KelticSylk@aol.com Heritage Pentad KelticSylk@aol.com Thu Jun 25 12:33:16 1998 Taliesin,*p*My sister, Patsy, has spent many spare hours digging for the truth about our family's lineage. What she found is pretty "neat" stuff. It is totally different than what my father taught us as children. It actually turned out to be more dramatic than his perception ever was.*p*For myself, I feel it gives me an "anchor". I now know that my fathers family has a very old German-American heritage(my father taught us we were primarily English). Although many of my ancestors are Irish, the earliest records Patsy found indicate Switzerland and Germany from the 15th century.*p*I don't know if I would pay for this information. Patsy has avoided these company's that claim to find your lineage. They usually give you some generic info (and throw in a coat of arms). In our case they would have been totally wrong (just like my father). Patsy found that our present surname is not the original family name. To make it more confusing, another family (who are related by marriage) adopted our original name after our ancestors abandoned it. It was only by luck that Patsy found the actual lineage at all.*p*I sometimes wonder if any of my ancestors had the same "tendencies" as myself towards the occult. Did they leave Germany to escape the burnings ? Considering that they came to America in 1752 I am pretty sure that is not the case. It is more likely they were part of the Pallintinate Immigration (I think that is how it is spelled) which was sponsered by William Penn. As I understand it most of the Pennsylvania Dutch arrived during this time. In fact, it is this link with the Pennsylvania Dutch that almost prompted me to look into what Silver Ravenwolf calls "HexCraft". I never did though. With all apologies to "Silver" I didn't trust her research enough. I still follow an ecletic Dianic/Wiccan path regardless of my ancestry.*p*On the Irish side we seem to be the typical "potatoe refugee" Irish immigrant. Dating from around the 1850's this side of the family has the less interesting history. Yet Celtic style music has a definite effect on me. I know I can sometimes visualize things while I listen. Since it probably affects everyone else the same way I am sure this is no big deal. I have no particular inclination towards Celtic gods or goddesses, although I do seem attracted to Irish colleens. I've been married to one for almost 25 years. Other than that I don't seem to feel very drawn to things Irish. We hope to visit the Emerald Isle for our 25th anniversary, so I may feel differently once I have actually seen and felt Ireland personally.*p*We do have other German ancestors on my mother's side. There is a bit of "excitement" in thier story also. Once they came to America the father of the family forbid them from speaking German. The children were never taught thier native tongue. We don't know if this was because of something that occured in Germany or a way of fitting into the new environment. I have traveled to Germany several times and can't help but wish things had been handled differently. I could have used the second language.*p*One "strange" thing that has happened to me personally. The company I work for is a Swiss company. The particular division I work for has a site along the Rhine River on the Swiss/German border. I sometimes wonder if my ancestors were from this area. I have had to visit several times. Aside from the language barrier I feel very comfortable in this part of Europe. Of course it's the only part of Europe I have ever really seen, so I have no comparitive "feelings" of other areas. I do know that on two occasions I have gotten "flashes" while visiting older buildings. Since I did not delve into the subject further I have never given them much credence.*p*Anyway, I hope I haven't strayed from the discussion too far. As I said earlier I don't think spending a ton of money would have helped my sister in her search. Or maybe she would have had to spend a ton of money to find out what we now know...I would think that doing the search herself was half the reward...*p*For what it's worth...*p*Blessed Be,*br*Pentad*br*