Sunflower Seeds logo

Sunflower Seeds

 

Celebrating Everyday Spirituality

Sunflower Seeds

Celebrating Everyday Spirituality

Two Pages from the 1940 U.S. Census

My niece sent me a copy of two pages from the 1940 U.S. Census. On one page is the report on my father’s family. His family all lived in my grandparents’ home on Beckman Avenue in Cleveland. My father, who was 25 at the time, answered the census taker’s questions. He and my mother (married in 1937) were living on the second floor of the home. They had an eight-month-old little girl, Mary Ann, my sister. My grandparents lived downstairs with their remaining five children, ranging in age from 24 to 15.

The house was owned by my grandparents and valued at $2,000. My parents were paying $22 a month rent. My 52-year-old grandfather is listed as a carpenter making $1800 a year. Born in Czechoslovakia, he is a naturalized citizen with a 7th grade education. My 50-year-old grandmother, listed as “alien,” also has a 7th grade education. My father, a high school graduate, was earning $1500 a year as a bottler in a brewery.

My niece sent me the report on my mother’s side of the family too, the Mach’s, who were living on West 45th Street in Cleveland. My grandfather was a bricklayer earning $1800 a year. He had become a naturalized citizen (we still have that document), but my grandmother never did. Both had 5th grade educations. Their two sons are 23 and 16. The oldest is a bricklayer apprentice.

I love this little window into history. It reminds me that my family is relatively “new” to this country. In contrast, I have a friend who traces her family all the way back to the Mayflower! But my ancestors didn’t come here until the turn of the 20th century. Born in Bohemia, they immigrated here at young ages. Two were only teenagers when they landed on Ellis Island. They never saw their parents again. What courage that took! Once here my grandparents struggled to learn a new language, find jobs, and raise their families.

Knowledge of my family’s humble beginnings influences some of my attitudes and beliefs. For example, I admire people who speak with foreign accents, for my grandparents did too. A foreign accent means the person knows more than one language. Having struggled to learn Latin and German, I admire anyone who knows more than one language. I also try to be respectful of people who hold so-called “menial jobs.” As young girls, both my grandmothers cleaned houses. I have some definite attitudes toward immigration too simply because so many of my own relatives were immigrants. How could I forget that?

When my grandparents came to this country they brought their Catholic faith with them. They worked hard to build their churches (St. Adalbert and St. Procop). They sent their children to their parish schools and then on to high school to get the education they never had. I am grateful for the faith I inherited from them as well as my love for and dedication to education.

I think knowledge of our own history makes us richer and wiser. Today might be a good day to thank God for all those individuals who have gone before us and helped make us who we are.

6 Responses

  1. Dear Melannie,

    I really enjoyed this article. Because my own family background is similar, I resonated with your experience. God bless, Carol D.

  2. Dear Melannie,
    I think it is great that we can find our family history! I am learning something new each day because I did not know the Mach side of the family grew up in Cleveland!!! Thank you for sharing and I love reading these each week!!!
    Tiffany Seibel (Karen Mach Seibel daughter, also Frank Mach’s granddaughter)

    1. Dear Tiffany,
      Thank you for writing! It’s great to hear from a relative. (Readers: Tiffany is my first cousin’s daughter. That makes her my first cousin once removed!) May you continue to “learn something new each day!” Thanks again, Tiffany! Melannie

  3. Mel,
    I had made a note to check out my Irish and Belgium grandparents on the newly released census. Your blog nudges me and with a new view to appreciation not just “the facts.”
    Mary Fran

    1. Dear Mary Fran,
      I’m glad my blog provided a “nudge” for you to pursue the history of your own grandparents. Family history is fascinating. How lucky we are to have the tools to do our search! Thanks, Mary Fran! Melannie

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Blog Posts

One thing I like about praying: anything goes. I didn’t always believe this. As a little girl, I thought praying was mostly something you did in church on Sundays, or something you did before eating supper, or you did kneeling beside your bed every night. I didn’t realize that anything

Some of us will experience a total eclipse of the sun on Monday, April 8, 2024. The Cleveland, Ohio area is in its direct path. We will be privileged to witness this astronomical phenomenon from 1:59.20 PM to 4:28.57 PM (EST) (How’s that for pinpoint accuracy!) Even if our typical

Meet Sr. Melannie

Hi and welcome to my blog! I’m Sister Melannie, a Sister of Notre Dame residing in Chardon, Ohio, USA. I’ve been very lucky! I was raised in a loving family on a small farm in northeast Ohio. I also entered the SNDs right after high school. Over the years, my ministries have included high school and college teaching, novice director, congregational leadership, spiritual direction, retreat facilitating, and writing. I hope you enjoy “Sunflower Seeds” and will consider subscribing below. I’d love to have you in our “sunflower community.” Thank you!

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Loading

Upcoming Events

Finding God in the Ordinary and Amazing: An Afternoon with Sister Melannie

Sunday, May 19, 2024 – 1:30 – 4:00 Central – via zoom

Sponsored by the Portiuncula Center for Prayer – Frankfort, Illinois

Fee: Donation

For details visit: [email protected]

Weekend retreat at Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center, Pulaski, PA
October 11-13, 2024

October 11-13, 2024

Details to follow

Retreat with the Sisters of Loretto, Nerinx, KY
September 8-13, 2024

September 8-13, 2024

Details to follow

Retreat at Lial Renewal Center, Whitehouse, OH
August 11-18, 2024

August 11-18, 2024

Retreat at Heartland Center for Spirituality, Great Bend, KS
April 14-19, 2024

April 14-19, 2024

Details to follow

First Friday Club in Youngstown, Ohio
April 4, 2024

April 4, 2024

Details to be determined

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.