Immigration Stories

12/1/2015

America is a great big nation comprised of immigrants, and each of our ancestors left their home countries to come to America for a myriad of reasons. I recently had my DNA tested and have discovered that my ancestors mainly descended from Africa. Prior to submitting my DNA for analysis, as far as I knew, my mother’s family came from the Cape Verde Islands and my dad’s family came from Jamaica and the Prince Edward’s Islands. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was 72% African when my actual test results were returned. As we are studying Immigration, I would like to know your family’s unique immigration experience. Ask your parents, or another elder in your family, where your ancestors came from. Also, ask what the push and pull factors were for leaving their homelands and settling in America. Ask when they arrived to America, and what their early experiences were like. Did they work? What types of work did they do? Once you have all these questions answered, start blogging. I want to know all. Also, make sure to reply to at least one classmates post, and don’t forget the rules and etiquette of our blogosphere. Use your full name (no pseudonyms), and don’t be mean.

54 Comments

Kayla P.

12/1/2015 06:03:18 pm

I don't know much about my dad's side of the family other than they are from Jamaica and when my dad was little he lived in Florida for most of his life. My dad, grandmother and two aunts were all born in Jamaica. My great grandma on my mom's side was born in the United States and so was my grandma. As a kid my grandmother lived in Maryland in an abundance of land. So as you can imagine she and her many many brothers and sisters worked the land. They also had the job of taking care of each other. I think she had about 6 or 8 siblings. When my grandmothers dad died her mom and her brothers and sisters moved to Boston. My grandmother was an adult at this time and a soon to be mom. After her first child was born she waited 9 years to have another child which is my mom. She met my grandfather in Boston however he originated from Barbados, where he currently lives. My grandfather was born is Barbados and he is Barbadian,Irish, and Grenadian. I'm not sure what his childhood was like or if he worked. I also do not know why my dad's side of the family or my grandfather on my mom's side came to America. Since my dad and his family came to America when he was young I assume it was for a better education.

Aliyah Paulino

12/1/2015 06:39:00 pm

I think that it is really cool that your grandfather is from so many places. I also think that maybe your great grandparents came here in search of a way to make money because your grandmother had an abundance of land so maybe her parents passed that on to her.

Tiffanie P.

12/1/2015 08:52:06 pm

I have heard my grandmother’s story and it is so much better than the one I will tell now. I can't tell the story for her so I just asked my dad about his experience, because he was an immigrant,too. My dad said that both sides of my family are from Santiago and Jicome Esperanza, Dominican Republic. My dad was born in D.R and my mom was born in New York, but anyways my grandmother on my dad’s side was the first out of her whole family to leave the dominican republic. She couldn't bring her son so my dad was with his grandmother (mamamatea) most of his childhood. When my grandmother was finally settled she told a family friend to go with my dad to come to America. My dad was 9 years old when he came to the United States in 1975. He said my grandma came to the U.S so that she could leave poverty in D.R, to get a better job, and to have a better life for he kids. It was tough for her when she got here because she had to leave all of her family, the rents were higher for immigrants, the pay was very low and she got pregnant about two month after moving to the U.S. My dad said that he was excited and afraid because he had to leave the people he knew and move to the states with a women that he hasn’t seen since he was about 3 years of age. He finished his 6th grade in Queens,New York. My grandmother got her two sisters to come down here and they moved to Providence, Rhode Island. My dad then went to middle school in Gilbert Stuart and went to high school at Central and went to CCRI for his first 4 years of college and was the first in his family to attend college.

My mom on the other hand in and American with Dominican parents. My grandparents on my mom's side came here when they were married so they can have a better life for their kids and also because there was a lot of war in D.R. I don't know the specifics on why or when they came so that is really all I know about them. My mom was born in The Bronx, New York and moved here when she was about 4 years old. (she is at a meeting right now so I couldn't get the information so that is all I know about my mom’s side)

That is where my family is from. I hoped you liked it!

Mr. Husband

12/1/2015 07:27:35 pm

Since your mom's family is from the south, and you have no record of their immigration story, it is likely that (like most black folks in the south), someone in her family line was forcefully sent to the U.S. as a slave.

