Family Tree of the Writer. The Writer

¶ … family tree of the writer. The writer details his family's routes through immigration to America from Germany and the trail of building a new life based on that immigration.

To look at my family today, one might assume that my relatives traveled over on the Mayflower and broke bread at the first Thanksgiving feats, but that is not the case. The true story of my family lies in the success that we have had in acclimating to the wonders of America in only three generations.

My family was among the hundreds of thousands of families that flocked to the states years ago to seek their fortune and begin a new life in the land of opportunity. My father's family hailed from Germany, while my mother's family was of Dutch decent in Holland. When the VonNess family came through Ellis Island from Germany they were prepared to whatever it took to succeed in their newly claimed nation. Neither my great-grandmother or my great-grandfather spoke English but were undaunted in their confidence that they would figure out how to communicate once they arrived in the city of New York. The first thing they did when they arrived was to change their name to Nees, to celebrate their new beginnings and de-germanize their name. Ironically after making the journey across the ocean to reach America they settled in the first city they entered, New York and made their home right there. They worked and saved their money until they could buy a gas station, which fulfilled their lifelong dream of being self-employed. Eventually the family did migrate to California. When my grandfather was born his desire to go west was put off until after my father and my uncle were born. Once that happened my grandfather and the woman he had married made the westward trek to California to start their family life. They too had a dream of owning a business and they worked their adult life as owners of a Santa Ana liquor store until they died.

My father was born and raised in California and his entire family as far back as the memory would serve were Catholic. The family members passed down stories of the immigration from Germany and they were instilled with the understanding that they were lucky and owed it to their families and their nation to work hard and succeed. My father was raised with the same work ethic which he has instilled in me. My college attendance is very important to my family because most of my family members had very limited educations. The language barrier and the need to work and make a living superseded any educational dreams. Most of the people in my father's family dropped out by the 8th grade. When my father became the first member of his family to graduate high school it was a very proud day for the Nees's.

My mother's family came over to America through Ellis Island as well, but they came from Holland. They were also different than my dad's family because they got to New York city and continued to migrate until they landed in the Chicago area. My mother's grandparents moved even further west when they grew up and married each other. After my mother and her four siblings were born her family moved to California, which is where she finished her childhood. Her family worked hard but they were extremely poor. My grandfather worked as a handyman, which didn't pay well, but it did allow the family to survive. The religious similarities between my mother and father's family were considered a plus when they decided to marry. My mother's family was also completely Catholic. Religion was not the only commonality my parents shared. My mother's family also failed to get beyond the 8th grade until my mother graduated high school.