Personal Narrative: My Most Famous Immigrants

America is arguably one of the most diverse countries in the world, with individuals from thousands of diverse cultural backgrounds. The vast majority of Americans today descend from European ancestors who colonized the United States in the 1600s. Even Native Americans descended from Asian ancestors who migrated to North America thousands of years ago. After the initial colonization of the United States, immigration slowed, but Africans were brought to America through enslavement. Immigration levels spiked in the late 1800s and early 1900s, during which time Ellis Island opened and operated as the United States’ most famous immigration gateway. Immigration slowed again through the mid 1900s before spiking again starting in the 1980s and peaking
My great-great-great-grandparents immigrated from Germany to Illinois sometime in the 1860s, where they started a rather large farming family. This was not uncommon in the area, which had a large German population and influence. My grandfather had seven aunts and uncles, all of which were born in Illinois but spoke and understood German. This generation of the family started the Lappe family farm, which was well known in the community. Most siblings moved away or pursued other jobs, but my great-grandfather remained in Illinois and took over the farm. He married a young woman from Illinois, and they had one son together: my great-grandfather. He married and had fourteen children. For many years, the family lived in a one-room cabin on the prairie. Eventually the farmhouse was built by my great-grandfather, grandfather, and great-uncles, and the old cabin became the summer kitchen. Since they made their livelihood from farming, every child had an obligation to the family and helped out on the farm. The girls tended to the cows and chickens, helped my great-grandmother cook, sew, and clean the house, and assisted with butchering the animals. The boys helped with all of the farm labor, which included plowing the land, planting seeds, and harvesting. They also helped with other forms of manual labor, such as tending to the animals and chopping wood. My grandfather was the seventh born of his
All of their clothing was handmade, and all of the food they ate was grown or raised on the farm. They did all of the butchering, planting, and harvesting on their own. Holidays and birthdays were celebrated with a freshly slaughtered chicken, if they could spare it at the time. Grandma Lappe loved to cook and bake and passed many of her recipes on to her daughters. Dinner included fresh or canned fruits and vegetables grown on the farm and fresh or preserved meats slaughtered by the family. Grandma Lappe learned how to cook many traditional German dishes for Pop, most of which included cabbage, such as cabbage stew, cabbage and sausage, and stuffed cabbage. Grandma Lappe also made her own blood sausage, which my mom has many (unpleasant) memories of. The children spent most of their time outside on the prairie, as their house was quite small and they were always busy on the farm. The girls attended school until their late teens, at which point they married and started families of their own. The older boys attended only attended school for a few years, typically until they were old enough to start helping out with farm duties. My grandfather only attended school until the sixth grade. As a result, he sometimes has a difficult time reading and is not very skilled in math. Although my grandfather did not attend school with my grandmother, his sisters did, and they were all very good friends with one another. One day, when the bus