we ¢ Sumner 1 Jared Sumner University Writing 1103 Professor Raymond October 13, 2014 My Interesting Family 55 8, "Through my research about my mother’s side of the family I learned that we originally wl “came from Holland. I went and talked with my pappy and found out that his father’s side of the family was from Holland, and his mother’s side of the family was from England, He did not know when his mother’s relatives came over from England or where they may have settled. His father’s ancestors, on the other hand, He knew more information. His great grandfather came from Holland. This connection to me started four generations ago. My grandmother's roots are cerily similar to my pappy’s. These connections are what make humans have a global connection. Each one of us is wit we are because of our ancestry, even if we are not aware of what the details are. My pappy said that his great grandfather came over from Holland and settled in Pennsylvania. My pappy’s name, Jerry Drye, is unique for a reason. Our original name was Dutch and spelled “Deusch”. This was hard to pronounce, so my great, great, great grandfather changed it to Dry. My great, great grandfather added the “e” on the end. We do not know why but midway through his life he moved to North Carolina and the Drye family has stayed here ever since.Sumner 2 My nana’s mom’s mom and her ancestors were definitely from England. We are fortunate enough to still have a record book of the Peace family. My nana’s dad was Roy Peace, and his ancestor Silas Peace is thought to be one of the first immigrants of the Peace family. The book does not know if Silas’ parents were already in America when he arrived, so the tree starts with Silas Peace. Twelve year old Silas and his sister Sarah headed to America in 1787 (Peace, Richard 3). Sarah became ill on the journey over and died. She was buried at sea. Silas settled in Pennsylvania and lived there for many years then moved to Guilford County North Carolina (Peace, Richard 3). Itis a coincidence that both sides of my ancestry came to America to Pennsylvania and both ended in North Carolina. This, as the saying goes, “is a small world”. This is proof that all of us, sometime in our background, have connections to other parts of the world. This is why we should all be concerned about what happens globally, not just in our state. Tresearched Holland and discovered that referring to Holland as a country is not technically correct. Holland makes up a part of the Netherlands (“General Information about Holland”). The Netherland’s capital is located in North Holland, and that capital is Amsterdam, The government of Holland is located in South Holland (“General Information about Holland”), It would be interesting to visit this area to see if I can find any gravestones with my ancestor's original name. One of my great grandfathers was stationed on a battleship during World War II. This great grandfather was my mother’s mom’s dad and his name was Roy Edgar Peace. Roy was a cook on one of the battleships. He never talked much about his service in the Navy, so my family did not know which battleship he was stationed on or any information about his service. He did come across something extraordinary during his service. He somehow got a book from theSumner 3 ULS.S. Arizona before the attack on Pearl Harbor. We did not know where he was stationed but ‘we know it was not the Arizona. We do not know how he acquired the book other than we suspect he borrowed it from a friend. The book’s title is “Men and Ships of Steel.” The book is about different naval ships throughout the years. The library pocket from the Arizona is in the book and a stamp stating that it is property of the USS Arizona library. This connects me with a war that happened before my birth. A war that started in my country. A war in which my grandfather was a Navy soldier. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I am a proud American, Some of my friends loved the movie “Pearl Harbor”. But did they have the connection I do? I doubt it My immediate family is very involved in the community. My father is the Chief of Police of High Point, and my mom works at the local high school. My mom is an English teacher at Wheatmore High School. She teaches a different combination of grades every year, so she essentially teaches all four grades. These career choices have connected my family with the ‘community. Also, my family is very involved in church. I have been fortunate to do many fund raisers which involve connecting with our community. Perhaps, I am more apt to accept people who are different than I because of my experiences with others. I can see why connecting with people outside one’s family can lead to a more vast, global awareness. My mom's father, Pappy, has traveled extensively, initially, because of work and later for vacations. This desire to visit other cultures is seen in my mother. She and my dad have just returned from a two week trip to Europe. My dad discovered that he may have roots in Austria, This discovery happened by chance. If he had never traveled to this part of the world and had conversations with locals, this information would never have come to the surface. My dad's parents passed many years ago, and he knows little about his lineage.Sumner 4 Knowing one’s ancestry has its benefits. Cancer runs on my mom’s side of the family. My Nana died of lung cancer but had two other cancers before this one took her life. Since my Nana had more than one type of cancer according to the article “Family Cancer Syndromes” it is possible that cancer is hereditary in my family ("Family Cancer Syndromes"). My Pappy had prostate cancer, and four of his sisters and one brother died of cancer. This has made my mom diligent about getting her screenings and taking care of her health. In conclusion, one can see many benefits to knowing one’s ancestor line. Actually the farther one can research, the better. If all humans could grasp the idea that we all are connected in some way, then perhaps prejudices could one day be minimized? I know why I have blonde hair and blue eyes. This may not be important to some, but to me, it means that my ancestors ‘came from a certain part of the world. This knowledge gives one a sense of belonging to a grander world than just what is outside the front door.Sumner 5 Work Cited: "Family Cancer Syndromes.” Cancer.org. American Cancer Society, 25 June 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014, “General Information about Holland.” Hollandisbeautiful.com. n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. Peace, Richard. The Descendants of Silas Peace. Mountain City, Tenn.: Johnson County, 1968. Print.