Before I Was Born
In the Beginning
Have you ever wondered what life was like for your ancestors? My family has a ton of history. Did your name change when you came through Ellis Island? Where did your family originate? These are some questions that you could ask. Well, I went to my grandparents, and that’s where I started digging.
Where I Came From My great, great grandfather, Herman Henry Hespe, came to America from Germany in the late 1800s. He came over for political reasons and at the time, every German male had to serve in the army from the age of 16-18. That’s unless their family could buy them out. This interesting fact about Hespe’s is that we didn’t like the Kaiser family. Herman Henry Hespe settled in Nebraska and got married, then he and his family moved to Hamil, South Dakota, where they are buried today. Great, great, great, great grandfather, Gotlieb (Abie) Abbey, came from Switzerland, on a cattle boat in 1847. Our name was changed from Abie to Abbey, it was known as the English version. Both my grandfathers were soldiers and both steadily moved west. …show more content…
Hespe’s are born with the ability to use their hands and so, carpentry runs in the family. Abbey’s, however, are very stubborn and have a sense of humor. They also like horses and are very proud of their horses. We used teams to do farming until the 1920s. I guess I could say that both of the sides were very
In the Beginning
Have you ever wondered what life was like for your ancestors? My family has a ton of history. Did your name change when you came through Ellis Island? Where did your family originate? These are some questions that you could ask. Well, I went to my grandparents, and that’s where I started digging.
Where I Came From My great, great grandfather, Herman Henry Hespe, came to America from Germany in the late 1800s. He came over for political reasons and at the time, every German male had to serve in the army from the age of 16-18. That’s unless their family could buy them out. This interesting fact about Hespe’s is that we didn’t like the Kaiser family. Herman Henry Hespe settled in Nebraska and got married, then he and his family moved to Hamil, South Dakota, where they are buried today. Great, great, great, great grandfather, Gotlieb (Abie) Abbey, came from Switzerland, on a cattle boat in 1847. Our name was changed from Abie to Abbey, it was known as the English version. Both my grandfathers were soldiers and both steadily moved west. …show more content…
Hespe’s are born with the ability to use their hands and so, carpentry runs in the family. Abbey’s, however, are very stubborn and have a sense of humor. They also like horses and are very proud of their horses. We used teams to do farming until the 1920s. I guess I could say that both of the sides were very