Ultimately, one could say the infrastructure of our lives is in our genes. Many of the genes within me and my children came from countries other than the US (where we live now).
My husband and I had our genome analyzed (just out of curiosity). According to the Nebula Genomics, my genome ancestry is:
29% Northern and Central Europe
29% Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Iceland)
19% Finland
12% Northern British Isles
8% NE Europe
3% Northern Italy
On my mom's side of the family, my great-grandpa Edward was born in Sweden. His parents brought him to America as a child. His wife, Ida, was also was born in Sweden and came to America as a child. Ida gave birth to 8 children. Her 7th child was my grandpa, David.
The 7th child of 8 kids (my Grandpa, David) married the 7th child of 7 kids (my Grandma, Sara). Sara's parents were both Norwegian immigrants (named Charles and Sara.) Sara's dad , Charles, died at age 94 in 1964. Charles' dad, Hans N, died at age 86 in 1840. Based on some of my relatives ages, I wasn't surprised to find out through Nebula Genomics that I do carry longevity genes. The long lives of some of my relatives are even more amazing when you think about how primitive medical treatments were in the past.
My grandfather, David, died in 1987. For some reason, my memories of him begin when I was 9 years old, though I have photos of us together when I was younger. I don't remember him before I was 9 and that year (and perhaps before that?) he already had Alzheimers Disease. Whenever he saw me (at age 9), he would ask why the neighbor kids were in his home again.
Recently, I was looking for information on when he died (1987) and came across the following link. It contains the audio recording of an interview with him. My mom and her sisters (David's daughters) were amazed to finally hear his voice again. They didn't even know that this interview had ever been conducted. If interested, you can hear it too:
https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/kmrs/56/I enjoyed listening to the interview. I don't remember him telling stories about life before he was my grandfather.
On my dad's side, his father Melvin was born to Carl (my great-grandfather). Carl was born in Sweden. Carl came to America as a child, later married Ellen (who was born in Nebraska) and she gave birth to my grandpa, Melvin. In doing some research on my great-grandfather, Carl, I learned that Carl registered for World War I in Wausa, Nebraska. For many years, he supported his parents and his brother, in addition to his wife and children. Carl's dad, John, died at age 95 in 1959.
My grandpa, Melvin married my grandmother, Dorothy. Dorothy's father, Hans was born in Sweden. Hans married Lydia who was born in Michigan and she gave birth to Dorothy.
My grandpa, David, and my Grandma, Sara, had 3 daughters. My mom, Victoria, is the youngest. My grandpa Melvin and Grandma Dorothy had four children, of which my father, JP, was the oldest.
My parents had seven children. I was born second. I now have 3 children of my own. They are 3 of my parents' 26 grandchildren.
I am told a couple of my great-grandparents, but I only remember meeting my dad's grandma, Ellen. I remember carefully dressing my doll as my mom said Great-grandma wouldn't like the first outfit I put on my doll. Ellen died at age 91 in 1991.
Though I don't remember all the ancestors in my family's past, it looks like they all lived and endured through many harsh climates.
Many came to the USA from Norway and Sweden. However, their descendants were not content to stay in the USA. My grandpa Melvin and Grandma Dorothy lived 25 years in Tanzania, 10 years in Malaysia and 5 years in Singapore.
My father JP always said Africa (where he was born) felt more like home than anywhere else. We actually lived in Europe for a year and in Africa for 2 years when I was a child.
I am the second of seven children. My middle child is named Sara after my grandma (and my great-grandma). My sister, Lydia (named after one of my dad's grandmas), lived in Mauritania (Africa) for a year and in Kosovo (SE Europe) for 2 years after she grew up. My sister, Anna, lived in China for three years as an adult. My youngest sister Jubilee lived in Afghanistan for 3 years. Jubilee's daughter is named Dorothy (after my grandmother).
Traveling, roaming, trying new countries is apparently in my genes.
I don't know all the stories of why my people wandered, but my guess is its basically the story of humankind. We moved to find what we felt would be a better life for ourselves and our children. It's the story of humanity. When in drought, we move near water. When in need, we move closer to where we can find or grow food.
I like to think that the roaming of humans is natural. As far as I know, there isn't any Native American in my blood, but I do like their view that land should be respected and cared for, rather than bought and sold.
So much fighting in recent decades is about who is allowed to live here or there. I like to think that anyone could live anywhere as long as they are good stewards of the land.
I don't know where my children may move when they grow up. I know, at this point, they all love to visit far away countries.
Most of all, I remind myself and my children that our ancestors were strong people. They overcame many challenges, and we can make it through whatever happens tomorrow.
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My grandpa Melvin:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/160981962/melvin_immanuel-lofgrenMelvin and Dorothy's wedding:
https://www.newspapers.com/article/ironwood-daily-globe-wedding-of-dorothy/4930521/My Grandma Dorothy:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/160981698/dorothy_elizabeth-lofgrenMy Grandma Sara (includes obit):
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32958654/sara_e-nordholmMy Grandpa David:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54599940/david_emanuel-nordholmGreat-Grandpa Hans (Dorothy's dad), includes obit:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/160189356/hans_victor-hansonMy Grandma Dorothy:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansascity/name/dorothy-lofgren-obituary?id=4143145Great-great-Grandpa John:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38265199/john_august-lofgren![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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therealljidol2025-09-11 09:39 pm
alycewilson's entry
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