Knowing Where You Came From

In the course of my genealogy research, I have been waiting for pictures from a cousin of mine to help me get a firm picture of where I come from on my father's side. I already knew what my great-grandparents on my mother's side looked like, but never knew what my grandfather's parents looked like. Today I got what I was waiting for.

As I looked at my great-grandfather's face, I took note of what a nice face it was. Not necessarily handsome, but a strong face, and a good face. He was definitely the force that drove his family. He had to be strong. He had 8 children, and times were tough back then. He had two brothers, one of which died when he was 21 years old. I can't prove it just yet, but I think he took care of this brother. The other brother was a bartender, and they all lived within 3 houses of each other. Imagine being that close to your family... that you'd want to live that close. Maybe they didn't have a choice. Maybe times were SO tough that it was necessary. I feel that families took better care of each other back then. I feel they were closer.

I turned my attention to the face of the great-grandmother I had never known. It also was a good face. She looked a little care-worn, but I guess I would too if I had 8 kids and was marrying one of them off. She had been through a lot. Medical care wasn't good at the time, and I know that both of them were gone by 1940. I wish I had known them. I think I would have liked them, and I think they would have liked me.

I have always known what my mother's grandparents looked like, at least on her father's side. Funny that I never thought about the 4th pair of great-grandparents. My mother didn't talk about them much, except to say that she didn't know her grandmothers' names, and she wanted her own grandchildren to remember her name.

One of her sets of grandparents was an arranged marriage. I can't imagine having to marry someone that your parents chose for you, have his children, live and die, all without making a single choice for yourself. It must have been incredibly difficult. I suppose that women didn't have many choices back then. Without a dowry, a woman was lucky to have a husband at all. A husband meant security and protection. A wife meant someone to "take care of things", i.e., clean house, cook and take care of children. Not much more was expected, but that was enough.

As I go forward in my life, I will at least have the security of the faces of three pairs of my great-grandparents. That's more than most people get.

Nazdrovie'

Paczki Puta