Setanta wrote:Foofie wrote:I was born in the U.S. because I had the good fortune to have grandparents that decided to come to this country in the late 1800's. So, I can thank them posthumously for that decision.
You intend to wait until you are dead to thank them? I'd be interested to know how you intend to accomplish that. Perhaps you think to meet them in the "afterlife."
My most distant ancestor to live in America arrived in Monmouth County, New Jersey in 1676. He was one of the many immigrants before 1924 who did not arrive by airplane.
Yes, I can see how I confused the reader. Three of four grandparents I did not know. I meant, thank them after their death.
That's nice that your ancestor came to New Jersey in 1676. The traffic was probably much less congested then. The George Washington Bridge wasn't built then, so your ancestor likely had to take a ferry to NYC to do any shopping at Herald Square (I don't think Bloomingdale's was built then).
I am fascinated by people that had ancestors in the U.S. (colonies) that far back. I'm not kidding, since when they celebrate Thanksgiving in November, they truly understand the holiday. I always feel like an imposter on that holiday, since life was easier, obviously, when my grandparents came. Also, as one can see in any old cemetery, how families died from fevers, etc. at comparatively young ages. Those old cemeteries are very sad when seeing how families lived with members dying on an ongoing basis. So different than modern life.
I'll thank your ancestors too, if you don't mind, for struggling in a new land, so centuries later there was a country my family could come to and live a better life.
