One of the tings I've noticed about Americans is how often they like to explain where their family comes from. I don't think I've ever met an American who didn't know where their families were from. In some cases of course, this only means they knew their families came from Africa, but even amongst African Americans I've been surprised at how much detail people were able to go into as to where they came from. I haven't spoken to as many Canadians but they seem to have the same sense of heritage as well.

So, I wondered if people would like to compare where they came from. I find personal family history quite interesting, especially since a lot of my own is partially obscured by the curse of the Holocaust.

My father is Danish and his father was also. My maternal grand mother was also Danish but it seems there was some Romani connection in her family tree. Unfortunately no one remembers enough about it to tell me any more.

My Mother is English as was her father. My maternal grandmother was also English, but her family were German and French Jewish and the family tree is obscured and erased. The surviving members of this part of my family are all in England and I have no contact with them.

For me, knowing I was both English and Danish has always been foremost in my self perception. I have lived my life divided between the two countries and feel pride in them both. In my later years I've become much more Danish than English, but its only in certain area's of my personality. In others, like my sense of humour, sarcasm and aesthetics I am still very much English.

Where do you come from?

How has your family's history affected your own life?

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

Wonderful idea! I think it's interesting to hear all about people's heritage...I think we may have discussed this here quite some time ago, but it might have just been a brief discussion...AH! I remember discussing this with I think Titus in the chat room one night a LOOONG time ago...whomever it was, we both had extremely uncommon last names (my birth name). My father's last name is so uncommon that everyone in the U.S. with the last name is in my immediate family line either by blood or marriage. I think at last count there were eleven of us, but my cousin and his wife will probably be bringing that count to twelve before too long. My mother's maiden name is equally unusual, with less than twenty known people carrying the moniker. So basically, if I told you either of my family names, I'd have to kill you!

On the American fascination with heritage. Oddly enough, as an American, I don't think we're usually all that fascinated with heritage except to be able to claim a certain ancestry. I think the interest stems from living amongst such a mish mash of cultures and ethnicities, but what do I know? Aside from recent immigrants and certain cultural groups, I don't think most Americans really know much about their heritage - no knowledge of the history/culture of the nation(s) of origin, etc.

That said, I find genealogy extremely fascinating. I suppose for me it's mostly just because it's so interesting to note how I ended up where I did...tracing back my family's roots tells tells a story in and of itself even without many details about the journey and reasons for it.

So...on to my answers...

Where do you come from?
My sister and I are only fourth generation American-born. I say only because most of the people I know trace their American roots much further back than just the early 20th century.

My mother's family is Hungarian and Scots-Irish. Our Hungarian ancestors were once thought to be German, but about 5 years ago, one of my uncles discovered otherwise. I'm not entirely sure how he happened upon this information, but nonetheless, the German in me is not from my mother's side.

My father's family is German and Lithuanian. We're not completely sure of the details in this because my father is not part of my life AND because the stories were never really all that clear. We do know that the German side and Lithuanian side eventually 'got together' in Lithuania after the Germans fled to Lithuania for one reason or another.

My sister looks much more German and Scottish in complexion and features, while I tend to favor my Eastern European ancestors...oddly, strangers think we look remarkably alike. We do look like sisters, for sure, but it's not for having similar features or skin coloring...I'm not sure what it is!

Anyway, on the maternal side, the ancestors in Ireland were sheep stealers by trade. They were poor and my grandmother's grandparents (and half of their silbings) migrated here to Ellis Island in the early 1900s to search for a better life for their families (and to help their siblings who did not wish to leave their homeland). They weren't entirely unsuccessful, but they certainly were never anything close to well-off, with the exception of my grandmother's father having it pretty good during the Depression, considering. I have a wonderful photo of my grandmother's family taken during the 30s when she was about nine. I looked almost EXACTLY like my grandmother at nine and my sister looked almost EXACTLY like my grandmother's baby sister at two. Very, very interesting!

I really don't know much about the Scottish side of my ancestry, for some reason. I do know that my grandmother's family is still there (my mother knows exactly where, but I don't).

My Hungarian roots are that of gypsies! How exciting! That would certainly explain my family's penchant for dance and music and rhythm! My mother always likes to say that deep down she always KNEW she was a gypsy. HA!

