Pearce 1 ‘Thats Poneon Professor Raymond UwRT 1103 Roo Ol 20 July 2015 Family Tree Project: The Pearce Family If Thad to choose three adjectives to deseribe my family, the Pearce family, I would choose: large, dysfunctional, and loving. Coming from such a large family, I expected everyone in my family to have something new and interesting to contribute to my project; surprisingly, my family members are just as clueless as Iam when it comes tothe history and origin of our family ‘We never spend time uncovering the history of our family, we all just kind of lve in the present. When interviewing my family members, I noticed a tend the lack of memory. Even the tol Ancesiy%ras difficult to use because it was hard for me to get the fll names of deceased family ‘members. Despite the many hardships I encountered during this project, I did pick up a few new facts that [ had not known, along the way. ‘Although I was hoping to find out that maybe my family’s country of origin was Jamaica ‘or Europe, my family reassured me that our country of origin is America. Prior to being introduced to the family tree project, I had never questioned my family’s country of origin. I always just assumed it was America because that was all I was exposed to. Like any other ‘country, America has a flag and a national anthem. In 1776, George Washington ordered that the Grand Union flag be raised above his base at Prospect Hill during the Continental Army's blockade of Boston. The flag had the same thirteen alternate red and white stripes as today, but the difference was the British Union Jack in the upper left-hand comer of the flag. Betsy Ross ‘was said to have sewn the first American flag in 1776 (The History of). Since then, the Americanre | Pearce 2 flag has undergone many changes. Today, the lag has thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, that represent each of the original thirteen colonies and there are fifty white stars inthe upper left ‘comer of the flag that represent each of the fifty states of the Union. Along with the flag, The National Anthem of America is called, The Star Spangled Banner. The anthem was actually a poem written by Francis Scott Key when he became inspired by the Battle in Baltimore in 1814. He wrote the poem to the tune of an old English song called, To Anacreon in Heaven. The song slowly became more popular and during World War I, it became so widely accepted that Congress made it the National Anthem in 1931 (Mongelluzzo). Most Americans take pride inthe flag and anthem, amongst other things, but my family is not as patriotic as others. Yes, we celebrate holidays like the Fourth of July, but that is mainly because it gives us a reason to “pig ‘out” and enjoy fireworks. The Pearce family does not have a burning passion for our country as ‘we probably should. OF course, [love my country because itis all that I know, but I think it ‘would be cool to say that my family originated in a country other than the U.S.A. America is a very large country, but oddly enough, my family only has three main places of residence: South Carolina, New York, and North Carolina, Although my grandma on my ‘mom's side of the family was bom in New York, she started her life in South Carolina. My ‘mom's highest level of education in South Carolina was high school because soon after she and ‘the rest of her siblings graduated, they all moved back to New York. New York is where she met my father. My father’s of the family resided in both North Carolina and New York, but ‘mostly New York. We have family that occupy Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. In New York, my mom worked as a bank specialist and a nurse assistant while my dad worked as a truck driver and warehouse supervisor. After starting a family in New York, my parents realized that Brooklyn, New York, was no place to raise children, so they decided to move toPearce 3 "North Carolina. Making this move was very risky because of our financial situation. On my dad's side, there were already family members established in North Carolina and they resided in Kenly and Fayetteville, Our first place of residence in North Carolina was Durham, but we ‘moved from thee after only about eight months because my parents wanted an even beter lifestyle. Next we moved to our current place of residency, Willow Spring, North Carolina (hich is about ten minutes outside of Raleigh). After we moved from New Yorkyto North Carolina, both of my grandmothers moved to North Carolina as well. Many of my other family ‘members from New York plan to move to North Carolina also in the near future. Tam thankful that my fiunily is not prone to many serious diseases. The most common, illnesses in my family, on my dad’s side, are asthma and diabetes; on my mom’s side it is alopecia (a disease that causes the loss of hair). For the most part, the Pearce family is a healthy family. Our strong, healthy, genetics have allowed for my brotherto serve in the military for fifteen years as a Government Contracted Instructor forthe U.S. Army. My dad also worked in Iraq as a contractor for the military for three and a half years. Despite many tribulations, my family is pretty well off. We are not filthy rich, but we are hardworking and still have time for fun. Although my parents had to raise ten children, I still lived a very privileged life. The Pearce family is a family that appreciates the luxuries in life. ‘Since I was bor, have lived to see a total often cars obtained by my parents and Iam sure there will be more down the line, My family also likes to splurge on tropical vacations at least ‘once a year. Jamaica is a popular vacation spot for my family, but they have also traveled to the Bahamas. Sadly, Thave never been on any of those trips because they are usually for the adults of the familyPearce 4 In conclusion, I am glad to carry “Pearce” behind my name. I wish I could have found even more interesting information about my ancestors, but this project sparked a new interest in the history of my family. My research on the Pearce family will not cease after the completion of | this project because I now want to go even more in depth with my research. Maybe one day 1 will find that America is in fact not the country of origin of my family. There is a world of possibilities as to what I could find out about my family and I am ready to continue this journey of research. Pearce 5 Works Cited Mongelluzzo, Amato P. “A Short Essay on the Star Spangled-banner — Amato P. Mongelluzzo.” Nop. nd, Web. 15 July 2015. “The History of American Flag.” Usa-flag-site. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2015.