stories. apparently my relative that came to america from switzerland stole money from his family and ran away to become a farmer in the midwest.

on the british side of my paternal grandfather's family we are related to richard warren who was on the mayflower, anne bradstreet, the poet, and general israel putnam. we have a lot of interesting family stories on that side. one of my relatives on that side was in the calvary in the civil war and lost an arm. his daughter eventually ended up eloping (a marriage her family did not approve of apparently) and she never spoke again to her family.

my paternal grandmother's relatives were farmers from norway in north dakota who faced a lot of hardships and eventually ended up losing their famr in the great depression.

 

[Kteacher]

My grandfather was left on the doorstep of a convent in Italy when he was an infant. When he got older he was in the Italian cavalry. He and my grandmother came to this country when they were in their twenties. My father grew up not being allowed to speak English in his home-only Italian. My mother's family is Irish-but her coloring is not the typical Irish coloring-she has black hair and very dark eyes. Italian/Irish-what a combination!!