Aliyah Paulino

12/1/2015 06:25:18 pm

My ancestors came from the Dominican Republic. More specifically, my grandparents. The pull factors that made my grandparents eager to come to America was that they needed work, and sought a way to make progress in life. The push factor was the economy in the Dominican Republic. When my grandparents first came to America, they were a little lonely and sad that they left their other family members in the Dominican Republic. However, they were also happy because they were finally able to work, make a living, and still help out their family in the D.R. My grandmother's first job in America was in a factory, and she had the job of brushing doll's hair before they got shipped out. My grandfather's job was to deliver merchandise to stores and other companies. Nowadays, my grandparents think that life here isn't all that they thought it would be like. It could be a little better but they probably would rather stay here than in the D.R.

Melissa E.

12/1/2015 06:47:37 pm

Nice job! I thought it was really cool to read about how your family made the sacrifice of leaving their families behind to be able to get a job to support them.

Olivia F.

12/1/2015 08:47:57 pm

It was very nice of your family to sacrifice leaving to support the rest of the family. Well done, Aliyah!

Olivia F.

12/2/2015 06:35:16 pm

It was very nice of your family to sacrifice leaving to support the rest of the family. Amazing blog, Aliyah!

Jesse L.

12/1/2015 06:32:39 pm

On my mom’s side my ancestors come from India. I am only 25% Indian but I found it fascinating that I am part Indian so that’s why I decided to ask and research a little more into my Indian ancestry. Indians started coming to America as early as the 1820’s. Since 1920 Indian immigrants have become the second largest immigrant group after Mexicans. When Indians came to America they were highly unskilled and uneducated farmers and they worked in agriculture in California. People migrated from India to America because they wanted a better education. My grandfather came from India because he wanted to continue his medical career and further his education. My grandfather’s generation came to America legally. They weren’t treated badly and there was no one stopping them from coming to America. When the Indians came in the 1800’s they were unskilled and uneducated, but immigrants that came in my grandfather’s generation were coming to America but they were coming from wealthy families and most of them were educated. In my grandfather’s generation people who were coming from India to america as Engineers and doctors. From the 1820’s to now the type of people that immigrate to America from India have changed a lot.

Anthony

12/1/2015 06:35:15 pm

That's really cool. That's also nice to know some new background on your family

Mr. Husband

12/1/2015 07:28:08 pm

Interesting.

Raymond D.

12/1/2015 11:55:43 pm

Wow, that that is very cool and interesting.

Justin Enriquez

12/1/2015 09:01:31 pm

This is really interesting Jesse yet very cool! It's great to know things that you didn't know about yourself.

Melissa E.

12/1/2015 06:44:41 pm

Both of my parents had ancestors that originally came from China. On my mom’s side, herself and all of her living relatives are from Thailand, except for my great-grandparents who are from China. My dad’s parents are from China and so are the rest of his family members, though he was born in Cambodia. For my mom, she worked with a company that expanded with a new office headquarters here in Rhode Island. She went because she was excited to be able to have the opportunity to experience a whole new place. She was sent over to the US as an international customer service representative. My dad, has a whole different story as to how he ended up in the US. He spent his teenage years in Cambodia as a refugee during the Cambodian Civil War, alone. When he finally was able to reach a refugee camp, a family in an organization from Maine sponsored him to be able to go to the US. My dad went to have a better life. My mom landed in San Francisco in 1991 and my dad landed in Maine in 1984. The experiences when both of my parents settled in the US differed. For my mom, she worked at her workplace and lived in Rhode Island with a co-worker who had rented a room to her for a year. For my dad, he lived with his sponsor family in Maine for a year. My mom worked at her company since the first week she arrived to America and has been ever since. It was a year later until my dad had his first job of being an electrician. He went through many jobs from being a thatcher to owning his own restaurant. This was how my parents began their lives in America.

Mr. Husband

12/1/2015 07:25:00 pm

So many perished as a result of the Khmer Rouge… I'm glad to hear your dad was one of the fortunate few who were able to escape...

Adrian F.

12/1/2015 08:16:43 pm

It's really cool to know from where and how your family came to America, very interesting.

Tiffanie P.

