You have just completed an essay on your family's immigration experience. What was the most interesting or revealing thing that you learned from your research? What about the presentations, what created an impression on you from your classmates' experiences? Post by Friday 2-19 for full credit.
38 comments:
Originally I had thought my family had come to America to have the American dream. I had no clue before the essay that Norwegians didn't have the land space they had desired. It hadn't occurred to me that there would be a REAL reason for my family to move to a strange country. It makes sense that my great grandpa would come to America to have land.
I was interested in the fact that we had so many different diversities in the class. I have only met a few people that are the first generation, but I did not realize there were members of our class who had a unique immigration history. I also liked how we had people who had history all across the globe, and not just Europe.
Paige O.
Class7
This project showed me that my knowledge about my family's roots is sorely lacking. Basically all that my family knows about its heritage is that my dad's paternal grandparents came over from Ireland during the potato famine and that my other relatives were a combination of Scotch, English and German. In my opinion, this is a problem that must be addressed, but I am not exactly sure how it can be addressed because I do not know of any databases (or similar resources) that could track my ancestry given such little information. I feel as if it is important to know my ancestry because it would help give me a stronger sense of identity--the saying "You don't know where you're going until you know where you've been" does not quite apply, but it is close. Knowing who my forebears were could allow me to foster a sense of pride because of their accomplishments, or it could humble me, to a certain degree, and allow me to learn from the mistakes of my relatives, however distant. In the case of my dad's paternal great-grandparents, knowing just a modicum of information about my ancestry helped to further instill the values of perseverance, loyalty and determination, as they stuck together and stuck to their vision for a better life through nearly unimaginable tribulations. Because these people were related to me, their story seems extremely real to me and allows me to think that, if they could survive the potato famine and thrive once reaching the US, then I can overcome the comparably insignificant challenges that I am faced with everyday.
I thought that it was fascinating to listen to the immigration stories of the other people in our class because it showed me that America truly is a mixing pot. I had always heard this and I had obviously seen examples of it firsthand, but for some reason hearing the backgrounds of my classmates sent the message home to me. It was kind of like history coming to life before me, however corny that might sound, as I saw everyone's unique backgrounds and finally came to see that America is (or was, at least) truly a haven and something of a beacon of success and hope around the world. As I listened to the presentations, I was frequently reminded of part of the poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." I found the presentations that detailed recent immigration (such as Pat's and Anne's) because they served as something as a bridge between the immigration of the relatively distant past and immigration nowadays, showing that many of the reasons for immigration into the US that existed in the yesteryears are still prevalent today.
The most interesting information that I learned from my research was how my maternal great grandfather left his entire family at age 17 to come to America for new opportunities. I am currently 17 and can not imagine permanently leaving my family to move to another country, even if it is for a better life. I would have only made the journey if my family would be joining me or if my family and I were being persecuted unjustly. It is also interesting that my great grandfather married a girl that was half his age. My great grandfather’s immigration experience was very typical.
When listening to other’s presentations, I noticed a pattern that many of the experiences were quite typical. Even though I missed the first day of presentations, I found it intriguing that most of the artifacts where either foods or documents. This makes sense because immigrants were mostly coming over with nothing trying to better their lives. It was also interesting to try the foods prepared by my classmates. These foods were usually made with natural ingredients, ones that would be accessible in the homelands. It was interesting to see how ones heritage affects their daily lives.
This project left an impression on me. I never thought how cool my italian background was. My grandpa had always told me stories about what happend in my life and what-not but when i really listened to everything from him and did the project i thought our family had quite an experience coming from Italy.
in the class I heard some amazing stories as well. Although we are not done presenting, its interesting to here all the different places families have come from to America then to Newtown eventually. Its all very interesting.
Ricky G.
Class7
The most interesting and revealing thing I learned when talking to my parents and grandparents for this project was: that my grandfather's original reason/motivation for coming to the United States was to buy & own his own car, because that wasn't a possibility for him in Chile from the inflation they had at the time. I thought that was pretty interesting and funny how he followed through in coming to this country to have his own car when many other immigrants came to the U.S. for freedom, fleeing from racial/religious persecution, or racial tension.