On my father's side, we know very little. I do know that my father's famly once claimed to be 100% German, but later it was discovered that they were in fact also Lithuanian. The original story was that they fled to Lithuania for some such reason and took on a Lithuanian name once there. But I guess that wasn't accurate as we have Lithuanian heritage not just by name. Again, I don't know much of anything about this since I was only seven when my father was no longer a part of my life.

My husband's maternal side has been in the same rural part of northern Georgia for centuries...dating well back into slavery. They've owned the same large piece of land for nearly a hundred years (maybe more), if memory serves.

My husband's father's mother is VERY into genealogy and was somehow able to trace her family's roots back to The Ivory Coast. I couldn't tell you how, but she's got all of the records to prove it. My husband is one of a very, very miniscule percentage of fortunate African Americans who has ANY knowledge of the country of origin of their families, which is pretty darn cool!

How has your family's history affected your own life?
Other than for research purposes and cool stories I'd say not really much. It's interesting, but I don't think it really has any direct effect on my LIFE. I do very much like certain foods from my Scottish heritage, though! Scotch meat and shortbread and fish and chips. I'm NOT a seafood eater at all, but there's a fantastic little restaurant in Kearny, NJ (where some of my ancestors migrated) called Argyle's Fish & Chips - I was only 7 the last time I was there, but I will never ever forget how good that fish was!

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?
If you think it's important, then I'd say it is. Some people really don't care and I can understand that. I think the importance lies in the famlies oral histories and just grasping how you ended up where you are and not so much in WHAT the ancestry is (if that makes any sense).

Fun topic, moif!

My maiden name is Aebersold. On my father's side, my grandmother and grandfather came over from Switzerland. They were quite young, from two separate families and met in America. My uncle keeps in touch with his cousins over there and has visited Bern nearly every summer for the last 20 years. My grandfather was separated from one of his brothers because he (the brother) had chicken pox when the family entered Ellis Island. He was not allowed in and was sent back to Switzerland where he was raised by his grandparents. That's the side he maintains contact with, since my grandfather kept up the correspondence...though his brother never came to America to visit and I don't think my grandfather ever went back either.

The other half of my family is all (northern) Italian, to my knowledge. My mom met my dad (squadron commander at Aviano at the time) while working at the base. She was 25, he was 44. She followed him over here, though she spoke very broken English, and left everything behind. She has only been back three times since then. It was nice when we were stationed over there because I really got acquainted with my Italian relatives. My mom stayed with us for about 3 months after I had our second child (in an Italian hospital), so she was able to see a lot of the family. They lived only 15 minutes from my house.

How has your family's history affected your own life? I don't know. It might have affected my life before it started because when my father was courting my mother her family didn't care much for Americans. She explained that his parents were Swiss, so he was really more like the Swiss and that made them a little happier.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from? I think so. Well....I like knowing though I can't really explain why.

kmsouthern

Perhaps its because I'm not American that I get so many Americans telling me where their families come from? Maybe Julian will read this tomorrow though and say otherwise.

In my experience though, sooner or later, almost every American I've spoken to in real life, even if I've only met them for a short time, has related the details of their family history to me. Its almost tha same online, except of course I meet so many more Americans online.

It could be because I am interested in such things. I like to hear how familes move and change and one of the things I've noted is how rare it is for a family to never stray beyond a national border. It strikes home (to me) the sense that a nation is really an artificial construct where as family, actually lasts forever... well looking backwards through time I mean.

My GF's family is very old, in as much as they can trace back their roots to the second King of all Denmark from 958 to 986, Harald Blaatand (The blue toothed) but really, all families extend much further back, literally back to the beginning of life on Earth (odd to think we're all related to pond scum)

In my mothers family there is a claim we are related to the German composer Felix Mendlessohn but I've never seen anyting to prove this.

One last observation. It sounds odd to hear of an American family owning the land for over a hundred years, especially if that same family can trace its roots back to Africa. I often forget that America also has a rich and complex history. A hundred years seems like along time but really its just a few generations down the line. If you think about it, all our national history is like this. Europe seems ancient but its really not that old when you think of it in terms of generations and not years.

