Dead Family

[JHDK]

Let's talk about our heritage here.

This thread is by no means intended to take the place of individual threads devoted to the deaths of immediate family members. God knows you all helped me a lot when I made a thread about that last year. Rather I think it would be neat to have a thread where we can talk about our ancestors.

How far back do you know your family on both sides? Are there any standout family ancestors?

 

[JHDK]

I'll start.

So I'm not exactly sure when my mother's side settled in America.

My mom did some ancestry digging well before that website was a thing. I remember she found that we had one guy related to us who served the north in the Civil War. So North side...Sweet! But...my mom use to always tell me she found out that he was a coward who shot himself in the foot to get out of fighting. So that's not so great.

Now if you ask my one aunt (the single one) the same question she will get all offended and say it never happened. Her daughter did some digging on ancestry.com and gave me a binder full of family history on my mom's side. I'm embarrassed to admit I have not thoroughly read it. But I did skip to the parts where it says we had a soldier for the north who got injured. So who knows what actually happened.

On paper I can go way further back on my mom's side. But in actual spoken word I have far more details about my grandparents on my father's side.

 

[Channel98]

When I was a very young child, my great-grandmother on my mother's side was still alive. I know almost nothing about her, though. My grandmother on my father's side was born in Cologne, Germany. My grandfather on my father's side worked a short time as a sheriff in Arizona, ran a bicycle shop in Los Angeles and then became a homebuilder. I'm not certain but I believe none of the homes he built are still standing. Some of them had rock walls and all of them had wood shingles that we now know were highly flammable. He later started a dry-cleaning business and ran it until he died.

Both my grandmothers told me so many fascinating stories about family members, I wish I had written them down. Several years ago, I gave my mom a journal so she could start writing down her family's stories. The journal is still blank. Well.......I tried.

 

[scotchandcigar]

My grandparents all got out of eastern europe after WWI and settled in the garment district in Brooklyn. My mom's parents were from Poland, my dad's were from Russia and Romania. So my parents were born in Brooklyn, as were my older siblings. I was the only one born in New Jersey. Both of my grandfathers were gone before I was born. My mom's mom died when I was 10, and my dad's mom died when I was about 15. My parents died when I was in my mid 20's, bringing my ancestry to an end.

I'd have to do research or consult my sister to see if any of my male blood-relatives made it out of their 50's. Offhand, I don't know of any. My uncle Irving (my mother's brother), was a chemical engineer, and was supposedly instrumental in developing the birth control pill. He also died in his 50's.

 

[Aaron]

A lot of my ancestors were in the group of Cajuns that made the trek from France into Canada and then to South Louisiana.
I've also got some Spanish and Italian blood. Mostly going back from the 1800s. Nobody especially famous or anything.

 

[JHDK]

A lot of my ancestors were in the group of Cajuns that made the trek from France into Canada and then to South Louisiana.
I've also got some Spanish and Italian blood. Mostly going back from the 1800s. Nobody especially famous or anything.

Here in SFL we have a lot of Haitians who speak Haitian Creole. There is a type of Louisiana Creole too right? Or am I off on that?

 

[Aaron]

Yes, especially in New Orleans there are quite a few people with Creole heritage.
I'm just not aware of New Orleans residents that speak a Creole language, although it's possible. My grandparents all speak/spoke French, it was their first language.

Interestingly, on the food side, we also make a distinction between foods that are Cajun and foods that are Creole.

 

[JHDK]

Interesting fact I learned is that Creole isn't one specific language, it's the term for a mix of languages that becomes its own. Like Haitian Creole is Haitian and French.

we also make a distinction between foods that are Cajun and foods that are Creole.

You guys eat crawfish right? They are like the shrimp of the river. Never had one but what I see on TV is that you guys lay out newspapers and have a feast. That is very much like what we did with crabs down the Jersey Shore. I used to always look forward to doing that as a kid with my parents either in our motel room or at a restaurant. We would get little wood hammers to bash the shells in. It's pretty savage but also very delicious.

