Ancestors, Finding My Roots

April 1, 2020 - Day 1
The Ultimate Blog Challenge

I've decided to take part in the April 2020 Ultimate Blog Challenge. I'm excited to be a part of this amazing group of people. It's been interesting to think about the different topics I want to write about and how to present them. Some of my passions are crafting, genealogy, family, camping, cooking, friendships and several other things. From these passions, I will share from time to time. I hope you will follow my blog as I open the door to my life through my writings. 

As a little girl, looking through the family photo albums and seeing my reflection in the mirror - I knew I didn't look like the people I lived with and the people I called "my family". My mother was my birth mom, and the man I called, "dad" had adopted me when I was 2 years old after he and my mom were married in 1964. WHO AM I? This was always on my mind as far back as I can remember growing up. 

Me - 2 days old

Often growing up, I wondered who my Ancestors were. Who did I look like? Where did my freckles come from? Who did I inherit my musical talent from? What about my olive-colored skin? or my hot-temper back in the day? Did I favor my grandmother (s) or what about a great grandfather (s)? Did I have their smile? Who do my children favor? Who did they inherit their height from? These were just a few questions I pondered so many days...with little to no answers. 

Over the last twenty-plus years, I have researched my Ancestors in order to learn about my family roots. Through DNA testing, I learned my roots come from all over the world. Italy, England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe; France, Ireland, and Scotland; Eastern Europe and Russia; Germanic Europe, Portugal; Northern Africa; Baltics and Senegal. Wow - that's a lot of origins that I've inherited from my ancestors. I tested in 2015. When my results first came in, I looked at my Origins to prove a few things that I did know. But the rest...I had no clue. Who Are They? What's their story? Where do I find them? How do I learn about them? More questions with very little to go on. So, my search began.

Because I knew very little about my paternal lines that is where I started my journey. I knew my mom had spent several years with an Italian man. They weren't married though. Yet, here I was. Growing up, I wasn't privy to anything about this man my mom spent time with. I realized through the years; my mom made many painful choices that took her down many different paths while spending time with the man who gave me life. I wanted to ask mom so many questions and when I would - she would say, "I don't want to talk about it". The memories locked away in mom's mind and heart must have been very painful for her. I know there were many losses during my mom's life because of the painful choices she made for many, many years...I left things alone. 

In my possession, I had a document from the hospital where I was born. For a long time, I always thought this document was my birth certificate. Only to learn a few years ago, that it wasn't. None the less, it had my birth father's name listed and I began my journey learning who my paternal ancestors were. 

Going back to Ancestry and looking at my origins after I received my DNA results, I was able to confirm indeed I had Italian roots. 

In 1996, I had the opportunity of visiting Ellis Island. I remember standing there and listening to the recordings and reading the stories of people who came to America from their homelands. Not just Italy, but from all over the world. I stood there with tears streaming down my face (my family kept asking me why I was crying). They didn't understand my heart, nor did they comprehend what this meant to me. These were my ancestors. I was listening to their stories. I felt their angst. I felt their journey just by listening to these stories and reading of their travels. For the first time, I felt a connection to my Italian roots, and I didn't even know who they were. 

Through my research, I learned my paternal lines immigrated from Italy to the United States in 1906. They traveled to America from Messina, Sicily, Italy on a ship like this. 

1906 New York Passenger List 

They arrived in New York. I often wondered how they felt leaving their homeland behind in order to find a new life in America. Upon arriving, they came through Ellis Island. Several years later, both my grandfather and my grandmother submitted their "Declaration of Intention" papers to become US Citizens. 

My Grandfather's Declaration of Intention

My genealogy research of learning my Italian roots has taken me on a journey through time. I have felt a connection with my ancestors that I never even knew. Through social media, not only have I met several descendants from my Italian roots, I've met many other amazing people from other origins in my family lines. This makes my heart happy. I continue to learn each day through ’walking with the ancestors' of where my roots come from and who my people are.

My hope is, to leave a legacy for my children, grandchildren and their children's children of who their family is. I didn't have this growing up and now that both of my birth parents are deceased as well as my adopted father, it is up to me to fill in the blanks so that my family for generations to come can learn and know where their roots come from. 

Maybe one day, I too will smile. 

Heart to Heart Soul Creations

H2hsc2020

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