Really nice topic Moif.



My dad is from the northern part of Amsterdam and my mother was born in raised in Monnickendam. (a little town 10 km north of Amsterdam, next to Volendam)

Both my grandparents from my dads side are from Amsterdam. I don't know exactly where my grandpa was raised, but I know my grandmother was raised in the "red light district" of Amsterdam, in near Nieuwmarkt square (I heard stories from her that when she was still a little girl (mid-twenties of last century*) she used to bring groceries to old prostitutes for some pocket-money. Times sure have changed. ) I also know that my grandmothers mother came from the Jordaan, the poorest part of Amsterdam. I believe my grandfathers parents also came from there.

From my mothers side I only know that my grandmother comes from an old Monnickendam family and that my Greatgrandfather was vice-mayor of the town. My grandpa, my mothers dad, came from the southern part of Holland in the borderregion with Belgium. My mothers last name is van Eijck, and I always have the feeling that maybe, maybe I am family of the famous Jan van Eyck



I am a product of my own family's history. It affected me on so many levels. Some I am conscious of (my view on society / church / politics) some I will never get to know.



I think it is really important to keep family history alive. I for one have never met my granddads because they died before I was born, but I still have fond memories of them through they stories people tell about them.

Editted to add *

Where do you come from?

How has your family's history affected your own life?

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

Well personally I come from Idaho. So does my Mom. My Dad is from Utah and so are both his parents.

Now historically speaking.

My Dads side of the family are from Denmark, Germany, and England. Not too far back either. Not nearly as close as some of you who apparently have had parents from elsewhere but my great grandfather was from Germany. His father was a boatman on the Rhine River.

My moms side is a bit more convoluted. On line goes back to England fairly recently but another goes back to one of the first Governors of Massachusetts. First president of Harvard if I remember correctly. Too bad I can't exploit that for a discount on tuition.

There was also a Native American wife in there somewhere which would make me about 1/16000th Cherokee. It was a ways back.

As to if/how my familys history has affected my life I would have to say yes. Everyones does to some extent. For example, both of my Dads lines (his mom and dads familys) came to Utah as Mormon pioneers. Same with one of my Moms lines. This obviously affected me as I grew up Mormon. (still am too) That is probably the biggest effect of family history. We moved to a small Idaho town where I grew up so I really wasn't affected by it a whole lot.

I am really big on family history though. Maybe not so much where they were from as much as what they went through and who they were.

On my mother's side, all the ancestors I know about are of French-Canadian stock, and wound up in Rhode Island. On my father's side, all the ancestors I know about are of Mexican-American stock, and were in New Mexico long before it was part of the USA. I was born in Southern California.

My family history has had no influence at all on my life, I think. Unlike most people, I have no interest in tracing my ancestry.

Where do you come from?

I've heard that my father's side of the family came from Ireland. He also claimed 1/8 Cherokee. Supposedly, my mother's side of the family was Dutch. I don't know any of this for sure.

How has your family's history affected your own life?

None, if you mean family tree. Much if you are consider as family history that both my parents were lower middle class blue collar stock.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

No! I've often said that I might have come from kings or horse thieves, but it doesn't matter because kings are sometimes the biggest horse thieves.

Personal Note

I am moving, a stressful time consuming activity. I have until the 28th of November to move into my new abode and lots of stuff to pack. I probably won't won't be posting as much for a few weeks.

Where do you come from?

In a way, family trees are sort of artificial, because even though our lineage gets broader with each generation back, we tend to measure them in a patrilinear fashion. That said, what I do know of my family's history is interesting. I come from a very Mennonite family. Many of my forbears were ministers. We can trace the patrilineal line back to anabaptists in Switzerland. Among these ancestors are many Amish, and many Mennonites. One branch of the family went west in covered wagons, and settled in Oregon. The first ancestor I know of on that side to come to the new world was in the late seventeenth century or early eighteenth century. This is a link to my grandfather's work, available at Amazon. He is a very well-known theologian in Mennonite circles. I am very proud of him: link

On my mother's side, it is less clear - I know vaguely that they have been farmers since coming from Germany several hundred years ago. My mother's mother's brother was a Republican legislator in the Indiana state legislature for a long time. Her father was a farmer in Indiana, and his brother worked on the Manhatten project and was the president of Carnegie Mellon University from 1950 to 1965 (link, link). Farther back, though, I don't know as much.