The impression the presentation of my classmates left on me was how many different ethnic backgrounds there are through-out our class. I was never bored in hearing any of the presentations because everyone came from different countries who all had a different and unique story to how their families came to the U.S. I also liked how everyone bought in different artifacts or food. In the beginning I thought that everyone would just bring in a certificate their family recieved through Elise Island, which was not true at all. Not many people brought in paper-work but really cool objects (artifacts) and others made delicious food that I've never had before. It was a good experience overall.
Ale.F
Period: 7
Prior to completing this project, I already knew a lot about my mother's immigration history. However, I learned the most from my research about the typical Belgian immigration experience. I was mostly surprised to learn that my mother's immigration to America was very unusual and that less than 1% of the foreign population in the United States was Belgian.
After listening to my classmates' presentations, I was surprised by how diverse our class was and how recent some of the class's family immgrations were. It really enforced in my mind how part of our identity as Americans is diversity, and how multiple people from multiple backgrounds can come together to suceed and overcome their family problems.
Anne M.
Class 3
This project was extremely interesting because it provided me insight on to the struggles that my parents faced (and are still facing) when they came to America as first-generation immigrants. I learned that it wasn’t very easy for them to bring their Indian culture to America and actively follow traditional customs because the environment here was not conducive to these customs. I also learned that many typical Indian parents and their children (who have grown up in America) have a cultural gap that makes understanding one another more difficult. The way that children are raised in India is drastically different that the way that American children are raised. Therefore, it is tough on Indian parents to raise their children as they themselves were raised because there is such a dramatic cultural gap. It is also tough for the children of first generation immigrants (I can relate because I fall into this category) because they have to effectively follow two different cultures. They have to be American out of the home, and Indian in the home. From personal experience I can say that it is a very fine line to tread on, and it is quite easy to sway in the wrong direction and wrong time.
One thing that I thought was interesting about many of my classmates presentations was the fact that all of their immigration stories had their own little quirks to them. Not a single one was truly the generic type of immigration that could be read about in a textbook. For example, it was interesting to hear how active the Nezvesky family was in donating land and being benefactors for the Jewish community of Newtown. It was amazing how their legacy is still passed down today and remembered. I also thought it was interesting how many people had a large mix of heritages in their blood because it really demonstrated the cultural blending that goes on in America. After all, this country is colloquially known as “The Melting Pot.”
Ishan T. Period 3
After researching my heritage and ethnic roots, I discovered some very interested information about my family's immigration to the United States. In my opinion, the most interesting thing I realized from my research was how useful the ship records were. Since many of my ancestors immigrated before the opening of Ellis Island, these ship records were vital to tracking their voyages. From the one of the shipping records of the SS Columbia in 1899, I was able to discover the entire story of the Robinson family. The record indicated that Joseph Robinson was a one year old boy who lived in Belfast, Ireland with his parents, Daniel and Elizabeth. Based on the fact that Joseph was so young, I could logically imply that the family immigrated to America with the hopes of providing a better life for Joseph. They ended up in Manhattan after landing in Philadelphia, which led me to believe that they felt as though Manhattan was a city better suited for their needs and the needs of their young son. All in all, I was amazed by how little information is required to paint the entire immigration story of a family. Simple ship records were the key to this information.
In addition to discovering the immigration story of my own family, hearing the stories of other members of the class was also very interesting and rewarding. Although most immigrants decided to come to America due to encomic opportunities and financial struggle in their native country, some immigratints were fueled by a love for the country and an obsession with being a citizen of it. For example, Leah's grandfather was in love with the idea of becoming an American. After receiving his citizenship and passport, he enlarged and framed his passport picture as a symbol that he was finally an American. I was amazed that someone from Norway could have such patriotic feelings about America before even immigrating. This is evidence that America truly must've been viewed as a land of opportunity during the time of these immigrants.
Drew R.
