First Blog Post.

From the interview with my mom, I found out that the name Eric was chosen for several reasons. One of which is because the origins are Scandinavian, and my parents have ancestors from that part of Europe. Also, my mom loved the meaning behind the name, which means ever powerful and ruler of all A lot of my mom’s family came from Ireland during the Great Famine to purchase land in Streator, Illinois. The farm they purchased was kept in their possession for about one hundred years, when my great grandparents sold it to move to downtown Streator when my grandma was in high school. Although my mom’s ancestors were immigrants at one point, I don’t believe they had trouble fitting in because there were many Irish immigrants during the Great Famine. However, I do know that my dad’s brother had trouble fitting in as a child. This was because he was gay, but raised in a church that wasn’t accepting of the LGBT community. As he got older, he became more sure of his identity, and he become a very social person with a lot of friends. One of the stories that stands out to me is how one of my mom’s ancestors was a guard for President Lincoln. This story has always been told with some sadness and shame because of what happened to Lincoln. It wound be interesting to find out the details of the night of the assassination, and if he was even part of the protection detail that evening.