Monday, December 13, 2021

My Texas Alphabet & My Polish Alphabet

It's time to start a new, and the second, edition of "My Texas Alphabet" The alphabet is quite special and distinctive as each "letter" entry tells about Texas from our personal perspective. The first edition of "My Texas Alphabet" was created about six years ago.
 
At the same time, I am planning to write sections of "My Polish Alphabet" related to things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.
 
The letter "A" in both Alphabets is for Ancestors.
 
My interest in family ancestry started more than a decade ago. I have tried to find out who my progenitors were since then, with no big success, though. Little is known regarding the maternal branch of my family tree, besides a few names and the area of Poland the closet generations lived in. Thanks to one of my relatives, I know a bit more about my paternal ancestry, but still not enough. They might be Baltic Germans. I also found a trace of possible connections in Rhine-Westphalia, but still - too little data.
It was much easier to research and discover the ancestry of the Texas ancestors and their predecessors. Simply because more details/information is available online. I studied the family tree vertically, diagonally, and in all other possible directions. I must admit, it was very time-consuming but rewarding as well - quite a few unknown cousins were found, We were able to meet some of the "new" cousins in person, and with others, we got in touch virtually.
 
Have you ever thought it might be (?) that, besides the obvious influence of our current life environment and life experiences, possibly also it is our DNA ancestry memory that influences our choices, likes/dislikes. and interests? Well, it's just something I find interesting and rather mystifying.
 
Anyhow, we have had our DNA/ethnicity tested - no greater surprise there, besides the English and possible Balkan connections on my side. From time to time, the results are updated and a bit more detailed information is given, so it is a developing outcome that changes every now and then.
 
During all the years of my ancestry research, the expanded family tree came into being, with over twenty thousand persons in it. Each person is somebody's life. Each life is somebody's story. I have already written quite a few articles regarding our ancestors and people not related to us as well. These days, I study the lives of the early settlers of the Hill Country and read/write about their families.
 
I do feel the ones who lived before us need to be remembered.
 
Anyhow, our Ancestry Project is still open. You can find more about it on the pages of my blog here.
 


 
 
A letter entries in the first edition of "My Texas Alphabet":
 
 
 

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