How has your family's history affected your own life?

A lot, I think. The Mennonite culture is very strong. Many of my views about pacifism stem from my family background. On my father's side of the family, the Mennonite side, everyone has always been very active in the church. None of them served in the armed forces because that is against the Christian faith of our people. I am proud of this past, because we have always been concerned with social justice. Instead of being in the paradigms of the day, we were always abolitionists.

I grew up in the church, and though I do not consider myself religious today (unless one considers certain types of Buddhism a religion... which it isn't), I still find myself attracted to the power of Christian mythology. I often find myself using Biblical phrases in my lyrics. The essential story of Jesus, forgiving his enemies, loving them, offering his own life in sacrifice, is a lesson all people need to understand.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

I'll echo MrsP here. If you feel it is important, then it is. Certainly having a sense of the past can bring about present epiphanies. For me it is important, because in this age where people hardly know their cousins, my extended family is very close. My father has five brothers and a sister, my mother has three sisters. I have many many cousins, and we have reunions every two years. We all know each other well and are very close. I think the fact that our extended family remains close is attributable mostly to being part of the Mennonite community, which has always been somewhat separate from the mainstream society.

No, I get that too. Though it seems that the Americans who research this the most are those whose ancestors arrived in America after the Revolution.

Perhaps it's a problem with the records from that far back, but it seems quite rare for Americans from colonial stock, most of whom were of English, Welsh or Scottish origins (kmsouthern, if you ever visit Scotland, don't refer to anything but the alcoholic drink as "Scotch" unless you like being shouted at), to have traced their ancestry back to Britain.

It's much more common among the descendants of later immigrants to America to have a memory of which town or village in "the old country" they were from. I'm not sure why; I'd guess that originally it was socially quite useful to hang on to one's cultural identity in a possibly transient and hostile society, and that later on it the additional glamour and exoticism of not being a standard-issue white of British descent with a surname like Jones or Smith had its own allure.

I think I've pondered this before here, in wondering why St Patrick's Day is such a big celebration in the US, and St David's Day is ignored, even though there are not significantly more Irish surnames than Welsh ones in the Boston or New York phone directories (I checked. Pathetic, I know.).

Of course, I'm probably colouring this opinion with my own experience (as a standard issue white of British descent with a surname like Jones or Smith) - we Brits are generally less interested in finding out our heritage. Probably because we grow up knowing we are still living in it, I think we take it for granted much more than most Americans would* - there's not so much to be nostalgic about.

A good example of this I read about recently was that genetic tests on a pre-historic skeleton found in limestone caves in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, revealed that one of the dead man's descendents still lived in Cheddar village. As far as anyone could tell, the family (at least, this branch of it) had never lived more than a mile or so from the cave in the 9,000 intervening years.

*or do - I am still astonished at the different treatment given to the Gettysburg National Memorial and the comparable historical battlefields of Britain. At Gettysburg, you get a guided tour and visitor centre. At Bosworth Field, you get unsignposted farmland and, if you're unlucky, and angry farmer telling you to get off his land. *sigh*

Wikipaedia entry for Cheddar Caves
Cheddar Man's Descendent

Where do you come from?

I'm at Welsh at least three generations back, mostly in Cardiff, where I was born. Before that, I think one set of great-grandparents were a Spanish Jew who married a local Welsh woman (Cardiff was a port for centuries, so this is not that unusual) and produced my maternal grandmother; one were Welsh-speaking hill-farmers from near Caerphilly (my maternal grandfather's parents). On my dad's side, I think both sets of my great grandparents moved to Cardiff from England (I'm not sure where) to take jobs in the burgeoning 19th century coal and steel trades there.

