We Are All Immigrants

Here in North America no one can say they are not an immigrant or descended from immigrants. Every human on this continent is descended from ancestors who came from other shores, even Native Americans whose ancestors came tens of thousands of years ago, looking for a better life.

Here is my immigrant ancestor's story:

In the first decade of the 18th century Benedict Brechbuohl was the leading teacher and preacher of the Swiss Mennonites. Because of his influence with the sect, the Swiss government more than doubled the reward for his capture.  He was imprisoned in 1709 after being expelled twice from Berne and was one of 58 Mennonites who were deported in 1710, to be taken by force to North Carolina.  With the others he escaped to Holland and returned to Manheim, Germany where he had been elder and preacher before his capture in Switzerland.  While in Mannheim, he acted as agent to whom the Dutch Mennonites sent financial aid for not only distressed in Germany but also in Switzerland.  He also went to Prussia to visit land on which King Frederick wished to found a Mennonite Colony.  In 1717 he with Burcholder, presided at a conference of Mennonite leaders which resulted in the decision to migrate to America.

He sold his house and farm situated near Weiler in Sape, on the river Werre in Germany for 700 Rix dollars ($570.15).  He sailed for America with his wife and three children and landed in Philadelphia August 24th, 1717 having been on passage for 12 weeks.  Their expenses were $30.44 a piece.  He (purchased) 530 acres of land for $186.66.  This land was between Strasburg, PA and Bunker Hill and was purchased from Hans Funk.

Rev. Benedict Brechbuohl was born in Transelwald, Berne, Switzerland in 1666, died near Strasburg in 1720 three years after his arrival.

My uncle did the genealogy research for this many years ago and wrote this history.  I am the ninth generation descended from this immigrant who was fleeing religious persecution in his home country.

I don't know if I would have had the courage to uproot myself and travel to an unknown land despite stories of how much better life would be.  Who are we to deny immigrants fleeing violence, hatred, war, prejudice ...?

What is your immigrant story?

Tuesday's Treasures #6

These sets of old photographs are treasures in this house.

They are arranged together on a wall in my front hall.

The two on the left are from my family and the two on the right from my husband's family.

On the right is my father, his parents in the center, my grandparents, and my father's maternal grandparents on the far left.

Now if you are familiar with the author Beverly Lewis who writes novels about the Amish, these are the grandparents we share.  Our grandmother was not Amish and neither were our great grandparents.  My father frequently argued this point with my cousin Beverly.

I have no memories of my paternal grandmother because she died while we were in the Philippines in the early 1950s.  I have a memory of that occasion because it was rare for us to get a phone call from the States.  My mother took the call and was crying from hearing the news of the death.

Here is my mother's family with her parents on the left.

My first memory of my grandmother was in 1957 after we returned from the Philippine Islands where my parents were missionaries.  By this time my grandmother was paralyzed from the waist down.  This is the grandmother whose photo I featured in Tuesday Treasure #4.

No one in the above photo is alive any longer.  My Uncle Paul, the young boy on the right died at the age of 102 in November 2015.

These are the Browns.  Dan's paternal grandfather is the man seated, great grandparents are the two standing photos and great great grandparents with offspring on the right. 

Dan's mother is seated there on the right, her parents married the day after the big stock market crash in 1929.  There they are seated on a jalopy and Dan's grandfather stands there with his short tie that was the fashion.  Dan's paternal great grandparents are the couple on the left.

I've been doing some genealogy on Dan's ancestors.  I started this back in the late 70s but have just gotten back to it with the advantage of the digital age.  I find myself with the same puzzle: who was the mother of Dan's great-grandfather?  I hope to solve the puzzle.

Joining Tuesday's Treasures.