My Ancestry

I have really been getting into researching my family ancestry. I guess it is something that becomes more appealing with age. You begin to think about your roots and where it was that your family came from. Sometimes it gives us more of an understanding of our family dynamics.

Anyway, I have been searching for my moms "lost" sister online. To give you a bit of history, she has a sister that is 5 years younger than her and in 1975 or 76 was the last time she heard from her. She is from Germany and was planning on coming over to America to be near mom and dad and supposedly start her life over, so to speak. Then she dropped off the face of the earth. She was waiting for her Visa and then next thing mom knew, her phone was disconnected and she was no where to be found. Only kin was an ex-husband and 2 kids, who were very young. We don't know if she died or if she just doesn't want to be found. Records are pretty hard to recover in another country, but I think especially Germany and especially Berlin, Germany. Between the wars that took place on their soil and the communism, alot of records have been destroyed.

That search has been enlightening for me. Kinda like my own mystery to solve. And, no, I haven't cracked the case yet. I have to learn German first! I feel that I am getting closer though.

But it has also led me on a quest for more information on my dad's side of the family. That is a much easier road to travel, lemme tell ya! There is actually a http://www.sramek.net/! (my maiden name). Very unusual name, but there are alot of us. My dad's great-great-grandfather immigrated here from Bohemia, which is now part of Czech Republic. One of my cousins has started a family tree online at http://www.itsourtree.com/ and it is pretty cool. I put all of my family in it and have enjoyed using it as a lesson for Chandler. When I read about my grandpa's siblings, I learned that his mom had 11 kids! The oldest was born in 1905 and the youngest in 1927! That poor woman had kids for 22 years of her life! And once, she had two kids in one year! One in January and one in December!! Wow, is all I can say.

It really does give me an appreciation for where I am in life, the time in which I was born and thankful that that woman survived long enough to raise my grandpa, who raised my wonderful daddy, who raised me.