History is another passion of mine, way high up on the list. Again, this interest was undoubtedly encouraged by the fact that my parents were both teachers, and my father taught the subject for over 30 years. Pure osmosis.
For over twenty years, I have been intensely researching my family history. I am lucky enough to come from two very distinct branches: my father's side, where both his parents were immigrants through Ellis Island, making my father a first-generation Norwegian/Swiss American. On my mother's side, it is a very different story.
My mother's roots go back over 200 years in the United States and my grandmother was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). I still have in my possession the original "Applicants Working Sheet" completed by my great aunt (my grandmother's sister) to become a member of DAR, as well as the final certificate issued by DAR to my grandmother, certifying that she was an approved member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, dated January 31st, 1959.
My 4th great-grandfather, George North, fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. The picture above shows The Bunker Hill Monument and Grounds today, with the statue of Colonel William Prescott, one of the ranking officers of the Battle, strikingly displayed in front of the obelisk.