Knowing Where You Come From

I am a firm believer that to really understand who you are you need to know where you have come from.  I have talked many times on this blog about doing family genealogy and what I found in the process.  In researching my family history, I have learned a great bit about my ancestors who traveled to the United States on my father's side from England after being born in Ireland.  My grandfather was born in England; however, his mother and his father were born in Ireland.  They left Ireland due to the poor economic situation caused by the Great Potato famine.  They were weavers and working in the mills making textiles.  One ancestor before working in the factories made baskets that were used on ships.  Working in the mills was hard work and many people died of lung disease caused by the fibers getting into their lungs.  Many died from accidents caused by the machines used to make the fabric.  I am so grateful for their grit and hard work.  I took the children to see the factories where my ancestors worked when they came to the states.  Today the factories are now converted into apartments, shops, and used as business space.  Walking around Lowell, Mass is like walking back in time.  I love it!  Today we are losing so much of our past to renovation, but I suppose this is how it is suppose to be. I also showed the children where there grandpa lived as a young child and an adult.  Except for a few years in California and a few years in Turkey with the airforce my dad pretty much lived in the same house his whole life until he retired and then moved to Arizona and now lives not to far from me in Atlanta.