What's Your Family Heritage?

[RUDisney]

On my Dad's side of the family, we can trace our heritage back to the Jargiello's who were the longest ruling monarchs of Poland. I can't remember the dates exactly, but somewhere around 1100-1200 through 1600ish. The only reason that the monarchy changed hands was because the last king and queen didn't have a son. Their daughter married an Anglo-Saxon man and the monarchy switched to his name.

On my Mom's side, I love the story about my DGGM, whom I remember from when I was little. She was a young girl in Poland who had met and fell in love with a young man. Her father was adament that she not marry this man because he wanted her to have a better live in America. She would marry a Polish-American boy. Her father brought her to this country and assembled all of the Polish-American boys in the back yard. She was on the back porch with her father when he selected her husband from the crowd that was gathered. She married this man and had 5 children with him. He was a coal miner and died very young of black lung. During prohibition, my DGGM was running a speak-easy in her basement. One night, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, there was the man whom she loved in Poland. He was thankfully unattached and they married very soon thereafter and had another 5 children together. My DGF was one of the original 5. I really don't know where my DGGF is buried, but I go to visit my DGGM's and her second DH's gravesite several times a year. My DGGM died when she was 95. She had type II diabetes and had lost one leg before I was born and I remember her having to have her other leg amputated when I was about 4. She died when I was 6 or 7. She was such a cool lady.

My other ancestors were from Russia.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

I didn't know any of my grandparents except my maternal grandmother. the others died before I was born.

my paternal grandfather left a shtetl in the Ukraine in 1905 and came to Brooklyn, NY. he sent for my grandmother, who was from the same village, 2 years later. in the 1930's he went to court to have his name changed -- it was something long and Russian, but he opted for a Jewish last name because he wanted to identify himself to his customers -- he owned a small delivery business. he chose "Cohen" because he was a Kohen -- the Kohanim are the descendants or Aaron and were the priests in the Temple in Jerusalem (and amazingly, they've been able to trace a genetic marker several hundred years back which identifies many who are Kohenim.)

I'm not sure where my maternal granfather was from -- Hungary, i think. he couldn't get a visa to the US, so he went to Canada and walked across the border. (yes, I know, an illegal alien in my background...) not sure of the year. he wound up in NYC, too.

my maternal grandmother was from a village in Galicia, Poland -- only when she lived there, it was part of Austria. her father came to NY before WWI, and left the family in Europe. she and one of her sisters came here in 1920, and another sister and her brother came shortly afterwards. my grandmother sailed from Rotterdam and wound up at Ellis Island. because she'd been very seasick they wanted to send her back to Europe, but when she recovered her health she was allowed entry into the US. she became an American -- bobbed her hair, bought stylish clothes, got a job in a factory and taught herself English. she lived to age 94. when I visited Ellis Island I could hear her voice in my head.

my kids can claim a bit more exotic heritage. my ex husband's father's family is from Eastern Europe, like mine, but his mother's family is Sephardic -- the Jews who were expelled from Spain and settled in various parts of the Mediterranean. his grandparents were from Greece and Turkey.