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My greatgrandmother’s family came from Switzerland in 1849, arriving in New Orleans that year from Genoa, Italy. Her father, who was Italian-Swiss, was very dark complected and his wife was fair, blond and with green eyes.

My greatgrandmother was divorced in the state of Ohio by her husband in 1890, who claimed she was colored, and of negro descent. She had her father’s coloring, with dark brown eyes and black, straight hair.

This was a devastating event for my grandfather, who at age 6 was sent to a boardinghouse in western Massachusetts, his father’s home state, to live among strangers while his father served with the U.S. cavalry elsewhere. My grandfather was blond, with very pale blue eyes.

Greatgrandma sought her son, reclaimed him, and they went to live in East St. Louis, where her parents maintained a business. Eventually they migrated to California. She eventually remarried happily in California to an emigrant from Austria.

My grandfather never had education beyond the 4th grade, but he eventually joined the U.S.Navy out of San Diego, taught himself to type and became the youngest CPO in WWI.

Our nation is made up of many different peoples, and their stories aren’t always happy ones or end well. Fortunately for my family, it did end well.

Very interesting family history you have there.

Mine is all the same on all sides as far as I can tell. All arrived on American soil very early, mid 1600’s,. All walked, rode a horse, drove a wagon and all arrived in Texas 1830/40’s. We all are still here, end of story.

I heard a really interesting family history recently. A large family decided to leave central Europe prior to 1900. Large group traveled to the nearest port to take a ship to America. They could not get on the same ship and because of language barrier, one group ended up in NYC, the other group ended up in South America. It was over 50 years before the 2 groups found each other.

My grandmother's father was a boat captain on the Erie canal. He married an Algonquin indian woman somewhere in Canada, we believe. She bore him two children, my grandmother was the oldest. After that, his wife died.

After her death, my great-grandfather marched the two kids over to an orphanage in Watervliet and dropped them off. He never came back for them.

My mother said she met him (her grandfather) once, and said he was not a very nice person.