Where did I come from?

No, not from Mars…. and CERTAINLY not from Venus!

 

Yesterday, 2 of 5 sent me the most wonderful email.  It contained 49 pages worth of information about the family.  She has been involved in family research for years, and has amassed research about our lineage spanning back to the 16^th century.  Casting my thoughts across the centuries, and reading these names that I cannot even pronounce correctly, I have to wonder – what sights did these people see?  What events did they experience?  What triumphs?  What horrors?  What were they like?  What did their foods taste like?  What did their local flowers smell like?  What were their favorite sites?  I have so many, many questions.

 

Whether it be the older history, or the recent, I find surprises in the research.  For instance, take my paternal grandmother – Clara.  Being the only grandparent that I ever knew, “Nana” was in so many ways the archetype of an old-world grandmother.  She dressed conservatively – usually in brown or black.  She wore skirts.  She looked proverbially ancient.  She cooked and cooked and cooked and cooked.  Yet, only now, have I learned that her name was not actually “Clara.”  According to the source material, “Clara” was merely a nickname for her real name – Escolastien. 

 

Escolastien? 

 

I have never even HEARD of that name before.  In another reference, the name “Escolastica” appears.  Which was it?  Was it interchangeable?  Why did she never use her real name?

 

In darker references, I read the names of those who went to the camps during the war, never to be seen again…

 

AUSCHWITZ

 

Raphael Isaak Ziekenoppasser

Debra Arnold

Jacob Mulder

Maria Viegra

Abigael Coutinho

Emanuel Henriques (Imanuel) de La Fuente

Johanna Fuld

 

BIRKENAU

 

Max Katoen

Alfred Katoen

 

In lighter references, I see that my ancestors held a variety of jobs including…

 

Army recruiter

Bartender

Cigarmaker

Coachman

Cook

Diamond cutter

Diamond polisher

Dancer

Domestic Servant

Grocer

Hawker

Leaf tobacco importer

Musician

Salesman

Seamstress

Servant

Shoemaker

Shopkeeper

Store owner

Tailor

Veterinary Surgeon

 

I have a lot of reading to do, and a lot of things to learn.