Class 3
THe ost interestion thing i learned from my herritage research was that my great grandma was only two when she made the journey. It was also very interesting that they came through Canada to get to AMerica. I thought this was interesting because it must have been very difficult for the my great grandmothers mother to take care of her baby daughter because the journey was not safe or easy. Also once they got to the continent they still hada long journey to get to Connecticut. The presentation that influenced me the most was aarons because it showed how his family directly influenced the lives of many people in Newtown by providing a place for Jewish people to practice their religion. It was also very cool becasue he was a part of the continuing herritage by being at the groudbreaking of the new temple that was made.
I think the most interesting thing that I learned was that my great grandparents did not immigrate over together. Even more surprising was that my great grandmother was married and had money, and that she traveled from coast to coast twice. This surprised me because it was very different from the average immigrant's experience.
One thing I found interesting about the other presentations were the similarities between families of the same origin. Many of the families from Russia, for example, had almost identical immigration stories.
I enjoyed listening to all the presentations and learning about different cultures and their unique foods. I figured that most of the class's ancestors immigrated from Europe, but I never knew how diverse and interesting the different immigration stories would be.
I noticed that most of my classmates' ancestors immigrated to America to seek a land of many opportunities, and that's what came to them. For example, Eric Sippin's great grandfather immigrated to America and founded the Sippin Energy company, which is well-known and still used today. There were many positive immigration experiences, in which the immigrants were satisfied with what America had to offer, and there were negative experiences in which the immigration experiences and transitions to a new life were turbulent and rough. I really enjoyed listening to my parents tell their stories and their parents' stories of how they immigrated to America from China in the 20th century. They have obviously seen many changes in America, from high quality television to iPods to new technology and a wide use of electricity. The different immigration experiences taught me that every person's ancestors must have endured many changes, hardships, great times, and even wars. They have many interesting artifacts, which we are gladly able to marvel at today and reveal quite a bit about my classmates' family histories.
Andy H.
Period 7
Before this project, I already knew a lot about my families history. I wish I could have done all of my backgrounds, but we knew the most information about my family that came from the Netherlands. I liked being able to look at all the pictures before deciding which ones I thought were most important. There were more pictures that I didn't use that have equal importance. I really did enjoy listening to all of my classmates stories. I thought each story was so interesting. I also thought it was cool that each person had a different story and a different artifact that meant something to them as an individual. My favorite part was being able to try foods because not only were the foods good, but some of the foods that my classmates brought in, I didn't know where the type of food originated from.
Lindsay M.
Period 3
After completing an essay on my families’ immigration experience. I learned a lot about my family, and how all my ancestors came to the United States. The most interesting thing that I learned from my research was that my Lithuanian ancestors went through Ellis Island; I didn't know that until I started to research. Ellis Island is now a national landmark where half of all Americans can trace their ancestors from. Although most immigrants came to America for to economic opportunities and leave the economic hardships in their home land, some immigration were fueled by the quest of the American Dream. For example, it sounded like Leah's grandfather dream was to be an American. After receiving his passport, he enlarged and framed of his passport picture I think as a symbol that he was finally an American and he could live the American dream. I was amazed that someone from another country could have such strong emotions about America. This shows how people view America as a land of opportunity, where you can do anything with hard work.
I have always been very in touch with my Norwegian heritage but I still had not known the details of my grandfather's immigration story. Hearing my classmates' stories really made me realize how difficult being an immigrant can be. It also made me think about the insensitivity toward immigrants in the United States today, while most of us don't realize how lucky we are to have been born here. Most of our relatives have faced discrimination, even my Norwegian grandfather was mistaken for a German during WWII and was harassed in the streets of Wilton Connecticut. It was evident that we were all so proud to share our heritage and immigration stories which was fun to see.
This project taught me a lot about my heritage and I learned things that I had never known before. For instance, I had known that my great grandmother had left Russia to come to America in the late 19th century but I had never really known why or what had happened.
I learned a great deal of things from this project, like how my great grandmother and her family had actually left Russia because of religious persecution. I also learned that they did not simply walk down the road to catch a boat to America, they had to travel from western Russia and all the way to Italy to get on one.