How has your family's history affected your own life?
Other than an awareness (and pride) at my Welshness (which may have as much to do with having been born and raised there) and my work ethic (which isn't really unique to my family), not very much that I'm aware of.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?
Yes, up to a point. Genealogy has always been one of those things I would like to research at some point. My maternal aunt has done some research and pulled together a family tree of my maternal grandmother, in particular the Spanish angle, going back about 200 years. She hasn't done anything on the Welsh side (her father's). Again, I suspect that this is to do with the glamour of the exotic (with a healthy dose of the good old British class system). One day, I'd like to do the same for the rest of my family.

But family trees alone are just diagrams, without some biographical detail. What did they do for a living? Why did they move from town X to town Y? Did their fortunes change over time, and in what direction?

The BBC made a fascinating series along these lines earlier this year ("Who do you think you are?"), in which celebrities dug into their family history. The most interesting (and moving) editions went back no further than three or four generations, but dug into family secrets - "why was mother committed to an asylum?", "who was the father of my illegitimate grandmother?", "what happened to my grandfather's first wife?" and so on.

Perhaps it's my own ignorance of my own family that makes me think this would a be more interesting route than just trying to build a family tree as far back as possible - my grandparents and father all died before I was 25, so I never really got to know them while they were alive. Got to know them as people, rather than as family roles, I mean.

Where do you come from?

Somehow the French and German ancestors got together long enough to have kids. Around the same time, the Swedish and Norwegian ancestors made their whoopee. I'm pretty sure this all went on in or near Northern Minnesota. Then through the miracle of mindless lust, or desire for kids, or maybe it was just really cold, my Swedish/Norwegian/Lutheran mother married my French/German/Catholic father. Mom had to convert.

Family legend has it that the French part consisted of voyageurs who married Native Americans, so there's probably some of that down the line. My oldest brother is an avid fur trapper, hunter and fisherdude. My other brother had this magnificent eagle nose. I get into NA spiritualism, so the genes might be there.

How has your family's history affected your own life?

I really like mutts and feral cats. Other than that, I really don't know. Does liking ethnic foods count? If so, I'm Eastern Indian as well with touches of Mediterranean. I hate lutefisk. Viking stories interest me; they had cool ships. Did the writing part come from Germany and the musician part from Norwegian Gypsies? That's an attractive fantasy.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

Saw a news report about American Blacks discovering their heritages via DNA analysis, and the people who did this were thrilled to know what part of Africa and what tribe(s). It was uplifting too, almost a tear-jerker. So yeah, I think this is a fundamental human need.

Back before writing, the heritages were part of the spoken culture. Then you see lineage done in the Bible and other cultural documents. Yep, it's part of the human experience.

Well, I don't usually refer to anything as "Scotch" something...but it's either the brand name or the "stamp of approval" given for meat that's bred in Scotland (can't figure out which one from the websites I've seen) ! But thanks for the heads up! I know I've had some REALLY good Scottish sausage before...now I'm trying to find out exactly what it is that we used to order...I asked my mom about it yesterday, but she doesn't remember, she just rememberd them calling it 'Scotch meat', too. I'm pretty sure it was a kind of sausage or a sausage and beef mix. It was made both in a roll (to make into patties) or cased. One of my most vivid childhood memories was when I was about eight - we had been living in Arizona for about a year and a half...my mom had just gotten a shipment of this sausage and it made the whole house smell SO good. I remember watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory eating my Scottish sausage dinner. Mmmmm good!

I'm hoping to find out exactly where my Scottish ancestors are from...when we were living in Belgium, we'd planned on trying to go to Scotland, but never got around to it (not enough time...RyanAir certainly made it affordable to get there).

I think it's important to know your family history. It makes you appreciate everything you have today if you know the struggles your ancestors had to go through.

Personally, on my mother's side I'm German, Scotch Irish, Jewish and English. My fourth great uncle is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and my grandfather was the World War Two Navy wrestling champion. My descendents were German aristocrats who came to America after the first World War, my grandmother was the first and only child of that generation born in the states. I unfortunately have a distant relative that was in the SS.

On my father's side I'm English (Last name is Townley), French and Cherokee. I have family that still live on the Ponca reservation in Oklahoma. My grandmother's family were neighbors with the Lincons in Illinois(?) or Indiana, I can't remember and are in the state history book.

Hello to everyone by the way! It's been a while...

