In the 1920s my great-grandfather came to America from Romania. My grandparents told me the story that when he was going to leave, his mother (my great-great-grandmother) sewed these candlesticks into his jacket. The reason why she did this isn’t exactly clear but there are two theories.One is that he would have them just in case he needed to bribe someone or the other is that he might have needed them for extra money once he got to America. Some people in my family are skeptics of this story, they point out how large the candle sticks are, which is a valid point. My grandparents have them in their house currently, my grandpa even cleaned one of them and you can see the difference between the two. It shows how much age can take a toll on historical items. My mother's side of the family is Jewish and my great-grandfather was Jewish, this object can be connected to both my Romanian and Jewish roots. The candlesticks are important to my family because they are directly tied to my great-grandfather and his story of coming to America. He came when he was a teenager and went to live with his brother in Brooklyn, NY. If he didn’t have the chance to come to America my family wouldn’t be here today.       

– KH

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more