However, even though I did learn a great deal about my families backround, I think that the most amazing thing that I learned was that when my great grandmother came to America her and her family had no money. I had always thought that they were pretty well of when they arrived here, but it turned out they weren't. My great grandmother's father worked as a peddler, while her brother sold newspapers, and her other brother even became a prize fighter. It was also very interesting how, even though they did not start out with much, they were able to make their way up in society with one of her brothers becoming a judge in Cleveland, Ohio, and she even got a very high paying job with a dress company. It truly was a rags to riches story.
I think that the most interesting thing that I got out of the presentations was how different all of our backrounds were. There were people whose families had come over from Portugal in the early 1900's and there were others whose families had come over from Sweden over one hundred years earlier. Overall, it was very interesting to see how diverse all of our backrounds truly are.
Matt H.
Period 7
This immigration project taught me things about my family that I never knew before. I never knew that my family came to America because of financial problems and because their life in Italy was so difficult. It gave me another impression on my family. I now think of my family as being very brave. They took a big risk and came over here to make their family's life better.
I was very interested in all the other student's immigration experiences. Most were from Europe which shows how many of the Europeans that immigrated went to areas around here. I also was surprised that not many people lived in another country and then moved here themselves. Most families came earlier in around the 1900-1920's. I enjoyed how each story was so different.
In doing this project i found amazing background on my family that i knew little about. To me this project was very important, it showed me how my ancestors struggled in hard times, but made the trip to the United States. Upon arrival, most ancestors of the people in our class seemed to have struggled in the beginning learning the new customs, and ways around the United States. Out of all of the presentations it seems that most of their ancestors settled first, and stayed a while to get a grip on what life was going to be like, and soon after they took up a job, which was important to their success. I think that my family made a great success in farming in Newtown, after the 29 Jewish Families settled i think that they had power and will, and when one family started a job, it opened opportunities for others to come and work.
For my presentation i brought in 2 pictures, one of the groundbreaking of the original synagogue in 1914, and the other picture of the second groundbreaking of the new synagogue in 2007. It represents 4 generations of the Nezvesky family living in the town of Newtown, and how they impacted the lives of many Jews in our community. The old picture you can see the beginning of the start of the Jewish community, and in the second picture you can see the growth in population, which resulted because of new immigrants, and my families support to the synagogue.
I think the most interesting thing that I learned from my research was rediscovering my family's exact roots. I always knew where my mother's side of the family came from, but I never did much research on it. This project allowed me to dig deeper and really discover the importance of my ancestors immigration. Some interesting new things I learned, for example, is that there were waves of Portuguese, mostly Azorean, people moving to the United States in the 1870s. Originally, I thought that my family was unique and different because we were from the Azores, but seeing this information proved to me that there are many other people just like us in different parts of the country. This makes it even more special for me because I have something in common with more people in the country.
From the presentations in class, something that surprised me was that many people either had ancestors that immigrated very early on, or very recently. For example, one student in my class had ancestors that have been living in Newtown for over 3 generations. Another student had grandparents that immigrated here.
It was very interesting to see
classmates with such diverse backgrounds in my class. It really brought the phrase "America is a melting pot" to life.
When looking back at my families history I learned we didn't have it easy. My grandfather went through so much just to survive and all because he was Jewish. I always say I wish I could travel or live somewhere else but when I look at my grandfather he came to America because he escaped, he did us a favor.
I thought alot of the immigration stories were really intresting. One thing that I picked up on was the fact people said their family members went through the "typical" immigration experience. When I think about it no one went through the "typical" experience because every experience was in completion different. It's intresting how all our ancestors came from such diverse places but in the end ended up in the same place.
The most interesting thing I learned from my research was that not everyone came to America for freedom from their country or to obtain the "American Dream", as Paige said. I learned that Norway was becoming too crowded for my ancestors to maintain a large enough farm. It would have been tough for them to make a living there. They came to America for great opportunity and cheap land in the West for farming. I was also amazed that they did not enter the country through Ellis Island. It was very interesting to hear about other students' ancestors. It was cool that we had several people in our class with the same origins. It was also intriguing that people still had artifacts that had been owned by their ancestors, decades ago. I had no such object so I had to choose a traditional food.
