Family Essay: The History Of My Family

The history of my family is very special to me and I take great pride in knowing where my ancestors came from and what they had to endure. The past generations of both my mothers and my father’s family paved the way I look at life and the way I try to raise my children. I want to start with my mother’s family; the earliest recording I have from the “Schumacher” is from 1784. They left Germany because of bad economics and not enough land to farm so they could provide for their families. They were called “The Danube Swabians” (Donauschawben) who were German speaking populations who lived in various counties of southeastern Europe. My family left Germany for better land and also religious reasons.

They settled in a town called Neu-Pasua in Serbia in the early 1700’s. They lived, worked and had their own German speaking schools in their community’s for over 150 years. They grew from 40 families to over 6000

My great-grandparents on my mother’s side were farmers and my grandfather became a carpenter. One thing I can say about that side of the family is that they were simple people, very quiet and humble. Family was and is very important to them. The obstacles they had to face on their two-year journey from Serbia to Germany brought them closer together and made them realize what is important in life. My great-grandmother Anna Schumacher was the rock of the family, she made sure all her children were kept with her once they arrived in Germany and was put in refugee camps. She loved to cook and to this day her cooking and recipes influences us. Her famous filled bell peppers with tomato sauce as well as Djuvic rice are two dishes that my mother loves and made sure I know how to make just as my great-grandmother thought her to make it. The many generations they spend in Serbia influenced their cooking. To this day my grandfather loves to eat Yugoslavian food and is the Restaurant of his choice for his