We learned that my granny's mom was an indian named Leila Maud and married an Irishman (american born, ironically in Dublin, GA...LOL) who didn't look like the typical red headed, green eyed Irishman-- small build, curly blonde, fair skin, and sky blue eyes-- and my granny favors his Irish appearance. (my dd is red and curly, and I'm green eyed) Now I know where DD's red curls come from and my odd green eyes! She didn't know when they came over, but knew that her mother's family's land was taken by the "white men" that came to America. Wow!
The family name Joseph goes back through so many generations all the way back through those in Ireland. DD asked about family that have fought in wars...and turns out that Josiah was a Corporal in the Army that died in war in 1864 in Spotsylvania, PA-- my new baby's name is Josiah! So we found we have a namesake
Now, Papa knows that his family came from Ireland as well...and 3 other countries that he'll call us about later...he couldn't recall. He knows they came to America in the 1600 and 1700s. He knew that some family members fought in some wars. WWII, two uncles were fighting in Italy, Germany, France, Russian, and several other countries all the way to Pearl Harbor. One from his mom's side, and one from his dad's side. They both went in in early 1940s. They even teamed with Germans to fight Russia and both served 3-4 years. One brother enlisted in 1945 and went over to Germany to drive an army ambulance to transport injured to the hospital after the war was over.
His uncle (and namesake) was in the Confederate wars as a medic and said he saw some horrible things. He dropped that topic fairly quickly.
Papa went into the army Nov 17th (my Josiah's bday) of 1952. He was stationed at Camp Macaulay in Austria. He did Russian Border Patrol.
My grandparents were so thrilled and I learned so many things that I may never have known if not for HOD!! Our adventure drifted a bit off topic from finding out how our family got here, but I am so happy it did! What a wonderful conversation and learning experience for both dd and me!
