Who is an ancestor who had to persevere? Who is an ancestor you had to persevere in order to find?! Share their story this week. Feel free to leave your links and stories in the comments.
In looking at the stories of my and my husbands ancestors I can’t name one who didn’t have to perservere in the face of adversity. Adversity is what brought them to America and what they faced once they were here. Yet they all persisted to create a better life for their descendants. I have so much admiration for the people who came before me and their work ethic.
My Scottish ancestors who were mine workers came to America at a time when work was hard to find where they lived. They continued to work in the mines until that was no longer viable and than learned a new skill to support their family. My Irish ancestors left their country at a time when food and work were scarce. I don’t yet know what their occupation was in Ireland but they learned how to work on the railroad in the U.S. There was a lot of upheavel in Germany when my and my husbands German ancestors traveled to America. Our ancestors had enough to purchase farm land when they arrived. It was not as simple as it sounds though because they literally had to create their farms. The land was covered in trees and they first had to build a house. That would all be intimidating to me.
My goal for this next year is to get over my fear of researching in other countries. Well maybe not fear exactly but I do find it intimidating. I’ve learned quite a bit about researching in Scotland but I know almost nothing about Germany, Ireland, and England. I know where to research in Iceland, I just need to make the time to do it. I keep hoping now that my husband is retired he will help out, so far he has been busier than ever with things around the house.
I did sign myself up for a class on German research and to learn the important words in German that a genealogist would need to know. I was slowed down in my course by life, surgery and what not. I have a study buddy for after the new year and hopefully we can encourage each other to finish. My goal is to persevere in my studies so I can find my ancestors in Germany. Hartje’s and Koch’s are from Prussia. I’ve learned the area the Hartje’s were from had many bootleggers, so maybe I will have a criminal ancestor to write about the next time that prompt shows up. The Siepmann’s are from Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, which at this point I’m not even sure where it is on the map.
After I learn how to research in Germany I plan to work on my husbands Icelandic relatives. Next up is Ireland and England. Eventually I hope to get my Smith and Minson family relatives out of America and figure out where they were from. I’ve found a few records back to the 1770’s for them in Maine. There is a possiblity one branch is from Scotland. It’s exciting to know we had ancestors here at the very beginning of our country.
Genealogy is all about perserverence for myself and those I research. I just signed up for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks for 2023. Amy Johnson Crow is a skilled genealogist, she teaches classes, has a blog, writes and leads us through a year of writing stories about our own ancestors. Look her up and find out more. Definitely worth your time. Hopefully I will have enough stories for another year of posts.
I have two more posts to finish for this year, Weeks 52 and 10. I skipped past 10 when it came up because I couldn’t decide what to write. I think I am actually going to accomplish this goal of 52 in 52! Knowing I have new stories to write will make it easier to persevere in finding new ancestors in my family for next year. Good luck with your own family stories.
My Tree in the Forest 