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Tracking Your Ancestors
WHERE ARE YOUR ANCESTORS FROM?
Part of what makes genealogy so fascinating is that you aren’t just tracing your family back through time, but through place as well. You may live in America now, but only Native Americans are original natives. Everyone else came from someplace else. That could mean that you have cousins in Ireland, China, South Africa, Peru, or somewhere else in the world. On the other hand, if you live in those countries now, your family may have moved there from a different country a long time ago. Records, if they still exist, could be hard to find or written in a different language. No matter where you are, chances are that some family members immigrated to the U.S. in the past. So whether you have lost touch with your American cousins, or want to trace your family back to the “old country,” here’s one place to try.
COMING TO AMERICA
Go to a computer and type in the search phrase “Ellis Island.” From 1892 to 1954, millions of people passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Center on their way to new lives in the U.S. They sailed on ships into New York harbor from many different countries. Each person arriving on Ellis Island was given certain tests. The immigrants were examined by a doctor and given simple wooden puzzles to test their skill and intelligence. Imagine how difficult it was for people who didn’t speak the language to figure out what they were expected to do with these pieces of wood. But the immigrants came because once inside the U.S., a whole new life awaited them.
Today, people come from everywhere to visit Ellis Island and touch the names of ancestors etched into its “Wall of Honor.” The Ellis Island website, ellisisland.org, can also help people find names on passenger lists. If your great-great-great grandfather didn’t come through Ellis Island, do other searches under “immigration” (another incoming center was Angel Island in San Francisco Bay) and you just might be able to tell your grandfather something he doesn’t know about his grandfather.
Were your relatives among them? How would you go about finding out? First, of course, ask your parents or older relatives. Maybe someone in your family has an old passport or some immigration papers from another country. A passport is a document that allows people to travel from country to country. Inside the passport booklet, look for visa stamps, those special dated markings that tell when a family member passed from one country to another. Passports usually have a photograph of the family member, too. If your family often travels together, one of your parents’ passports might include you, too. Some of your relatives may have emigrated before passports were used. They might have been issued immigration or travel documents, and these papers will provide information that you can record in your loose-leaf workbook and onto your family tree.
Knute Rockne, Notre Dame’s famed football coach, arrived in the U.S. from Norway, in 1893.
Frank Capra, director of the Christmas favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life, emigrated from Italy in 1903.
Entertainer Bob Hope came through Ellis Island in 1908 from England.
Bela Lugosi, famous for playing Dracula, emigrated from Hungary in 1921.
Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov came to the U.S. from Russia in 1923.
The Von Trapp family, made famous by The Sound of Music, came to the U.S. from Austria in 1938.
If the document includes a photo of the traveler, you’ll definitely want to copy it for that family scrapbook you are working on. Adding copies of interesting visa stamps will bring your ancestors’ travels to life.
Easter bonnets are a reason to “smile for the camera.”
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Today more than 100 million Americans can claim an ancestor who arrived through Ellis Island. And millions of people throughout the world can claim ancestors who came to the U.S. and stayed! But finding them isn’t always easy.
If you’re looking for a relative with the last name Schmidt, for example, you may not find him. Why not? His real name might have been Schmitter or something similar. Names may have been spelled incorrectly, or intentionally changed. An immigration official may have made a mistake filling out a form or simply misunderstood what an immigrant said. Newcomers themselves also changed their names, wanting to fit in. They worried that employers and others would find their names hard to pronounce.
For that reason, many Asian immigrants even today take on new first names or nicknames, such as Tina or Harry, instead of using their birth names. Traditional Asian names are written with the surname first and the given name last: Ishikawa (last name) Akihiko (first name) instead of Akihiko Ishikawa. If Alexander Hamilton had been Asian, his name would have been written “Hamilton Alexander.”
Or, if immigrants escaped from the country they left (for example, to avoid the draft), they might even have worried that if their real names were known, officials “back home” could find them and bring them back.
Other ethnic groups had their own naming traditions. In Swedish tradition, a girl named Christine whose father’s name was Lars would be called Christine Larsdotter and her brother’s last name would have been Larssen. The fact that family members had different last names was confusing to some people, so a new surname, like Olson, was selected.
Other immigrants Americanized their names: Finkelstein became Fink, the German name Schneider (meaning tailor) became Taylor, the Polish first name Wojciech changed to Albert, while the Russian Misha or Mikhail became Michael.
When doing searches, keep possible name changes, spellings, nicknames, and abbreviations in mind. Frederick might be listed as Friedrich, Fred, or Freddy; Richard as Ricardo or Rico; James might be given as Jamie or Jimmy, or abbreviated to Jas.
