So I did what I always do when I have a question I want answered.....I turn to the internet. After several hours of tracing back my family tree on my father's side, I made quite an amazing discovery! I was able to trace back my lineage all the way to the original "Slaymaker" descendant in America who was Mathias Schleiermacher. Mathias and his wife Catherine emigrated with many other Germans and French from Strasburg, Germany around the year 1710. He came for the very reason most immigrants did at the time.....they heard stories of the beautiful new land that awaited them and would allow them to have a life of freedom and prosperity. I discovered that Mathias bought land from someone by the name of William Penn (sound familiar?) and created what is now Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He, along with many other families, built up the town. He became friends with the Native Americans in the area which allowed them to live without fear of attack.
The ironic part about my discovery was that I discovered all of this a week after teaching my fifth graders about William Penn, his founding of Pennsylvania, and discussing all the immigrants who came from different countries to live in this friendly territory. Little did I know, I was teaching them about my family history!
I think it's liberating to discover your heritage and where you come from. I have told my last two classes this story and it sparked their interest in their family history as well. One of my colleagues had a brilliant idea this year....why don't we have the students do research into their genealogy. Not only will they discover their family heritage, which is always engaging, but we can also tie into the project some key history vocabulary that students have a hard time grasping. Historical empathy, frame of reference, point of view, primary and secondary resources.......for a fifth grader those are difficult words to make sense of and a connection with. Through this project they are able to really connect with those key words and better understand their impact. What a great educational tool!
In case this has just sparked your interest in discovering more about your family heritage, I am going to link for you some amazing, FREE websites where you can begin digging into your past. Enjoy!
Links:
Ellis Island Passenger List
United States Census Records
Family Search