Family History Blog

Over the past few years I have tried to do some research about the origins of my family both through some information I have found at home in my house and through online sources. I have been intrigued in my ancestry since I was in high school and began to learn, through my parents and relatives, some of the stories and history of my family. I personally have a wide background ancestrally and I have come to learn bits and pieces about the people who came before me. I have learned that I have at least two sets of grandparents who came through Ellis Island (I have not had much luck actually confirming this through online sources) and I have learned about what some of my grandparents did for their jobs. It has been interesting learning further about how my ancestors are and I hope to one day be able to further research my family.
I am a quarter Polish, Irish, Ukrainian, and Swedish. I have some information about relatives on my Polish, Irish, and Ukrainian sides, but some of the information I have found seems to contradict that. One of the more interesting aspects of my family history seems to be on my Ukrainian side. About a year and a half ago I was cleaning out the basement of my house and I came across some information about one of my great grandfathers. I had been told by my dad that my great grandfather, John Rimetz, was from the Ukraine and that therefore the origin on my last name (Rimetz) was Ukrainian. According to the U.S. Passport that belonged to my great grandfather, though, it said that his country of origin was Austria. This information seemed to contradict the information that I had been given over the past few years. So far I have been unable to figure out why the passport lists him as Austrian. One possibility I have thought of is that my great grandfather did not truly know where he was from and thought that he was Austrian. According to his death certificate, my great grandfather served the U.S. Army during World War I, so therefore he had to have immigrated to America while he was still somewhat young, as he would have been 21 when the war started in Europe. This is one of the more interesting story involving my ancestry.
Another interesting story involving my ancestors is on my Irish side. I also came across the death certificate for my other great grandfather who was from Ireland. I had always been told that he had been mugged and killed in New York City, but according to the death certificate, it is said that he claimed it was a fall in the street and that he was in the hospital in the three days before he died. The medical examiner even ruled it an accident and had homicide was not a possibility. This completely contradicts what I had previously been told and that since there was no investigation into his death it is impossible to tell how he really died and who may have murdered him. I have always been interested in that story, but am unsure of how to further go about it.
According to my father, both of his grandparents (my Irish and Ukrainian side) both passed through Ellis Island and that he is able to traced his Irish family back to County Mayo in Ireland. Other than that he does not know much else about the Irish or Ukrainian side of the family. As for my mother’s side of the family, her cousins have visited Poland and can be traced back the Polish side of their family. I have been unable to speak to this side of my family since their trip to Poland about a year ago. I would like to learn more about their journey and my mother has said they know a lot about the Polish side of my family. I find it interesting that I will be visiting Poland soon and who knows, maybe I will end up running into some family out there (although I don’t really know any of their names or anything). I have always found my ancestry interesting and I will definitely look to better define it as time goes on. I am always interested in learning about my relatives and maybe even getting into contact with members of my family tree who still live in their native countries. Who knows what the future will hold regarding that.