Ancestor #1: Andreas Keller. Died at the hands of Bolsheviks (literally).
Luckily, a lot of my work has been done for me, and my mom had most of it at hand. In general, my family can be traced back about 300 years, to circa 1700. Before this, it seems records have been destroyed by centuries of European warfare, but general trends can be followed.
The most recent records we have are fairly clear though: names; dates of birth, marriage, death; and locations of each. They aren't totally complete, but definitely enough to give a good picture of where my family came from.
Dad's Fam
On my paternal side, both of my grandparents ("Oma and Opa") families are clearly from Alsace, France. This is the region immediately on the German border, and is arguably more German than French. It has been a political football for a long time,
as in the last 2000 years. This region is little know as the first home of the
Celts, circa 1500BC. Notable invaders include the Huns circa 400 AD. Then there were the Romans, Franks, Alemanni, Holy Roman Empire, French, Germans, French, Germans, French. You get it.
My father's parents were Flecks and Kellers. What is interesting is that both families can be clearly traced to Alsace (circa 1700) with no branching - there doesn't seem to be any people from outside this region marrying into the family. So my father's side is clearly Alsatian. But how long were they there before that? I have no idea. The center of Europe has seen nearly continuous political change for 2000 years.
Another interesting point is that both the Flecks and Kellers made the unfortunate seeming decision to relocate to Russia (Odessa) circa 1810. Although they were initially successful there, they were ethnically German living in Russia, and come 1910-1945, were brutally persecuted and nearly wiped out. Finally, in 1955, they moved to the USA.
Mom's Fam
My mothers parents ("Grandma and Grampa") are a little more complicated. Her father was of northern European decent. His surname was Dietz, but looking over his family tree, the name Bos and Schuster were also fairly prominent. The Dietz line was clearly from Denmark. Circa mid-1700s, the family lived along Denmark's southern border with Holland (note here the proximity to the border). As time progressed though, they moved steadily northward, and the last Dietz born in Denmark lived in the northern most part of the country before emigrating.
The Bos line was clearly from southeastern Holland, again very close to the German border. The Schuster line was, curiously, from Lorraine, which is directly adjacent to Alsace, and immediately on the borders of Germany, France and Belgium.
My mother's mother was of Irish decent. The first most prominent surname in her lineage is Fitzgerald. The Fitzgeralds were Norman invaders who arrived in Ireland circa 1200AD , and became fairly well established in southeastern Ireland, county Waterford. It seems likely that the Fitzgeralds were originally Gherardini's of Italy ('Mona Lisa' was a Gherardini).
The second most prominent part of my maternal grandmother's lineage lies with the Campions and Doughertys. The Campions were, again, Norman invaders. I didn't have much information on them, but that alone can give a decent idea of their past. The Doughertys, on the other hand, were Celts who settled in far northern Ireland circa 1600
BC, and lived there till driven out by Cromwell in 1600
AD. That's something like 3200 years in the same place! After that, their migration is fairly well known, and they all emigrated to the USA in about 1846, as the potato famine devastated Ireland.
So....
One of the most prominent things to notice about the various families is that, for those in Europe, they all lived very close to a national border. What are border regions? They are those of the most instability and complexity. Often the people there don't fully belong in one country or another. Also, borders are risky, but offer rewards to those who can exploit them. I think its arguable that my family has long history of being 'in-between'; never settled, never really secure. Having discovered this, it makes a lot of sense that I'm looking back and trying to discover when and where we ever had a stable and safe homeland.
One of the other most interesting points is the strain of Celtic heredity. While the Doughertys have clearly strong ties, it was very surprising to discover that the Celts originated in central Europe, precisely where we have considerable family roots. It is true that the Celts were pushed out of central Europe with the arrival of the Romans circa 0 AD, it is also true that the ancestral energy of a people cannot be wiped out. It will continue to live in its homeland, and attract the original inhabitants back to it. So from a spiritual perspective, it is evident that my family has deep Celtic ties.
As a final aside, reading about my families history, and the history of Europe for the last 2000 years, the amount of human devastation is unbelievable. Wars and famine were the primary cause of relocation. Especially as today is July 4th, it seems very obvious to me that people are quite loyal to their nations, but their nations, on the other hand, seem to consider them disposable. Another good reason to let go of technology.
