When she saw we were giving away Who Do You Think You Are? this week, NBC San Diego News Anchor (and good friend) Susan Taylor emailed us this video about her own experience with geneology. After tracing her roots back to Eastern Europe with the help of Ancestry.com, she discovered she comes from a long line of strong, pioneering women who made a life-saving decision to leave everything they knew to come to America.
Here’s what she told us about the experience:
When I began this journey, I never anticipated how emotional it would be, particularly for my father. We knew our family had escaped religious persecution in Eastern Europe. But as we delved into their story it became clear that these were strong, pioneering people who gave up everything to come to America and the freedom and opportunity it represented. I had no idea of the hardships my great-grandparents had endured. I came to have a greater appreciation of their sacrifice. Had they not left Germany and Russia, there’s a good chance they would have ended up in a concentration camp and, most likely, the generations of us born here in the U.S. would not be here today to tell their story. I look at my son and get teary. I think, had it not been for my ancestors and their fierce independent spirit, he would not be here today to enjoy the freedom and opportunity that was created by my great-grandparents and the generation of hearty, spirited folks who built this country.
You always wonder if you are the way you are because of circumstance, environment or DNA. Or maybe a combination of all three. I have always been independent, curious and adventurous. I look back at the women in my family and realize they also had these traits.
It would be nice to go back even further to see if these same characteristics are embodied in the two or three generations born before them.
This experience has made me realize how important it is to pass this background on to my son, so he has a sense of family, history and sacrifice.
Watch Susan’s fascinating video, then enter to win a copy of Who Do You Think You Are? and start discovering your own family history. Contest ends at midnight tonight, so enter now!
View more videos at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com.
I’m always moved by watching these stories of courage, sacrifice, and hope.
This series of “Who Do You Think You Are” has definitely inspired me to dig deeper into my own family’s history.
Losing two of my grandparents by the age of 8, then the other two by 25, and then losing my dad and his sister at 30 has had an impact on what information I can readily access, so I would love to learn more so I can pass down that knowledge to my only niece.
I would love, Love, LOVE to win a copy of this fascinating series! L