I confess. I am an Ancestry junkie.
There is no denying it. (I'm the girl on your right) The generations with which I am familiar were only the beginning. About half of my relatives came from Scandinavia and some from Western Europe, Germany, Spain, etc. Those were hardest to trace. The ones from England, however, provided a treasure trove of information. My maternal grandfather's line led me back to the 1600s and so did my husband's maternal grandfather's line. What fun! I found governors, preachers, church founders and some who were accused of being witches in Salem, Massachusetts just before those trials were outlawed. Just think. If they had been tried and executed, I might not be here! It probably didn't hurt that they were closely related to a former governor. :)
In honor of the 4th of July, here are the Hansen girls ready to ride in the Independence Day parade. We used to decorate our bikes with red, white and blue crepe paper and add an American flag.
Although Dad was a naturalized citizen I have never known a more patriotic man. We weren't that far removed from the end of WWII and weren't unique. I still proudly display my flag and always will.
God has blessed me in many, many ways. For one, I was born in the United States of America where I can worship freely instead of having to sail to a new world as my ancestors did when they were seeking religious freedom. I come from Baptists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Quakers and many more believers, all of whom contributed to the person I am. The more I learn, the more grateful it makes me.
Blessings to all of you,
Valerie Hansen
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Val, isn't it so amazing to find our roots and discover all the inlaws and outlaws in our family tree? I sometimes wonder if I inherited my 38th great-grandfather Viking Rognvald's eyes, or my 26th great-grandmother's nose. Gives me chills to realize we are all related in the family tree of life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your bit of history, Val. I've often wondered about my ancestors, but I have never gone to the trouble of researching them.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and one of my cousins have researched both sides of my family and my husbands. Not many surprises, except my "Hungarian" grandmother was really born in Bosnia.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had your drive to discover the history of family. Thankfully, I have a sister who has done all that hard work for me. Our British ancestors arrived here in search of religious freedom in the very first ships and planted deep roots. The Scottish branch arrived relatively soon afterward. DNA testing shows more than 90% of our family ancestry rises from the British Isles. Like Val, I thank God that my ancestors set their sites on the New World of America.
ReplyDeleteI have an aunt who took the time to do family history for my father's side of the family. It was so much fun looking through it!
ReplyDeleteLoved your post, Val. I enjoy the challenges - and surprises - of researching family history. Lots of dead ends and rabbit trails, though...a lot like writing a book, come to think of it.
ReplyDeleteI love genealogy!!!!! It is so much fun playing with the dead relatives!!! Most of the like hide and seek!
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ReplyDeleteResearching our ancestry is such a fun endeavor. Thanks for sharing, Val. I recently had my DNA tested through ancestry.com and it was fascinating.
Hi Belle. My sister had our DNA tested as well and some of the results were quite surprising!! Always fun to learn more about our genealogy
DeleteGreat post, Val. I love getting glimpses into my ancestors' lives. One branch of my family tree has been traced back to the Acadians who came to Louisiana by way of Nova Scotia. I've added a trip to that region to my bucket list :)
ReplyDeleteVery fascinating! I did my ancestry search and DNA test. My ancestors came from Ireland and Finland on my dad's side while mostly British on my mom's side.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great pot. My husband did some research a while ago and was pleased to find pastors, etc in out backgrounds, too. He put icturesvetc on CDs and gave them to all four kids. It's fun to research your heritage!
ReplyDeleteThankfully my father-in-law has done a lot of the research for that side of the family so my kids will have lots of history at their fingertips when they get old enough to show interest. I would love to do it for my side.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Val. I know you've enjoyed researching your ancestors. I had a distant cousin who did that for my daddy's side of the family. We had an Uncle Earl in England. I mean, he was an Earl so I called him Uncle Earl. Never met him however. And it is rumored I'm a descendant of the man who actually discovered the oil from the Spindletop Well near Beaumont, Texas. But he lost his rights in a a bar fight and never saw a dime. So typical of my family!! Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteI think looking into your family's history is fascinating. My niece has done a lot of the family's history. Thanks for sharing.
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