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August 28, 2011

Did any of our relatives come from other countries? Which countries?

You know Grandpa came from Germany.  He arrived in the USA in May of 1957 with his sister who came on the boat with him.  They were met at the pier by their uncle who had immigrated to the US in the 1920s.  They also had one other uncle and an aunt here.  All of them had left Germany for a better life in the US although one uncle had originally headed for South America, their final destination was Illinois where they lived within 100 miles of each other.  They all found spouses settled down and had children.  The oldest uncle was helped by my family when he first arrived since he was a distant relative. Grandpa was helped by the other uncle who had a job waiting for him.  He was apprenticed as a tool and die maker learning both a new trade and English.  He learned English from his cousins, the television and from courses offered by the local school system.  He lived with his uncle and worked for him learning his trade until he was drafted into the US Army in 1960.  He served two years most of it spent in Germany serving as a driver and translator.  The Army got it right when they assigned him to those duties.  He became an excellent driver.  After he was discharged, he spent a year in Germany before coming back to the USA.  He renewed his acquaintance with me and the next year we were married.
My great grandparents came from Germany too.  They came in the 1850's because of the famines in Europe.  My greatgrandfather was the second son and as such would not inherit from his parents.  He came to this country and became a land owner in Illinois.  His children inherited the land and were farmers like their fathers before them.    I don't know about the maternal side since noone has researched their lineage.  That is another task to put in my bucket list.
From my mothers side, her great grand parents came from Germany too but from a different part.  They came from the northern part.  There were some who came from Sweden and other countries that I have no definite knowledge of. 
Unless you are 100% Native American, some of your relatives came from other countries too.

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