*does double take*

Billy Jean! WOW! Welcome back! Hope life has been treating you well!

Errrr...to keep this message on topic...my hubby has some Cherokee lineage on his mother's side, possibly some Creek as well.

Where do you come from?

My maiden name is Anderson. and my father's side of the family (that I know of) have been Swedish, English, and French. The surnames that I'm aware of are Anderson, Johannson, Beers, and Terrebonne. Anderson/Johannson both immigrated from Sweden three generations ago. Beers and Terrebonne have been in the states for a much longer period of time, and I only know that my great grandfather with the surname Terrebonne came to Colorado from New Orleans, Louisiana. This side of the family is primarily Catholic and Lutheran.

On my mother's side of the family the surnames that I know of are Branson and Asher which both trace back to England. The Bransons, are in fact, related to the tourist town of Branson, MO which mostly involves country music. I've never been there, myself, and I would imagine that it just isn't my thing. The only other information that really know is that the Bransons initially came from England and settled in the Ozarks. This side of my family is entirely Southern Baptist, and they freak me out.

How has your family's history affected your own life?

Well, I knew my grandparents that immigrated from Sweden, but all of the other nationalities are pretty far removed as far as culture is concerned. I'm sure that there are some traits that get carried along via genetics, but I can't say that my family's history (at least in regards to nationality) has impacted my own life in a huge way.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

It's certainly interesting. I often wish that I knew more about the history of my family, and I've tried to do some geneological research, but it can be a very difficult undertaking.

Edited to add: Billy, it's good to see you!

Where do you come from?
I am most definitely a mutt. The only family line that is traced back a few centuries is on my mother’s side. I am not sure who did it but there are 2 hard cover volumes of information on that family. I will say that they were serious! The family, though, were Huguenot French and came to America in the mid 1600’s (after settling in Holland and Germany). When they arrived they first settled on Staten Island then moved to Harlem and then New Jersey. There is a monument in the Huguenot Reform Church on Staten Island, a museum house located in New Jersey that was once one of my decedents. A few streets named after them (in NY and NJ), a town in New Jersey, and the school I currently work in is named after one of them. Other then all the tangible stuff I really don’t know anything about them. Like why they have all these things named after them. No idea if they did anything of interest other then coming to this country so early. Oh the Demorest’s (or Demarest) fought on both sides of the Revolutionary war. That must have made for interesting family dinners.

My mom’s dad is first generation American. His father came here from Germany. He was from the Alsace region and traveled here alone. When he arrived he met the woman he would marry in NYC. I believe she was born here but was of German decent. They tried being Pioneers and explored the country (mid to late 1800’s) then returned to the East Coast and settled in Connecticut where my Grandfather was born. They spoke German at home. I have a letter he wrote my Grandfather’s sister and it is written in German. My uncle told me that my great grandfather was a horse stealer and that is why he came to America alone (the family wanted to get rid of him). Not sure if that is true but is plausible. The other cool thing about his family is I understand the surname was once Grande. Not sure when the switch happened but his surname was definitely Gross when he came here.

My father’s father was all Scottish (or so I believe, but I bet there is something else in there). We believe that the Piper’s immigrated to Nova Scotia then trickled down into NY State. My aunt said that both great grandparents had thick Scottish accents. I have no idea, though, what my great grandmother’s last name was.

My father’s mother was half French Canadian (not sure where he came from prior to Canada but I bet it was somewhere that spoke French! ) and half English. My great grandfather (French Canadian) and great grandmother (English) did not speak the same language when they married. I think they had something like 12 children.

How has your family's history affected your own life?
It hasn’t affected my life. Other then I am interested in the historical aspects. I would like to do the whole genealogical thing-a-majig but never got beyond asking questions to people who may or may not really know. My aunt (my dad’s side) supposedly did all that and I keep asking her for the work she did but I haven’t seen it yet.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?
I concur with “it’s important if it is important to you”. Personally I just find it interesting. I love looking at the past, not just my own but others. I love trying to imagine what their lives were like. It’s kind of like how I get a kick out of looking at old photos. I can just stare at them and imagine all sorts of things.