I learned a bit of my family history, where they came to (Long Island), and how their arrival basically went. There weren't too many details known, but it was interesting to dig into the family history. I thought it was interesting that my great, great grandmother was just 17 while the man she was marrying was 26; there's a bit of an age difference, which I'm sure was normal that century ago.
I was really interested in hearing everyone's different background/family history stories. I know that some people did a great job at presenting and telling their stories. I liked how their were unique stories and interesting things that happened to people's families, like how some had different jobs or means of business or ties to it.
Laura C.
Class 3
When we first got this project, I wasn't too enthusiastic about it. All I could imagine was just talking to grandparents, taking notes, and writing an essay. But I was completely wrong. It was probably the most fun history project I've had. Learning about my past relatives was so interesting. Originally, I was going to do the project on my moms side of the family, where we have a previous bishop and a man who founded a town in Pennsylvania. But that was about all the information I had because both my grandparents on that side died. So then I started talking to my dads mom. And found myself really taking in all the things she had to say. The thing that I found the most interesting is how my great great grandparents got married, and then were separated for 5 years while my great great grandpa came to America to settle down. I just thought that was a little strange that she didn't go with him, but rather waited until he was stable enough for her to come over.
What I thought was interesting about the class is how all of our stories were so different yet so much alike. We all come from different places, different religions, and different cultures. But it seemed like we all wanted to live the dream and came to America with an ambition. So I just found it interesting that pretty much all of our families came to America around the same time, and also in similar ways.
Emily M
Class 7
This project helped me fully understand my Swiss background and my grandparents motives for moving to America. I learned about my grandparents history in Switzerland and their transition into American culture. It was fascinating to learn about their trip through Ellis Island and their career change in America. I never knew how tough it was for certain immigrants to move to America. My grandparents were almost sent home due to my grandmother's concerning x-rays. They were forced to stay on the island for 4 days. This project also brought back memories of the time I went into the city with my grandmother to look at her name on the wall of Ellis Island. I also realized how badly I had wanted to know the whole story of my family's immigration, but never got to learn about it until now.
Furthermore, I really enjoyed hearing other classmates stories on their family's immigration. Like Paige, I was glad that many of our classmates have history from parts of the world other than Europe. It was very interesting and insightful to learn the reasons each family had for moving.
This project was actually one of my favorite ones. It got the class to understand everyones backround along with their own backround more then they already know. After listening to everyone present it amazed me how so many people could have one thing in common, and that is the fact of immigration. Every single person who presented in class had grandparents who immigrated to the united states to get away from whether it was poverty, religious freedom, or something else. People are more alike then one would ever believe.
Dugan.
period 7
Through this project I learned that my family is actually very well informed regarding the history of my ancestors. Furthermore, I was surprised that with both of my ancestors (on my Dad's side) the desire to come to America was not at all the driving point regarding their decision to emmigrate. In fact, the reasons my ancestors came over to America could be considered somewhat unusual, and even fairly modern for the time period; my ancestor John Betts came to escape being drafted into the military, and my ancestor Eva Muller came to avoid being married off to someone she didn't like.
What I liked most about listening to others' presentations was that there was a fairly diverse ethnic ancestry in my class, and in turn it was enjoyable to learn about all of the different reasons that people's ancestors came over, as well as their experiences after arriving in America.
Colin S.
Class 3
In doing this project, I learned a lot about my Swedish background. I thought it was very interesting how successful my great great grandfather was. I had not known anything about him before this project, but then I learned that he was a successful inventor who became president of his company. I also thought that it was interesting how he was acquainted with P.T. Barnum, and actually got him to make a donation towards a new Church.
After listening to my peer's presentations on thier backgrounds, I thought it was interesting how many of the artifacts were so similar. Most of the artifacts were documents of family recipes. I suppose this was because many immigrants came to America with little to nothing on thier backs.
The most interesting thing that I learned from my research was about the Irish side of my family. Since I don't see myself as an Irish person, I found it interesting to learn from my grandmother about my great great grandparents, who came over from Ireland to New York during the great potato rot. I didn't learn much about the French side of my family, because I have grown up with my french culture, and experienced immigration for myself.
