Long Lost Relatives and the Treasures They Bring
In a previous post, ‘Unearthing Family Treasures: The Power of Reaching Out to Distant Relatives’, I discussed how reaching out to long lost relatives can help you further your research. Last month I was able to meet up with cousins I had never met and received the ultimate family treasure- unseen photos and a handwritten letter. Proof that reaching out can truly be a blessing personally and genealogically.
After taking the DNA test from Ancestry.com I was able to reach out to a cousin on my paternal grandfather’s side. She was born and raised on the west coast so I had never met her before. Her and her mother made a trip to Indiana to visit with some other family members and asked if I could meet up. My paternal side has always been a bit of a mystery. Why? A question I have never been able to fully answer.
We met up for lunch but what she brought me meant I suddenly had no interest in eating. She brought a photo album containing photos of family I had never seen. The icing on the cake? Photos of my grandfather. Although I knew my grandfather up until he passed 5 years ago at age 97, I never had very many photos of him. The album also held a few pictures of my father as a child.
The Best Part
That wasn’t the best part of the heirlooms. The cousin brought a letter. A 28-page letter written by my great aunt (Hans’ sister) to her granddaughter. The letter describes her experience on the ship from Bremen, Germany to the United States. She also briefly describes the humiliation of Ellis Island and physical examinations they had to endure. Reading a first hand account of a relatives experience with immigration in the 1920’s is priceless.
The letter describes her jobs as a teenager in the her new country and the hardships she endured as a new wife and mother. First hand accounts truly paint a picture of the hard times my grandfather and his family had to go through to make a life here. It wasn’t easy by any means. From what I was told, my great grandmother also hated it in the United States and wanted to go back to Germany. However, we know the history of Germany in the 1930’s and 40’s so that was not even an option.
The pictures, letter and stories I heard that day from long lost relatives is something I will always cherish. Family history comes from all of us. You can’t get the full family story from vital, immigration or military records alone. We need to keep the stories going through the bloodlines to continue. Knowing your history is know yourself.
Take the chance and reach out to family. Tip: Take a photo of all of you together when you do meet up. We forgot!