 

[scotchandcigar]

When I started my job, I worked with a Vietnamese guy who spoke French, and told me they all learn French.

 

[Aaron]

Interesting fact I learned is that Creole isn't one specific language, it's the term for a mix of languages that becomes its own. Like Haitian Creole is Haitian and French.



You guys eat crawfish right? They are like the shrimp of the river. Never had one but what I see on TV is that you guys lay out newspapers and have a feast. That is very much like what we did with crabs down the Jersey Shore. I used to always look forward to doing that as a kid with my parents either in our motel room or at a restaurant. We would get little wood hammers to bash the shells in. It's pretty savage but also very delicious.

Crawfish is extremely popular here and easy to get from January through June.
Yes, it's a typical 'get together' kind of meal where you spend an hour or more with friends and family talking and eating. I order 5 pounds just for me!

Boiled crabs and shrimp are common meals also.

 

[Aaron]

When I started my job, I worked with a Vietnamese guy who spoke French, and told me they all learn French.

There's a large Vietnamese population here. They say the weather here is similar to the weather there, although our winters are a bit colder. And work opportunities like working on trawl boats and such like back home. Our heritage is French, and they spent years under French occupation.

 

[HecticArt]

Now that I have all of the information for your password security questions, I'll tell you a bit about myself.

 

[JHDK]

I was the only one born in New Jersey.

Dirty North Jersey (Giants Country) I assume? Or will you surprise me and say it was in South Jersey and you were born an Eagles fan?

Jersey is funny that way, it's split in half. The shitty top half like The Giants and the beautiful southern half are all Eagles fans.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Dirty North Jersey (Giants Country) I assume? Or will you surprise me and say it was in South Jersey and you were born an Eagles fan?

Yes, Giants. But growing up, they sucked, so I was a Cowboys fan, my brother was a Vikings fan. I started going to Giants games as a teenager.

I think I've mentioned that I grew up near where the Tony Soprano house was set. We even had the pool. Not dirty.

 

[JHDK]

Yes, Giants. But growing up, they sucked, so I was a Cowboys fan,

I love you Scotch but being born in Giants Country and then deciding to be a Cowboys fan is a really serious test of our friendship.

I can deal with your current Pats nonsense but this news shakes me to my core.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I love you Scotch but being born in Giants Country and then deciding to be a Cowboys fan is a really serious test of our friendship.

I can deal with your current Pats nonsense but this news shakes me to my core.

Haha! Before they built the Meadowlands, the suburbs of NJ wasn't "country" to either of the NYC teams, especially if you're 7. I loved Roger Stauback and Tony Dorsett, but I honestly have no recollection of how the Jets or Giants did. We were New Jersey jews - it was all about baseball. You were either a Yankees or a Mets fan. That's all that mattered.

 

[JHDK]

You were either a Yankees or a Mets fan. That's all that mattered.

And were you Mets or Yanks?

 

[scotchandcigar]

And were you Mets or Yanks?

Yankees. However, my sister married a Mets fan, and it was almost like a mixed marriage. But he took us to Mets games, which was ok because it was in Queens, so you'd most-likely survive the experience. Not like the Bronx.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My wife is a genealogist. She has done a detailed tree on my mom and dad's side. Of course she told me all about it and I remembered what I am about to share here.

My mom's side is 100% Ukranian. My mom's mom's mom came from Ukraine in 1907 with her oldest boy as a baby. That baby became a senator here. My first cousin once removed (his son) was Governor General of Canada (the Queen's representative). A largely ceremonial position but well respected. I don't know much about my mom's dad's family history aside from them changing their name to sound Russian. I am sure there is an interesting story there.

My dad's family is Scotch and English and maybe some Irish. My dad's grandpa moved from the Maratimes through Ontario to North Dakota and then into Saskatchewan. My understanding is that he wasn't always on the right side of the law and some of those moves were quickly planned. I don't know when they actually arrived on the continent. I think the Irish comes from my dad's mom's side.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I figured with a last name of Skiing, you'd have some Scandinavian in you.