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Archiver > IMMI-GRAND > 2001-05 > 0991269324
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Subject: Re: [IG] Question regarding Ancestry.com READ
Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 20:35:24 EDT
OOH the sarcasm translated, but think it through. Data bases have been
compiled long before the Internet and international communication was
available except for snail mail. Who were the people actively engaged in
genealogy for the past 100 years in America? The Caucasian community, the
European immigrants were the majority.
Maybe my sarcasm was both too biting, and unclear. I am of Italian and
Jewish,(Russian/Polish) descent. My comments were drawn from my frustration
at the lack of databases on Ancestry relating to the migrations of these
groups of people. There aint much. Maybe because the info doesn't exist. I
still beleive Ancestry is a great service, I have been a member for 2 years
and use it a lot,(just not for those branches of the family). I certainly
didn't mean to imply racism on anyones part. I do not think that is the case.
As a side note for those Mayflower descendants and other "Old
Americans", count your blessings. Your ancestors lived in a country that kept
records. Imagine such a practice! You can check civil records, church records
and the like for evidence of your family's existence.
I on the other hand, like many others I am sure, have hit brick walls
on many occasions. My Italian ancestors were dirt poor peasants, who
apparently never owned anything or even existed before stepping off a boat at
Ellis Island. My Jewish family came from a village which was leveled
completely by the Cossacks, then By the Germans during WW1, then again
during WW2. That last time, as an added bonus, every single Jew in town was
either killed, or transported to concentration camps. I don't think I will
ever find anything out about my Great Grandparents, or anyone before them. My
ancestry is short.
Sorry to rant, but I realize I raised a few neck hairs with my
original comments and I just want people to know where I come from. I welcome
any e-mails responding, either to share your own frustration, or to flame me
mercilessly.
Goodbye, and thank you for your support.
Adam
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