My ancestry has always been a topic that has thoroughly interested me. I could sit and listen to stories about my great-great-great grandmother or look at pictures of my great-great uncle all day. I know a lot of people find the topic boring but without your ancestors, you wouldn’t be here. If they had maybe not had one kid or not moved to this one location… things wouldn’t be how they are and that is such a fascinating topic to me.
I became more interested in this when my great-grandfather, PiPi, passed away a few years ago. His mountain land property became a huge debate between the family. Although I was much too young to actually get involved or have an opinion, I listened to the dispute and tried to learn as much as I could. It was then that my aunt introduced me to a book of family history someone had compiled in the beginning of the millennia. In it, I was able to trace exactly how (on my dad’s side), I came to be born in America in 1989.
Lorenzo Frederick Smith I was born in Germany in the late 1700′s. As a part of the Ansbach Regiments, he came over to fight in the American Revolution (a Hessian soldier). In the battle at Yorktown, when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, he was captured and held as a prisoner until 1783. After his release, he eventually bought several hundred acres of land in Bennetts Run, VA where he lived and raised his family until his death.
The family line went a little something like this: Lorenzo I > Emmanuel > Lorenzo II > David L. > David > Odessa > Randy > Me.
So I wonder… what came before Lorenzo? Does he have a brother who stayed in Germany/went back to Germany? Is there a guy/girl out there who, like me, 8 generations later, is sitting at a computer somewhere in Germany? A guy/girl who is not my cousin by any means, and yet, is a descendant from the same blood line? Who maybe knows more about Lorenzo’s life before the American Revolution?
As far as my mother’s side goes, I am not as familiar with the family line that led to me. However, I do know that my great-grandfather was a famous artist in Germany when he came to America so on my mother’s side, the family came over a lot later (early 1900′s). I do, however, have old photo albums and family history trees that I can study. Can you believe there was actually a “Bergermeister” in my family!? Haha.
Which all brings me to my mission: I would love to learn as much as possible. I want to study it further. Who is going to continue the tree for my children and my children’s children? The one family book was published in 2003 and so it is incomplete… what happens past that date? I want to create my own interactive online/word document compilation of both sides of my family for me and my future children nieces & nephews… something up to date and easier to understand… and full as of much knowledge – both legend and truth - as possible. It’s a big project to tackle but I’ve been soaking everything in since I was young.
My first step? Get my genetic profile so I know all the places to begin to look =). It’s through 23andMe and is $99 dollars… but I am going to justify it because of a) my research, b) my own curiosity, c) tax return was quite nice, d) so I’ll know what types of diseases I am prone to… which I feel is important for everyone to know, and e) to find potential relatives with more history/information to share!
Wish me luck =). Are you interested in your ancestry or do you think it’s a boring topic? Have you ever had a genetic testing done and what did you think about it?
Oh, and by the way… Yoji has adapted extremely well =D
