Pearce 1 ‘Thomasina Pearce Professor Raymond ‘UWRT 1103 21 July 2015 Ann) Family Tree Projet: The Pearce Family 1 Thad to choose three adjectives to describe my family the Pearce family, 1 would choose: lage, dysfunctional, and loving. Coming from such a large family, I expected everyone ‘in my family to have something new and interesting to contibute to my project; suprisingly, my family members are just as clueless as Iam when it comes tothe history and origin of ou family. We never spend time uncovering the history of our fumily, we al just live in the present. When terviewing my family members, noticed «tend: the lack of memory. Even the ool, “Ancestry.com, was dificult to use because it was hard for me to get the fll names of deceased {amily members. Despite the many hardships I encountered during this project, id pick up a few new facts that Ihad 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 county of origin was Americ. Prior to being introduced tothe family tee project, Thad never questioned my family’s country of origin. I lays 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 thatthe Grand Union flag be raised above his base at Prospect Hill during the Continental Army's blockade of Boston, The flag had the same thirten alternate red and white stipes as today, ut the difference ‘asthe British Union Jack in the uppe left-hand comer of the flag. Betsy Ross was sid to have a J sewn the frst American flag in 1776 (The History 0, Since then, the American flag hasPearce 2 undergone many changes. Today, the flag has thirteen strips, alternating red and white, that represent each ofthe original thirteen colonies and there are fifty white stars inthe upper let 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 actualy 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 ofan 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 (Monelluzz0). 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 cout” and enjoy fireworks. The Pearce family does not have a burning passion for our country as ‘we probably should. Of course, I 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 lange country, but oddly enough, my family only has three main places of residence: South Carolina, New York, and North Carolina. Although my grandma (named Grandma Daisy), on my mom’s side of the family was born in New York, she started her life 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 my mom met my father. My father’s side ofthe 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 stating a family in New York, my parents realized that Brooklyn, New York, was no place to raisePearce 3 children, so they decided to move to 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, My dad’s father, who I called Grandpa Thomas, had family that was very wealthy inthe late 1800s because they owned a lot of the land in Kenly. Unfortunately, they lost the land to the state of North Carolina due to issues with taxes. My immediate family’s first place of residence in North Carolina after moving from ‘New York, was Durham. We moved from there after only about eight months because my parents wanted an even better lifestyle. Next we moved to our current place of residency, Willow Spring, North Carona (which is about ten minutes outside of Raleigh). After we moved from / New York, to 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. 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 stil lived a very privileged life. The Pearce family is a family that appreciates the hncuries in life. Since I was born, Ihave lived to see a total of ten cars obtained by my parents and I am sure there will be more down the line. My family also likes to splurge on tropical vacations atleast < ‘once a year. Jamaica is a popular vacation spot for my family, bu they have also traveled to the Bahamas. Sadly, I have never been on any of those trips because they are usually for the adults of the family.Pearce 4 For the most part, the Pear family is a healthy family. Iam thankful that my’ family is not prone to many serous diseases. The most common illnesses in my family are asthma and diabetes, on my dad's side, and alopecia (a dscase that causes the loss of hair), on my mom's side, Our strong, healthy, genetis have allowed for my brother to serve in the military for fifteen years as a Government Contracted Instructor forthe U.S, Army. My dad also worked in Iraq asa contractor for the military for three and a half years. In conclusion, | am glad to carry “Pearce” behind my name. I wish I could have found ‘even more interesting information about my ancestors; however, 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 fo go even more in depth with my investigation. Maybe one day I 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 {his 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. \ Me History of American Flag.” Useflag-site. Nip, nd. Web. 15 July 2015.