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Bogusz



Joined: 13 Jan 2015
Replies: 11

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Post Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:13 am      Post subject: Why My Ancestors Left?
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Here is my article about the emigration:
http://blog.polishorigins.com/2015/01/27/why-my-ancestors-left/#more-4563

I do hope that you will find my article a good and welcome source of information.

Now, imagine that you are the head of a peasant family. Your father has two brothers, because your grandparents had many children, and most of them survived to adulthood. Also, your parents had many children. It is true that three of them died, but there are still five siblings living, including, “unfortunately”, four boys. The land has been divided, and there is not much left for you. And you already have five children. Praise God, all healthy.
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Ute
PO Top Contributor


Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Replies: 593
Location: Germany

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Post Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:14 am      Post subject: Re: Why My Ancestors Left?
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Bogusz wrote:
Here is my article about the emigration:
http://blog.polishorigins.com/2015/01/27/why-my-ancestors-left/#more-4563

I do hope that you will find my article a good and welcome source of information.

Now, imagine that you are the head of a peasant family. Your father has two brothers, because your grandparents had many children, and most of them survived to adulthood. Also, your parents had many children. It is true that three of them died, but there are still five siblings living, including, “unfortunately”, four boys. The land has been divided, and there is not much left for you. And you already have five children. Praise God, all healthy.


Bogusz,

Thank you for posting your article on emigration.

I have a deep respect for those of our ancestors who had the courage to leave their home and family and travel across the ocean to a land they knew almost nothing about [as I have respect for everybody who is willing to change his or her life to get out of a miserable and hopeless situation.] When I was young I’m sure I would have done the same if I had been in their shoes, and I would probably have considered it an adventure to get out of the narrowness and poverty of a tiny village with little hope for an improvement.

However, having learned more about how hard the first generation immigrants’ lifes in the United States was, I must say I’m glad I wasn’t in their shoes. Now that I’m getting older, I also understand how strong the bonds to your home country can be and how much having family, parents and grandparents, around you and not thousands of miles away, can mean, especially in difficult times.

This may have been the reason why two of the women in my family tree returned to Poland [leaving their husbands behind] after having lived in the United States for some years, despite of what was considered a 'better life' for them in the 'New World'. I don't know what became of them. My paternal grandparents stayed and raised their 10 children under partly very difficult conditions, unimaginable to us today. They all worked hard and made their way. We, the second, third generation, or even fourth generation, looking back at our immigrants ancestors' life, can only respect them and be thankful to them for their decision to emigrate in order to create a better life for themselves and their descendants.
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