12/1/2015 08:55:21 pm

I really like how you talked about how your dad was in the Civil War. That is a really deep side and topic to get into but I am glad you did.

Anthony

12/1/2015 06:45:45 pm

My dad is from Guatemala, and so is my mom, but I talked to my dad. He was only 14 years old when he came to the United States. He was very hard working and wanted a better life since education was hard to find for his family. His dad died when he was nine, this came as a really big shock to his family. For these reasons himself and his two brothers worked from 6am to 6pm, sometimes even later. He did anything he could do, from cutting mangos, to collecting firewood. He did not make enough money and so in 1994 he immigrated to the new world. His pull factors were simple a better life and education. At the age of 15 he began to work to pay rent and for important goods. He couldn't get a lot of jobs for his age and so his first job was in a jewelry factory. As he grew up he began working as a chef. All in all he began his journey at a young age.

Isabella R.

12/1/2015 07:02:52 pm

That is really crazy, it is difficult to imagine working so hard at such a young age like 14!

Grace J

12/1/2015 08:15:10 pm

This story is crazy, because of how young your dad was when he immigrated and when he started working. I think it also shows how a family death can really change someone's life.

Alaijah P.

12/1/2015 08:28:05 pm

Wow, it seems when he first came here he had a hard life. It's nice to hear that he started making a living at the age of 15, not long after he first came here.

Shalom K.

12/1/2015 08:58:22 pm

Wow, working at a young age must have been hard but it's great to see your dad made good use of it and became a chef. It was also interesting to hear when your dad came from Guatemala becuase he was our age and it's hard to imagine leaving this country now.

Isabella R.

12/1/2015 06:59:39 pm

My mother and father’s family backgrounds have both very different journeys to the new world. My father’s side of the family came over as slaves, and have been in America since. My father is also part Native American, but we don’t know a lot about his side of the family, because his Native American grandfather and his wife are both dead. My mother is Italian on her father’s side and Italian, British, Canadian, Scottish, and Native American on her mother’s side.

My great-grandmother or Nonni as I called her, who passed away in 2008 was originally from Sant’Apploniare Italy in the Naples region. Her name was Govanina Rossi and she lived up in the mountains with her extremely large family. They were extremely poor, and she and her siblings did not go to school. A town nearby was in a bloody war, in which she had lost many of her family members. She also lost many family members from the flu epidemic going around. They also believed that America had a lot more job opportunities for them. She also had an arranged marriage, and her partner was already living here in the U.S. Once her and her family came over on the boat, her name was changed to Jenny Rossi, and she stayed in Ellis Island for a few days before being released. Afterwards they moved to the town where her partner already was. It was a little Italian neighborhood near Federal Hill. After marriage her name was changed to Jenny DiCiccio. She had found a job in a jewelry factory. It was difficult work, and she lost her finger doing it. She worked this job her entire time as a worker in America. They remained poor.

Her husband Mario DiCiccio who died way before I was ever born, came over as a baby. He then went back and forth a little once his father established a home in America. 10 of his siblings passed away during the war near Sant’Apploniare. Once he came over he only had about 3 siblings. He worked as a barber until he was 80, and then got alzheimers and passed away. Mario and Nonni had two children. When my Nonni came over she spoke full Italian and so her documents from Ellis Island were completely crazy.

My family and I have actually gone to Ellis Island, saw the types of rooms they stayed in and saw her documents. The rest of my family history has very little known about it, because many have already died. That is my great-grandmothers journey it the United States.

Mr. Husband

12/1/2015 07:20:43 pm

Quite fascinating family history, and I am happy that you had the chance to go to Ellis Island to see such an important part of American immigration history.

Xzayah B.

12/1/2015 08:02:26 pm

Your family history was so interesting and your blog was well put together. Good job.

Alani R.

12/1/2015 10:59:34 pm

Your blog was very interesting and it's fascinating how you were able to go to Ellis Island and see the types of rooms she stayed in and her documents.

Adrian F.

