Who Are My People?

The other question is, how far back do I go?  The whole history of the United States is a very short period of time in the overall scheme of things. Since I’m not Native American, I thought I would look back beyond my ancestors coming to this country. My father’s family came over from England in the 1600s. We have documented right up to the first Pettey in Virginia. There are records of Petteys in England but we don’t have documentation that we are in fact related to them. We don't really know exactly what part of England they came from.

I haven’t heard of any English gatherings. In fact, I think people would really think me odd if I tried to act British. I already speak English, at least my version of it, so that’s not a problem. I could be wrong, but the English don’t seem at first glance, to be in danger of losing either their culture or their language.

Another side of the family, we recently discovered, had another beginning. My great grandmother’s father was born in Dublin, Ireland. Experts* have pointed out that with a name of Welch, he most likely had ancestors who immigrated from Wales.

Now I have something to grab on to. The only thing is, I’ve never seen either an Irish or a Welsh gathering around here either. I could maybe learn to speak Welch, but I can’t even begin to pronounce it, and who would I speak to? At least I can read up on history and customs of those regions.

^{*Jo Harrington}

My mother’s side of the family is easier in some ways. My mother was born in Verona, Italy and married my father during WWII. She came over on a ship carrying pregnant war brides. Yep, that’s me in that picture. You can only see Mom because I was not quite born yet.

My mother’s family had moved to Rome but originally came from the Veneto region of Northern Italy. There is a lot of heritage there. I have found out some fascinating information about the old culture and the Goddess Raitia. There’s a dialect that is distinct and plenty of family still there. The only problem with trying to research is, everything is in Italian. I’ve tried to look things up and all the good stuff is not in English.

 Then I had a revelation. I’ve always loved Scotland and even thought about moving there. There’s a country with great music, lots of sheep and Border collies. I had just never found any link of our family to Scotland. Then I remembered my dad saying something as he was showing me his official MacDonald kilt. He had joined a bagpipe band. (yes, he played the pipes) and had permission to wear the MacDonald kilt as the Petteys were considered a sept of the MacDonald clan. I was stunned. This means I can go to the Highland Games and hold my head up as a Pettey.

I sometimes feel so distant from my roots. I’m not sure what it all means. I think most people want to know where they came from and find others who they can feel related to. I sometimes get buried in the past and have to wonder what it all means. After all, we are all related.