pilman
A mind as clear as a polished mirror
Hello Shenmuedojo, just wanted to see what everyones background here is if you are comfortable sharing?
I was born in the Chicago area, my mother is of mostly German stock/catholic background with some French ancestry as well. Her family grew up in northern Wisconsin and came over around 1850 from a region called Saarland which used to be part of France. That side of the family used to descend from a line of judges. My mother converted to Judaism when she met my father. My moms family descended from farmers and also my grandpa built windows for the skyscrapers in Chicago. He has always been big into living off the land, hunting, fishing, he had a wood cottage that my brother and I would visit as kids.
My father was born in Chicago, his mothers family were Jews who came from somewhere in the baltic region of Europe probably Lithuania. My fathers dads side were Kohens ( claim to descend from the priests of Jerusalem) who migrated from Southern Romania around 1900. I think they may have been "fusgeyers" who were expelled or left Romania by foot. ( http://www.billgladstone.ca/?p=3065 ) the family settled in Quebec Canada and later migrated to Chicago on the west side in an area called Lawndale. They were tailors which was common as a trade for Jews in Chicago and we had some in our family who were also wrestlers/boxers. My great grandma ran a deli. Possibility the family came to Romania from somewhere else, apparently there were many Jews who migrated from Turkey of Sephardic background although for some reason the family was constantly mistaken as Sicilian and show significant Italian in our DNA.
My wife is from Colombia, she was born on the Caribbean coast of Barranquilla and also spent much of her childhood on the island of Providencia. She grew up in Bogota. While she does not have as much information on her ancestry, many Colombians tend to be mestizo or on the Caribbean coast of triracial descent. Her fathers a mathematician, a chess hobbyist and perhaps a chess master, artist and builds small scale models of homes. Her fathers side came from near the Medellin area also referred to as the paisa region. Medellin is famous for Pablo Escobar but also the plastic surgery region of the world. Medellin is also famous for its doctors, leather and being a general tech driven city. My wifes mom is a nurse and the family in Barranquilla enjoy salsa, cumbia and carnivales which is similar to the carnival in Brazil. My wifes mom also ran a restaurant and cooks Empanadas, Ajiaco, Sancocho, rice and beans, etc. Some family members served in the Colombian military.
I was born in the Chicago area, my mother is of mostly German stock/catholic background with some French ancestry as well. Her family grew up in northern Wisconsin and came over around 1850 from a region called Saarland which used to be part of France. That side of the family used to descend from a line of judges. My mother converted to Judaism when she met my father. My moms family descended from farmers and also my grandpa built windows for the skyscrapers in Chicago. He has always been big into living off the land, hunting, fishing, he had a wood cottage that my brother and I would visit as kids.
My father was born in Chicago, his mothers family were Jews who came from somewhere in the baltic region of Europe probably Lithuania. My fathers dads side were Kohens ( claim to descend from the priests of Jerusalem) who migrated from Southern Romania around 1900. I think they may have been "fusgeyers" who were expelled or left Romania by foot. ( http://www.billgladstone.ca/?p=3065 ) the family settled in Quebec Canada and later migrated to Chicago on the west side in an area called Lawndale. They were tailors which was common as a trade for Jews in Chicago and we had some in our family who were also wrestlers/boxers. My great grandma ran a deli. Possibility the family came to Romania from somewhere else, apparently there were many Jews who migrated from Turkey of Sephardic background although for some reason the family was constantly mistaken as Sicilian and show significant Italian in our DNA.
My wife is from Colombia, she was born on the Caribbean coast of Barranquilla and also spent much of her childhood on the island of Providencia. She grew up in Bogota. While she does not have as much information on her ancestry, many Colombians tend to be mestizo or on the Caribbean coast of triracial descent. Her fathers a mathematician, a chess hobbyist and perhaps a chess master, artist and builds small scale models of homes. Her fathers side came from near the Medellin area also referred to as the paisa region. Medellin is famous for Pablo Escobar but also the plastic surgery region of the world. Medellin is also famous for its doctors, leather and being a general tech driven city. My wifes mom is a nurse and the family in Barranquilla enjoy salsa, cumbia and carnivales which is similar to the carnival in Brazil. My wifes mom also ran a restaurant and cooks Empanadas, Ajiaco, Sancocho, rice and beans, etc. Some family members served in the Colombian military.