I thought it was really interesting to see the differences in my classmates' immigration histories. Like Paige, I was interested to see the different diversities in my class. I was actually surprised to see such a diversity, because I expected classmates to be mostly from western European countries. Countries like Ireland and Italy, which had many immigrants come to America during the 1800's due to different factors such as famine and poverty. Instead, I learned that I had classmates with histories in Northern Europe, Asian countries like Russia, and Atlantic islands. The cultural diversity of my classmates only fortifies what I have learned about America being a mixture of so many cultures.
I found this project really interesting. I had never really thought about my ancestry or when they came over. I was mostly shocked by the fact that my ancestors came over in 1678. I never knew that my family had been in the United States for so long. I was also really interested to find out that my family had a very typical immigrant experience. Like many of the other English ancestors my family continued to work in agriculture. I really enjoyed working on this project and finding out information I had never known about my ancestry.
Hearing everybody’s heritages really showed me how many different places Americans come from. I was shocked by all of the different countries and the different background stories. As Ishaan said previously, each story was truly different. I think that this aspect is what made each story so interesting, the fact that none of them were exactly the same. It was interesting that everybody is so different. It really made the idea of how America is the melting pot come to life, and it really shows how patriotic our country is that everyone is so different and yet we have managed to come together as one.
Meghan L.
Period 3
Researching my family history, I sat down with my grandparents and they told me the story of how our family came to America. I didn't think that it was going to be very interesting, but I was wrong. I learned that they had been paid to take a little girl over to America. Her parents sent her her to live the American dream and have a better life. The story was truely inspirational. I also learned other things that I didn't know like how my family members were diamond minners. I had never really thought about their occupation before and this amazed me to learn this. I couldn't believe that in the end i was talking to them for two and a half hours about our family history. I felt glad that this assignment had been assigned to us because without it, I would have never learned this much about our history. This assignment gave me the first push towards learning about my family history.
Through other people presentations I learned that we all have unique backgrounds and a lot from northern Europe too. Everyone seamed to have shared experiences of comming to America looking for a better life. Eventhough the country of orgin and years were all different, this seamed to be a universal theme. I feel this is because the "American Dream" that you can be who ever you want was a major pull factor. I also found it interesting that peoples ansestors, in our class, didn't just come from America. We had people like myself who had ansestors from South America, we had people with Asian backgrounds and ofcourse people from Europe. I felt that no matter what the differences were we all had ansestors with common factors for comming to America.
I’ve done similar projects in both third and fifth or sixth grade so nothing came as a real surprise to me about my heritage. Once my dad and I sat for two hours going over my entire ethnic background and I have a thirty two or more different ethnic backgrounds, all European except for a little Native American. Like many other of my classmates, I picked Swedish because it’s the only one I know anything about. Like I said, I’ve known this story of my great great grandfather since I was seven or eight so it was no surprise or anything new for me, but I’d like to know more about the thirty one or so other stories.
It was nice to see that other people had picked one ethnic background for the same reason that I had; it was the one they had the most information on. It was really interesting to learn all the different stories and be able to share a part of everyone’s background.
Sarah Poarch
Period 3
Researching my family history, I sat down with my grandparents and they told me the story of how our family came to America. I didn't think that it was going to be very interesting, but I was wrong. I learned that they had been paid to take a little girl over to America. Her parents sent her her to live the American dream and have a better life. The story was truely inspirational. I also learned other things that I didn't know like how my family members were diamond minners. I had never really thought about their occupation before and this amazed me to learn this. I couldn't believe that in the end i was talking to them for two and a half hours about our family history. I felt glad that this assignment had been assigned to us because without it, I would have never learned this much about our history. This assignment gave me the first push towards learning about my family history.
Through other people presentations I learned that we all have unique backgrounds and a lot from northern Europe too. Everyone seamed to have shared experiences of comming to America looking for a better life. Eventhough the country of orgin and years were all different, this seamed to be a universal theme. I feel this is because the "American Dream" that you can be who ever you want was a major pull factor. I also found it interesting that peoples ansestors, in our class, didn't just come from America. We had people like myself who had ansestors from South America, we had people with Asian backgrounds and ofcourse people from Europe. I felt that no matter what the differences were we all had ansestors with common factors for comming to America.