12/1/2015 07:40:31 pm

My dad's side of ancestors as far as I know are from the Dominican Republic, and his ancestors came over when the Africans were brought to the Caribbean hundreds of years ago. My father was also born there. But my mother's side of the family is from Argentina in South America. My grandmother told me about our ancestry about a year ago because I was curious. She had said that her grandmother from her mom's side was from Italy, She said that the Italians moslty came through Southern Italy, but there were a small amount of our ancestors that came from Turin in Northern Italy, and that from her father's side, they were from Ireland. She also told me that a few great-grandparents of her's were also French, German, and Swiss. Then she explaind through my grandfather's side (My mother's father) that his parents were from Spain, they were from Catalonia, Spain. That is where my mother has the second last name Masjoan. Catalonia is a state in Spain where Barcelona is located. They migrated to Argentina through my grandfather's grandparents. They settled in central Argentina where most of my mother's family still lives, in the city of Cordoba. My mother was the first to move here from all of her family, she lived in the U.S. for a few years when she was a kid but then moved back to Argentina, but she was the first to officially stay. Then my grandma. Then my mother's siblings came. I think she came for a better life because in Argentina, my family aren't the richest. My father came to this country from the Dominican Republic when he was older as well, early twenties, to become a lawyer in the U.S. That is how my family came to the U.S.

Emmanuel P.

12/1/2015 10:25:03 pm

Wow. That's cool that you're greater grandparents that are different parts of the world.

Xzayah B.

12/1/2015 07:59:05 pm

My great grandmother came to America from Syria with my great grandfather and their children. Although, I am not Syrian, my great great grandparents moved from Armenia to Syria because of the Armenian genocide. Later my great grandparents decided to move from Syria to America with their children because at a certain age in Syria all the men had to go in the army to fight in wars. My great uncle would have to fight in the war soon, so they moved as soon as possible. Also they had relatives in America and they wanted to be with their family. When they came to America, my great grandmother didn’t work but my great grandfather, great aunts, and great uncles worked in factories. My great aunts worked in jewelry factories.

Renina W.

12/1/2015 08:36:45 pm

This is great Xzayah! I was very interested about how your family had to go from here to there to be safe. Great!

Makayla R.

12/1/2015 10:38:00 pm

This is very captivating! I was very interested to read about the experience your family had coming to America.

Grace J

12/1/2015 08:10:22 pm

My mom's ancestors came from Ireland, Wales, and Poland, and my dad's ancestors came from Germany and Serbia.

My ancestors from Ireland came to the United States (my mom thinks) because of the potato famine in the mid 1800s. My great-great-grandmother came as an indentured servant. My ancestors from Wales came in the early 1900s, and my great-grandfather was a carpenter. They came over because they did not have a lot of money in Wales and wanted a better life. My ancestors from Poland came in the late 1800s, and my mom doesn't know what they did when they came over or why.

My ancestors from Serbia came in the early 1900s to find work. When they first settled, my great-great grandmother had an arranged marriage when she got to the United States at age 16. My great-great grandfather worked in steel mills in Ohio. My ancestors from Germany when they arrived in the late 1800s were merchants and owned a department store.

Willa G.

12/1/2015 09:19:46 pm

I can't believe that your great-great grandmother had and arranged marriage and at age 16. It seems like a lot of your family history is still a mystery. I really enjoyed reading your blog.

Alaijah P.

12/1/2015 08:25:19 pm

My family history started out in Cambodia and Thailand.
At least that is what my father had told me about our ancestors. He had come to this country very young so he doesn't really remember much. He had said the reason for leaving and his push and pull factor was the Khmer Rogue. I don't really know much about my mother because I am writing this from my fathers house. What I know about my mother is she as well was born in Cambodia. As I said he had came to this country very young, so he wasn't able to get a job when he first came here. He came to this country at the age of 6 and he had said it was a really strange experience and it was hard getting used to life here in America. Even though it was a strange experience he said it was a great opportunity for his and his family. That is the history of my family.

Gianna G.

12/1/2015 08:28:08 pm

On my mom’s side, I have ancestors from Italy and Cape Verde. On my dad’s side, I have ancestors from France, Germany, Ireland, and England.

