My Family Tree

Like a lot of families who eventually settled in the Midwest (and particularly my hometown in Illinois,) my ancestors are an even split of both English and German heritage. As farmers in the early to mid 1800's, both "sides" of the family came to America looking for a better opportunity in the rich farmland of the area near where my parents actually live now. While my family tree has both very English names, Bird and Hall, it also has VERY German names as well, Heitzman and Klaustermeier.

Despite the even split between two cultures, everyone in my immediate family will probably tell you, we most resemble our German heritage in appearance -we are a "robust" bunch, freakishly strong, particularly us "damens," and we have a special fondness for cured meats (summer sausage) and strong brews - ok, that may just be me- but also our work ethic and stubbornness. Afterall, a favorite saying (more a proud motto) in my family is "you can tell a German, but you can't tell him much!" (Truth be told, I've heard this saying applied to Irish and Italian as well, so I guess it's an equal-opportunity generalism.)

Fortunately, my dad has done a lot of research about our family roots, and I've been lucky to travel in the last couple of years to the areas where my family originally came from in both England and Germany. And, without a doubt, I feel very strongly connected to my roots in Germany where people most look like me, traditions are more familiar (they eat meat and cheese for breakfast!) and where I feel like I could very well be sitting in my grandma's or great-grandma's living room. When I was travelling there, I even noticed that some of the houses looked exactly like those of my relatives, including their spotless, clean-swept porches and tidy, obedient flower gardens.

As someone who appreciates history but mostly looks forward to what's to come, it's a comforting feeling to know your "roots." I never would have understood this if I had not travelled there (in both Germany and England) myself. I'm so grateful to my dad for having understood this long before I did and for doing the hours of research in order to find this information.

Come to find out, our family tree boasts no exciting drama (except maybe a couple of horse thieves in the early 1900s and my current immediate family) and certainly no European royalty (although we/I may occasionally act like it.) But it's incredible to learn more about the hard-working, aspiring people (farmers and factory-workers) who took that big leap and started over in a foreign country (America) with nothing at all. At the same time, it's also heartwarming to know that despite the distance and years our family has come, we still see and identify with the distinct characteristics of our ancestors' home lands.

So, perhaps my fondness for the German language (with its "fahrt" and "weiner"and such) is not because of the cheap giggle it brings to the "teenage boy" in me, but because of a centuries-old, deep-seated connection to my heritage............  Nah, it's because of the "fahrt" and "weiner"!