The passing down of family history from generation to generation is a common tradition in many families. It is especially important for American families to participate in this custom because America is a melting pot of different heritages coming from all over the world, thus it may be difficult for people to trace back their ancestry without familial knowledge. The Alphonso family has attempted to keep the family history from being lost by gathering as much information from elders and passing the stories throughout the generations. As it has been told, the Alphonso’s have largely inhabited the state of Louisiana since the first ancestors arrived to the New World from Spain.
At around the age of 20, William Alfonso boarded a ship with his …show more content…
Joseph grew up in the same area and was able to engage in the many traditional Canary Islander ways of life. However rumor has it, the Alfonso family was “Americanized” when Joseph became an adult and was forced to change the Spanish spelling of his name from ‘Alfonso’ to the English spelling, ‘Alphonso’. The Alphonso family is unsure exactly why this change came about, but one family member believes it had to do with a problem with the mailing system. Joseph embraced his new “American” name and became a fisherman, like his father. He later married Marie, also a Spanish descendant, and had several …show more content…
Most of their kids did not speak much Spanish, but could understand some of what their parents were saying. They grew up and considered themselves to be “more American” than their parents and were even more detached from their grandparents’ background. Eugene Alphonso, one of the elder sons, did however decide to carry on the family occupation as a fisherman. He also married a Canary Island descendant, Kathleen, and had three sons. None of his sons could speak Spanish nor did they continue the traditional male profession. Tommy Alphonso, Eugene’s middle son, had three children; his kids are first generation college students and experience an entirely different and “American” lifestyle than William and Camilla did. Most of the Spanish culture linking this family to the Canary Islands has been lost due to the Alphonso family choosing to conform to American ways of life. However, they remain proud of their heritage and are thankful that the Alphonso family did not experience the severe discrimination and oppression that other immigrant families had to
At around the age of 20, William Alfonso boarded a ship with his …show more content…
Joseph grew up in the same area and was able to engage in the many traditional Canary Islander ways of life. However rumor has it, the Alfonso family was “Americanized” when Joseph became an adult and was forced to change the Spanish spelling of his name from ‘Alfonso’ to the English spelling, ‘Alphonso’. The Alphonso family is unsure exactly why this change came about, but one family member believes it had to do with a problem with the mailing system. Joseph embraced his new “American” name and became a fisherman, like his father. He later married Marie, also a Spanish descendant, and had several …show more content…
Most of their kids did not speak much Spanish, but could understand some of what their parents were saying. They grew up and considered themselves to be “more American” than their parents and were even more detached from their grandparents’ background. Eugene Alphonso, one of the elder sons, did however decide to carry on the family occupation as a fisherman. He also married a Canary Island descendant, Kathleen, and had three sons. None of his sons could speak Spanish nor did they continue the traditional male profession. Tommy Alphonso, Eugene’s middle son, had three children; his kids are first generation college students and experience an entirely different and “American” lifestyle than William and Camilla did. Most of the Spanish culture linking this family to the Canary Islands has been lost due to the Alphonso family choosing to conform to American ways of life. However, they remain proud of their heritage and are thankful that the Alphonso family did not experience the severe discrimination and oppression that other immigrant families had to