My great-great-great grandfather on my mom’s side was a slave who came here on a ship. From what my mother knows, he jumped off the ship, swam to shore, and a young white woman found him. So he wouldn’t get caught, she hid him in her basement. Later, they fell in love and eventually got married. My mother does not know exactly when all of this happened, but she imagines it happened at least a few hundred years ago. She does not know what he ended up doing for work when he got here.

My great grandfather on my dad’s side was told to have come here on a boat from Belgium, France. He came here because he was very poor there and he came here for new opportunities.My dad does not know what he did for work.

Niamiah J

12/1/2015 09:15:23 pm

That's amazing. That's interesting to know that someone in you lineage swam to shore, hid in a basement of the future woman that he was going to marry. I also have ancestors from Cape Verde.

Dante D.

12/1/2015 10:22:07 pm

I think this is very interesting. It almost sounds like something out of a storybook when someone comes across the sea to fall in love with another person. I can't really relate in terms of what heritage you are a descendant of but your ancestry is an interesting and unexpected one indeed.

Renina W.

12/1/2015 08:33:00 pm

Out of all the people in my family only one has immigrated from else where and that is my Grandfather Kofi Debrah- my Mom's dad whom I have never met. He immigrated from Ghana. As all immigrants he came here simply for a better life. When he first started living in America he was basically a Janitor. He clean hotels, restaurants, schools, etc. Once he got his green card he then went to Johnson and Wales to earn his degree, and then became a chef. My Mom doesn't know too much about her Dad, but as an immigrant this is how he started life in America.

Olivia F.

12/1/2015 08:45:06 pm

I interviewed my grandmother today, and it was very interesting to hear about her life. My grandmother, on my dad’s side of the family, is named Ramona Foster. She was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and came to America by boat as a three month old baby. A push factor was that her family was very poor, and a pull factor was that they needed a better life, and they knew America would do that for them. She also said her family would go back and forth to visit because the rest of the family was still there. She is unsure of what occupation her dad held, however, her mother was a presser; she used a huge presser machine, like ironing. Ramona officially came to America (to live here) in 1951. At the time she was too young to work. She doesn't have the greatest memory about her voyage here but she gave me the most information she could.

Shalom K

12/1/2015 08:50:02 pm

When my grandmother Alice Kpadeh was a young woman in Africa she had three kids named Allison, Korto(my mom), and Peggy. They were raised in liberia until my mom was a teenager and then my grandmother decided it was a good idea to find a better job to support her kids becuase things money wise in Africa weren't really that good. When she was in her late thirties, she traveled to New York because she had some friends that had come her earlier and told her it was a good place. After some time spent with her friends in New York, they moved to Philladelphia and at this time my grandmother sent for her kids to come to America. When I asked my mother what it was like being in an entirely different country than her mother, she said that it was very stressful and sad at times which made her not do so well in school at the time. When she came to America, she started school again and began to do better in Philadelphia before moving to Rhode Island with her mother and her two newly born sisters.

Justin E

12/1/2015 08:55:55 pm

Both of my parents immigrated to the United States from Guatemala. My dad came to the United States when he was 16 and my mom 18 when she came to the United States. For my mom it was very difficult to find a job because she couldn't speak English. For my dad he started working at the age of 16 in a place where they clean fish. He didn't have a opportunity to go to school because he wanted to work so he can help them by working and sending them money when ever he got a paycheck. My grandmother from my mom's side immigrated from Honduras to Guatemala. My dad had a very difficult time when he first came here. He had nobody when he was here and he was here at such a young age. My dad hasn't seen his mom, dad, or siblings ever since he came to United States. My dad crossed the border when he came to the United States and my mom came to United States by Visa. I believe that my parents had a really rough start in the United States.

Willa G.

12/1/2015 09:02:55 pm

My mother's side of the family has some Native American. My great grandfather was born on a reservation in Kansas and I am 1/8 Native American. Way back on my great grandmother's (my mom's grandma) side of the family I have ancestors who came over on the Mayflower. They came over for religious freedom like most on the Mayflower. They definitely experienced hardships being the first colonists in the 1620s. They worked in all aspects of the community with several governors in the family. My father's side of the family is Irish. Things were hard in Ireland in the late 1800s and America offered opportunity that was not available to them there. My great grandfather was a police officer in Providence. My great grandmother taught women piano and how to sew in the home. My other great grandfather came from Ireland in 1900, alone at age 14. Life was hard all alone in America. He ultimately became a fire fighter. That's about all I know about my family history. I couldn't even get the names of whoever came to America before my mom's dad and my great grandmother (my dad's mom's mom) was an immigrant but that was all I could find out on her. Most of these things I never bothered to ask about before and I found out a lot more about my family history.

