Welcome to my new blog! As I've been researching my family tree, I have discovered so much more about history and my heritage in general, also. As you might have guessed from the picture above, I have a fair amount of German heritage in my family.
This sign means so much more to me than just decoration at a local German festival near my hometown. My great-great grandfather came from the New Alsace (Elsass) area of Germany in 1871. Although he was born into a very German heritage, he actually was a French citizen when he left for the New Country.
I discovered that I needed to brush up on my history a little to understand what was happening at that time. The Alsace-Lorraine area sat on the border of France and Germany. It changed hands several times. When Germany became one unified country in 1870, the area belonged to France. It stayed in French possession until World War I.
As I research further into my other German ancestors, I have discovered that I have to keep my Germany timeline cheat sheet near me to look at the years. What years did my other ancestors leave the Old Country for America? What was happening in Germany at that time?
So, as you look further back into your ancestors' lives, don't forget to look a little closer at your history books, also. This might just give you a few clues into why they chose to come to a whole new country.