Though I have always been interested in my family's immigration story, from this project I was able to dig a lot deeper into the details. I learned that when my father 1st came to America, he didn't say here. he went back home to reflect on his travels and then made the decision to move here with my mom.I also learned a lot from my fellow students, and was actually very surprised at the number of immigrants from Scandinavia. It was interesting to see that my classmates ancestor's came from such unique and foreign places; places you would never expect. Specifically, I found Ale's presentation interesting because it was the classic story of working your way from the bottom, all the way to the top, even to the point of being a rocket scientist! Overall i found this assignment to be fascinating and made me look at others in a whole new light, especially in my own family.
Cristina N.
Period 7
Before discussing the topic with my grandfather, I actually knew nothing about my great grandmother's immigration. So everything I learned during that conversation was new to me. I never knew that my great grandmother came to work at a confectionery shop, and that job enabled her to immigrate. Without that job my great grandmother would probably have never been able to leave her home in Germany. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet my great grandmother, but never had the chance to discuss her trip over. When talking to your friends, you never mention anything about your heritage, so it was interesting to know where my peers really came from, since it is a subject that isn't really touched upon. It was also very interesting to know that some of the immigration stories were from recent years. Unlike most essays, in this case everyone's story was different so it made each presentation interesting. What really created an impression on me was the reason for the immigration in each different case. It seemed like everyone's story differed from the typical immigration that they researched.
Mark A.
Class - 3
this project left me with a lot of interesting facts about my ancestry that i never knew of before. the fact that my great grandpa came to the United States primarily because of shortages of land in Russia would have never crossed my mind because of the countries size. also an appreciation for my ancestry grew because i was able to really reflect upon the reality that my great grandfather is responsible for the success today. all in all, my appreciation for my family and family's history certainly grew from this activity. i also grew a massive amount of respect for my class mates ancestries as everyone who came to the United States in the early 1900s faced huge struggles just like my great grandpa. overall, i feel that this project was the most beneficial our class has done so far this year and the information learned from it shall stick with me for the future to come.
The most interesting thing I learned about my family history was that both sides of my family chose to break away from the stereotypical lives of immigrants. They both opened up their own businesses and were lucky enough to make a good living.
As for the presentations, I enjoyed the wide variety of artifacts that were brought in and I liked how not everybody came from the same countries. The different stories made the presentations interesting.
The most interesting thing I learned from researching my family's Swedish backround and the typical Swedish immigration experience is how different they were. Most Swedish immigrants came over during the late 1800's on ships carrying iron while my grandfather came over in 1953 on an airplane. From listening to my fellow classmates I was surprised with the diversity. Before hearing everyone's presentations I thought there was going to be an overwhelming amount of individuals with Italian or Irish backrounds. But there were scandanavians, russians, chinese, and hispanic in our class. The common theme between most people's heritage was that they worked very hard to get their family where they are today.
Doug Brodbeck
Class 7
This experience has left me anting to know more about my family's history. By learning about one of my grandparent's family history, I learned a lot about who my family is. Hearing my grandfather talk about his father's struggles back in Ireland, the reasons they came to America, and their transistion into the American cultures was extremely interesting and even sad.
Everyone in the class had a different story and a unique artifact to share. It was really cool hearing about people's own personal immigration histories and the different things that they brought in and how it connected to their families.
Another really interesting part of the class presentations was hearing about how each family eventually made their way to Newtown, like Ricky said. It is really cool how we all came from such different backgrounds, but all ended up in the same place.
Kristin L.
Class 7
Matt M
Before doing this project i didn't know a lot about my family's history. During the duration of this project and after it was finished i learned a lot of things about my mom's side of the family. I thought that my grandfather had immigrated here straight into the United States in his late teens, but he actually was sent over from Italy at the age of 12 alone and lived with his Aunt and Uncle for most of his childhood. That was the most surprising interesting this that i found out from doing this project. I think that all the different stories and experiences that my fellow classmates family's went through were so cool and fasinating.
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