Niamiah J

12/1/2015 09:10:25 pm

I am mixed with African, native american,Caucasian, and cape Verdean.

My ancestors on my dad's mom side of the family is said to have native american, African, and Caucasian in them. During slavery some of my ancestors were raped by their masters. My ancestors came to america by force due to slavery. They were originally in west Africa but the Europeans took them and sent them to america to work as servants. My great great great great grandmother was the last slave known in my heritage. In 1898 her daughter Elizabeth James, the first free African american in my lineage was born. At this time she was located in Alabama. When she was young her family worked as sharecroppers. When she got older she worked at a factory that built atomic bombs. She then gave birth to Willie James. At the age of 9 Willie worked in a coal mine. She then moved to Boston, Massachusetts. It is said that she got raped but she never revealed the father of my great aunt Lady. I do not know much about Lady but I do know that she was the first who influenced Christianity upon my family. We are also said to have a famous baseball player in our lineage by the name of Willie Mays.

I do not know much about my dad’s dad side but it said that they worked as sharecroppers in Virginia.

On my mom’s mom side of the family we are said to have Cherokee Native American and African. They were brought here from Africa to work as slaves and they settled in Maryland. My grandmother and her siblings were born in the country so they worked hard. Not only did they have to take care of the big amount of land they had but they had to take care of each other. When my grandmothers dad died they moved to Boston and continued their lives then. My grandmother and her siblings were born during the time of injustice towards African Americans so they had to go through lots of prejudice due to the color of their skin.

On my mom’s dad side of the family we are said to have African, Caucasian, and big amount of Cape Verdean in our lineage. I don’t know much about this side of the family but i do know that they settled in North Carolina.

That’s my family's history.

Daybue

12/1/2015 10:06:20 pm

Most of my ancestors are from africa. They were soon forced to come to america due to slavery. When they reached america they were forced to do harsh jobs. Some of them didnt even live to do the jobs , but the ones that did had to pick cotton, grow crops, watch cattle and do all different types of jobs with no breaks. They work from sunrise to sunset and if their work wasnt like the master wanted it to be they were beat and forced to go back and do it. My other ancestors were the native americans who were already in america and were forced to work for the pilgrims. They taught them how to cook and live an everyday life. Soon the pilgrims learned everything they needed to know and killed of most of my ancestors.

Dante D.

12/1/2015 10:11:58 pm

My mother and her family immigrated to America from Cambodia in 1985. My mother was 6 years old when she came over to America on a small ship with the rest of my aunts and uncles and my grandparents. The main reason why they left was a push factor. There was a war going on in Cambodia and their little village was actually caught in crossfire and was bombed. Once it settled down, they planned to leave and go to America. They decided to retreat to America because it promised freedom and it promised jobs to new legalized immigrants at the time. Since my mother was 6 years old, coming to America wasn't too bad for her. She obviously didn't work because she was 6 but she did start going to school with my aunts and uncles. My grandmother stayed at home to watch the kids and she cooked a lot all day. My grandfather went to work as a fighter jet pilot so he wasn't home too much as my mom was growing up. She learned ASL alongside a few of her sisters so she and her sisters could finally communicate for once. She went to school like everyone else but she had to try and learn bits of the English language as well instead of ASL so she could communicate with other Americans. Obviously she was criticized by many because of her disability and because of the fact that she was an immigrant. I don't have much information about my father's ancestry but I hope my mom's story can be acceptable.

Emmanuel P.

