If the information on the Family Search website is accurate, my paternal ancestors can be traced back to 1520s England. A few would eventually emigrate to America in the 1620s and late 1600s. On my mother’s side, the first group arrived in the 1720s; more followed in the 1760s. The final group arrived in the first great German migration to America in the 1830s. I’m not sure when one’s ancestry becomes important, but I can say I discovered it fairly young, put it on hold for a few decades, and then came back to it.
In 2001, poet Linda Nemec Foster published a poetry collection, Amber Necklace of Gdansk, that reads like a study of where she came from. In this case, it’s Poland. Ancestors had emigrated from Poland to America, settling in Cleveland. Growing up in the Cleveland area, Foster became aware of the stories of the old country and the family customs that carried over.
To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.
Some Thursday Readings
“Written in March,” poem by William Wordsworth – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.
A Hymn of Heavenly Beauty – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song on the poetry of Edmund Spenser.
The Great American Poetry Competition – Society of Classical Poets.
“The Donkey,” poem by G.K. Chesterton – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.
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