Ah...you just reminded me! I totally spaced when recalling my maternal grandfather's ancestry. He was Hungarian on his father's side, but his mother's side was indeed German. They, too, came from Alsace-Lorraine (not long before it was claimed by the French again in 1919). I don't know what I was thinking saying there was no German on my mother's side! For so long we didn't know about the Hungarian, and for some reason, I guess I put it in my head that ALL of our supposed German ancestors were actually Hungarian...oops!

Where do you come from?
I am another American mutt. On my mother's side, at least. My father's side is Colonial American to about the middle of the 17th century (Massachusetts & New York) -- before that details are sketchy but is most likely English from Sussex. My mother's side is a bit more complicated, and the players are Swedish, Hungarian, Bohemian, German, Belgian (French), French Canadian, Jewish, and possibly French, if you know what I mean.

How has your family's history affected your own life?
This is a constant source of frustration for me. About fifteen years ago, I was given a published book with a rather curt story of my mother's side -- starting with a Swedish emmigrant to Germany. I started asking questions and was consistently shut down. I get that same reaction from my father's side. I don't know what it means, exactly, but it may have to do with why my family is not as close as other families I have known. Possible psychological consequences: unknown, but probably present.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?
Medical history is probably more important than geographic history. It might help to know why you tend to prefer dishes soaked in paprika, or why you sneeze twice when walking out into the sunlight. And the DAR scholarship was nice. But generally, it seems little more than interesting trivia. Maybe that's one of the impacts on my life (above) to think this way.

Where do you come from?

I don't know a lot about my family history. Supposedly I have some German, some Scotts Irish, and some Swedish heritage along with who knows what else. I know that my mother's father's family included some slave holders in Kentucky and that the family split over the Civil War with my grandfather's branch crossing into Illinois. The family story is that the family changed my grandfather's name from Robert Lee to Robert Lincoln because of the depth of their feeling over the war.

My mother's mother's family came from Kansas. The story is that her father came to Kansas from Vermont at a rather advanced age and established a second family. There is no record of what happened to his original family in Vermont.

Both of my maternal grand parents moved to Western Colorado around the turn of the century where they became school teachers in the Lake City, Ouray, and Telluride area. Another family story has my grand father arriving after driving a horse drawn buggy from Denver over 200 miles of primitive mountain roads. Later my grand parents moved first to the area around Delta, CO and later to a small farm near Grand Junction.

I know even less about my father's family. The family name occurs in both Germany and France. Family stories indicate that they settled in Missouri where the fairly unusual name is fairly prominent. Sometime around 1900 my grand father and his brother appeared in Western Colorado. The brother was a mule team driver and drove wagons from St. Louis to the mining towns. My grand father became a hard rock miner and was an active union organizer and supporter of Eugene Debs. He was an expert pistol shooter and won several contests.

My paternal grandmother was the first non Indian born in the North Fork Valley of the Gunnison River. Her family were among the founders of Paonia, CO and her grand father Samuel Wade did the original survey and plot drawings for the new town of Grand Junction. This is not exactly a happy chapter in my reconstruction of family history since both my grandmother's birth and her families prominence were preceded by the Ute Indian removal in the area. There is some evidence that these Wades were related to Senator Wade of Missouri of Civil War and Reconstruction prominence

I don't know how my paternal grandmother and grandfather met. Their marriage was troubled by serious health problems. My grandmother had a burst appendix that almost killed her. Later, my grandfather developed miner's consumption and homesteaded in the mountains above Paonia where my father and his brother grew up with little education. My mother and father actually met in a school that she was teaching and where my father was a student. They were married many years later.

How has your family's history affected your own life?

I obviously inculcated a lot of the values of my parents and their values were also a product of their own parents and other influences. Family stories also gave me a sense of historical place and a desire to live up to my part of the chain.

Do you think its important to know where your family is from?

I think family history can be both a positive and a negative. Many with aristocratic or prominent backgrounds try to use their family pedigree to lord it over others. Other may find a family history of skull duggery a depressing influence. On the other hand, knowing your family history can heighten your sense of history and your place in it. I think knowing something about one's ancestral background is particularly important for those who have been demeaned by society and had their culture and family history stripped from them.