12/1/2015 10:21:05 pm

Both my mom's and dad's ancestors' are "said" to be from Dominican Republic. The push factors for my dad leaving D.R. were that there weren't many jobs, poor medical care, and also many examples of poverty throughout D.R. The pull factors for my dad were hopefully having a better life and also the opportunity to find a better job. These same push and pull factors apply to my mom as well. My dad came to the U.S. in 1983, while my mom came to the U.S. in 1993. My dad's and mom's first experiences when coming to the U.S. were that they started working. My mom worked many jobs that she considered were bad. It was even harder for her because she didn't have much money and sometimes lacked a place to live. My dad's first job in the U.S. involved being a presser at a dry cleaning service, while my mom's first job was working in a jewelry factory.

Makayla R.

12/1/2015 10:27:54 pm

Most of my ancestors are from Portugal. My mother came to America from Portugal when she was 18 years old with her parents and two sisters. It was a difficult experience for her at first because she did not know a word of English when she came here. Also, she didn't have a car so she had to walk to and from work everyday. It was very hard to get a job when she first came here. She worked in a factory and since she did not know English at the time it was very hard to understand her boss therefore hard to do her job. Luckily, she was able to get a place to sleep because her uncle was already in America at the time and was able to have food and shelter provided for her and her family. Although her experience was difficult at first, she was able to adapt with the lifestyle and learn the language well.

Raymond D.

12/1/2015 10:28:08 pm

Well after interviewing my father he said none of my ancestors except my parents and all my uncles and aunties who are about their age, did not con immigrate and came to america. so i just interviewed my dad with these questions. My mom and dad immigrated from Ghana, Africa. They My dad came on March 16, 1996. My mom came later with Clara as an infant and then later had the last three children. The only push or pull factor was education. My dad came because he wanted to continue his education in a place where there will have the best education ever. My mom came for the same reason. she was a teacher in ghana and she taught 3rd grade. When she came to america she started to go school to become a nurse. She just finished school for nursery and she has to to take one more exam.My dad has his degree in chemistry and geology. He was working with a great salary in ghana, but then when he moved here it was very hard to get a job so he started to work at a Wendy’s. The experiences weren’t so good for my dad, he said he wanted to go to back to Ghana at first but if he did he wouldn't have a job there. It wasn't later until he started to join the military which made his life as an american citizen have meaning. Apparently the experiences worked out now my dad is a doctor and is still in the military and, like I said my mom just finished school and is now a very-soon to be nurse. so now my parents are living pretty good lives and had 4 children, my three sisters and I. To conclude, when you immigrate to a new country it will be very hard to adjust the nation and get a job.

Paul E.

12/2/2015 09:17:16 pm

Sounds familiar since my parents also moved to America for similar reasons too. Nice to see we have some things in common, like our moms being and about to be a nurse.

Alani R.

12/1/2015 10:50:19 pm

I am Dominican, Puerto Rican, and partially Native American and a Spaniard.

My grandmother, Ercilia Diaz, from my mother's side was born in the year of 1950 in Dominican Republic. My grandfather was also born in Dominican Republic but in the year of 1936. My grandmother's grandma was from Spain, but my grandmother's mother was born in Dominican Republic. So that's how I'm partially a Spaniard. My abuela was the first girl in her family and had seven other siblings. She told me that some of her great-uncles had very pale skin and blue or green eyes while others had very dark skin and brown eyes. She helped out a lot around the house, like taking care of her brothers and sisters, cleaning, and cooking since her father was busy working and had eventually left them. To help her desperate mother, she stopped going to school mid-year of 4th grade. By the age of 19, she left Dominican Republic to settle in the United States in New York with her spouse, Ramon Diaz. Before they had left, they had given birth to two children, Raymond and Arelis, who at the time were 5 and 3. When they got to New York, my abuelo started a plumbing company with his brother, Pedro, while my abuela took care of the kids. My abuela then moved to Rhode Island because she believed it would be cheaper to live here instead. My abuelo, however, stayed in New York and would occassionally visit them every now and then. She then gave birth to Rosemary (my mother), Ismael, and Judy. After this they decided to settle together in Rhode Island to help each other raise their children.