So, if searching for Mikhail Romanov doesn’t work, for example, try Michael Romanov, Mike Romanov, or just M. Romanov. Some websites might offer alternate spellings of the name you entered, even for last names. For Romanov, you might find such alternates as Romanoff, Romanofsky/Romanofski, Romanovsky/Romanovski, Romanowsky/Romanowski, and even Romanovitz/Romanowitz. Be sure to give these a look, too. If you’re unsure of the spelling of a name, take guesses and see if the information you need comes up. Remember, part of genealogy is having hunches, and thinking just like a detective!
A very long time ago, some people took their occupation as their surname. Henry Miller milled grains, while Tom Smith was a smithy, someone who shoed horses. If your name is Shepherd, it’s possible that an ancestor may have herded sheep. Chances are your family isn’t in that business anymore!
WHEN NAMES CHANGE
Many names have foreign origins. Michelle is a French name but, after crossing the ocean, it has stayed the same. Other names, however, have changed, and knowing this might help you find your ancestors a bit more easily. Here is a name game to give you some practice. See if you can match the list of the names on the left with their correct counterparts in the right-hand column. The answer is on page 58.
| Pablo | Rebecca |
| Jacques | Anthony |
| Tamio | Beatrice |
| Maurice | Amy |
| Rivka | Paul |
| Aimee | Morris |
| Antonio | John |
| Bice | Thomas |
FUN FACT
America has been called the “great melting pot.” What does this mean? Think about what would happen if someone were to put crayons of all kinds together into a pot and heat it up. The wax would melt and the colors, shapes, and textures of all the crayons would blend together. So, calling America a melting pot means that all the aspects of the different cultures where people came from have created a new mixture that is truly American!
WHO YOU ARE IS A CLUE
Where to search on the Internet for genealogical information on your family tree depends on your ethnic background. Many African Americans today, for example, are descendants of enslaved people taken from their homes along the coastline between the Congo and Gambia Rivers in East Africa. Starting in 1619, these forced immigrants were uprooted, transported to the Americas and the Caribbean in ships, and sold as slaves. Most lost their proud African names to slave names, or took the plantation owner’s last name as their own. That’s why, in some small rural towns in the South, almost an entire population can have the same last name. But, no matter where your ancestors come from or who they were, there are archives available online to help you trace your ancestors back through several generations. One popular website, cyndislist.com, has links to a fascinating array of archives.
Answer key:
Pablo = Paul Jacques = John Tamio = Thomas Maurice = Morris Rivka = Rebecca Aimee = Amy Antonio = Anthony Bice = Beatrice
FORGING CULTURAL LINKS ON THE GENEALOGY CHAIN
If you’re looking for information on a missing family member, don’t forget those important cultural ties. Just because people move to a new country doesn’t mean they leave the old culture behind. They usually arrange to live near and get together often with people who speak the same language, eat the same foods, and enjoy the same things. Homesick for parts of the culture left behind, new immigrants stick together and try to re-create what is comfortable and familiar.
When large numbers of people were immigrating to the U.S, ethnic neighborhoods quickly sprang up—Chinatown, Germantown, Little Italy. This “coming together” of nationalities was repeated in large cities all across the country. These cultural enclaves helped make America Home Sweet Home for a wonder-fully diverse group of people.
What parts of your ancestors’ culture is still a part of your life? Is it your great Chinese grandmother’s cold noodles and sesame sauce? Your great-great Italian grandmother’s lasagna? The Greek songs your aunt sings at family gatherings? The folk dances the men in your family perform at celebrations? The piñata you break open at parties? What things in your life today are pieces of your cultural history?
Just as your mother’s blue eyes might have been handed down to you, so, too, have certain cultural traits. What did your great-grandmother teach your grandmother, who taught your mother, who taught you? As these things pass from one generation to the next, they often change to meet the needs of the times. Your grandmother might have taught your mother to make her special Russian pudding with cream, but when your mother taught you, she might have used milk instead—or added raisins. How will you pass this down or change it for your children? These family recipes are part of your cultural heritage and something you’ll want to preserve in your special family history scrapbook. You can paste your grandmother’s recipe for blueberry bread into her section, and your aunt’s recipe for Mexican refried beans into hers.
Knowing about your ancestors’ culture can help you find your ancestors, too. Look for leads to a Chinese ancestor in the Chinese community. If an Italian ancestor was famous for her pasta sauce, maybe an Italian community newspaper did a story about her. Local papers and community organizations of all nationalities are good sources of information. Maybe someone knew your grandmother when she lived in a different town. Or perhaps someone remembers the name of your grandmother’s best friend. You can find wonderful clues where you never even expected to.
An old family photo might include your grandma, and her twin, as kids.
All you have to do is ask your relatives or ask people at cultural events you attend with your family.