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My ethnic roots are something I never really thought of. I was always told I was half German and half Hillbilly. For a long time I believed, since I am white I guess, that I don't really have what I think as "real" ethnicity. Maybe I believed that because I live in the country I was born in and I have never known anything different or been the outsider. Throughout my college experience I have inched my way into exploring where my family blood line comes from and now I am trying to figure out how we stayed so "white".
My maternal great grandparents immigrated from Germany into America and made a farming homestead in Warsaw, Indiana. They raised cattle and vegetables to make a living. My mother claims my green thumb comes from my great Grandpa; even though I never met him. My maternal Grandmother is one of two daughters and one brother. I never met my great uncle and only met my great aunt a few times throughout my life. I do remember my Great Aunt also lived on a farm and she had bee hives and fed the deer in their forest. She also had an enormous game closet that my cousins, sisters and I played in for hours. Hungry hungry hippos was the game of choice.
These are my Great grandparents and their grown children. From the left: Great Aunt Phoebe and then my Grandma, Great Grandpa, Grandma and my Great Uncle Milo.
These are my grand parents when they were dating!
Grandpa was in the Army and Uncle was in the Navy
Just married!
My grandma told me they used to eat dinner together every night sitting on their bed and used their ironing board as a table.
Newlyweds.
I think my Grandma was beautiful!
My grandparents had 4 daughters!!!
My mom and her sisters
These are two of my Aunties playing at the family farm.
My grandma had her hands full.
From what I hear, there was plenty of sibling rivalry.
But they were happy!
When my mom was 15 my Grandpa died from diabetes complications and their family went through hard times. My Grandma was a RN and was able to provide for her girls, but she was always working.
The other side of my family is a little harder to follow. My paternal Grandma was born on a rural farm in Kentucky. Her mother died during childbirth with her and her father was unable to care for a new baby all alone. My Great Grandpa chose to give my baby grandma to the closest farming neighbors about a mile down the road. There, she was never legally adopted, but became an instant baby sister to several older siblings. I never hear a lot about this side of the family and I don't have a single photo of my grandma growing up.
My paternal Grandpa is a little bit of a mystery to me. He was also in the Army and my Grandparents traveled a lot as a military family. They had my dad and my Uncle Ronnie and then divorced when they were grown. This is a photo of him and his sisters. His two brothers have already passed away.
This is one of few photos of my dad as a child.
My dad, Grandma and Uncle Ronnie
My Dad and my Grandpa.
My Grandpa actually introduced my parents to each other. My mom worked at the beauty shop next to my Grandpa's butcher shop in Florida. My dad had just been kicked out of the state of Ohio because he got into some trouble growing and selling marijuana... he was way ahead of his time!
They made a great couple!
A baby shower for my mom pregnant with my older sister.
My dad was way out numbered by his girls.
Me, my sisters, cousins, and Grandma Roberts on my Uncle Ronnie's horse farm in Ky.
My parents retired in 2016, back to Florida.
Must be hereditary!
Through my research I have learned a lot about where my family came from and it has helped me know myself deeper than ever. Some extra cool info is that I learned I am a descendant of Rollo the Viking through a conversation with my sister. She has been piecing together our family history with Ansestory.com for a few years. We are also descended from Queen Fredegund. Though, she was quite a terrible person. Here is a power point with all their information if you are interested.
Ethic Roots - C Roberts.pptxThe following is a collection of photographs showing how large our family has grown.
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