My grandmother, Luz Rivera, from my father's side was born in the year of 1957 in Puerto Rico. My grandfather, Ramon Rivera, was also born in Puerto Rico but in the year of 1950. My abuela fully finished her school career and became a hair stylist. When she was younger she told me that her father was alcholic and had a bad temper, which would usually result in him leaving them for a while. He would come back with a sob story, but she said it was just a continuous pattern. He left them for a couple of years and they later found out he had died from a heart attack due to his drinking addiction. Because of this, she also had to help a lot around the house and she became very close to her mother. She was only one of the girls of her other seven siblings. When she was in high school, she said that my abuelo would play his guitar outside her window and sing to her. Not to mention he used to have hair up to his shoulders and would dress up as if he was in a band, which he tells me he was. But it was just him and his friends that would play music. Anyway, they moved to the United States to settle in Rhode Island when they were in their early 20s. After they moved, they gave birth to 5 children, Jessica, Amaryllis, Melissa, Raymond (my father), and Jenniffer. My abuelo told me that his uncles had green eyes and his aunts had hazel and blue eyes but a light skin tone. My abuelo's grandfather was Native American but the others were Dominican. My abuelo doesn't as much of his ancestory because most of them had passed away before he could ask. His father passed away in the army and his mother passed away when he was 18.

That's my family history. (There's a lot of people named Ramon/Raymond in my family.)

Law-Rel B

12/2/2015 01:15:01 pm

My family is Cherokee Native American. So as far as I know none of my ancestors have came from another place to settle in America. Maybe if I were to take a test I would probably see that I am mixed with something else, but i am pretty sure that I am more than half Native American. I say this because my grandmother had told me that her mother used to live on a reservation before she moved to providence to be closer to her family. In fact I still have family members that live on reservations today. Maybe long ago my family had intermingled with an immigrant, but that hasn't been proven.

Gavin

12/2/2015 06:41:53 pm

My family is mostly from European descent. My earliest immigrant ancestor was my twelfth-great-grandfather, John Rolfe, who came to conquer the "New World." He married Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief of a tribe of Native Americans near Pennsylvania. My maternal grandmother's side of the family immigrated from Germany around 1900 in hopes of finding work. My father's father's side came in the form of Dennis O'Rardin, an Irishman who crossed the ocean around 1825. His name was changed from O'Rardin to simply Rardin, where I got my last name. My grandmother on my father's side had an ancestor by the name of Caleb Pusey who came from England in 1735. And that's how I came to be here.

Hugo Goncalves

12/2/2015 06:46:48 pm

My family did not set foot in america until 1971 when my aunt came to america with her husband and had two of my cousins. Soon after, my grandma went and so on. In 2005 my mother and I moved into my aunt's house. We came from Lisbon, Portugal but my mom and dad is actually from the Cape Verde Islands. My real dad was not here during this trip. He left 3 months after I was born. My mom and dad came from Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. I on the other hand was born in Lisbon, Portugal where my familyhad recently settled into about a couple years before. My step dad that I live with now is
actually from Praia too. He moved into america around 1988 or 1989 when he was just starting high school. His family was in america since the late 1960’s. His dad moved there for a little. Went back to Cape Verde to raise my step dad. Then finally came back in 1988 or 1989. My step dad worked as a welder for a decade until 2010 when he got laid off and now works as a mechanic at his brother’s auto shop. My mom worked at Dunkin Donuts, back when they had an ice cream shop. she worked there for 7 years until she became a CNA in 2014. She is now trying to become a Nurse. They said it was a lot to get used to but it was fine in the end. That his how my family immigrated to America.

Paul E.

12/2/2015 09:12:33 pm

My family parents are originally from Nigeria. My mom is the first in her family to migrate to America from Nigeria. She came to America to seek a better opportunities in education, better living style, better health care, and to learn about a different culture. My mom arrived in March 17, 2000, and lived in Washington D.C. She moved to Texas, had my brother, and then relocated to Virginia where I was born. When I was about a year old, we moved to Rhode Island. where When she came she experienced cold weather for the first time, unlike the weather she is used too. She had to learn how to eat different types of food. The culture and beliefs were also different, and communication was difficult due to her British accent. She started braiding hair as her first job, then after taking and passing becoming certified as a CNA (certified nursing assistant). After that she went back to college and got her BSN (bachelor of science in nursing). Now she works as a registered nurse.

Immigration Stories

Leave a Reply.

Archives

Categories