| Now, what can be said about one's heritage? Especially when it is
as confused as mine... My family as always made a big deal of being
Irish. So, naturally, I feel like I am Irish! But that's not the half of
it. So here it is in a nutshell! |
| My mother's family appears to be of Scottish and English ancestry.
They came to Canada from Philadelphia during the American Revolution (or
as one of my Canadian history professors termed it, the First American
Civil War) and quickly made themselves at home in Quebec. It turns out
that they did not originate in Scotland or England, however. It seems that
the Scottish side came from France when Mary Queen of Scots returned home
after her ill-fated time as Queen of France. And the English side only
turned up in England in 1688. Originally from Flanders, they attached themselves
to William of Orange and helped him seize the throne, doubtless as poorly
paid foot soldiers, during the Glorious Revolution. |
| The Irish side, my father's family, emigrated from County Armagh
in what is now Northern Ireland. They arrived in Lower Canada (Quebec)
in 1837, just in time to fight on the side of the British during
the Rebellion of 1837. This seems very strange to me, since they had left
Ireland to get away from the British, who were supposedly oppressing them.
So, this is the true Celtic branch of the family! Well, not quite, because
it appears that they arrived in Ireland only in the eleventh century, with
the Anglo-Norman invaders. They had apparently come from Normandy during
the Conquest and then got the spirit of adventure again and took off to
fight in Ireland. |
| So what does this all mean? Instead of being truly Irish, I may
be descended from some Scandinavian settlers in North-eastern France! Interesting.
Maybe this is why I am interested in Sweden all of a sudden. :þ~ |
| I am sure this little synopsis of family history is similar to many
people's. I find it interesting, though somewhat disturbing, how wars of
conquest, rebellion, revolution and general mayhem have contributed to
my family's firm Canadian heritage. It makes you want to stop and think
it through a bit. |
Sweden
