Growing up, I didn’t see my grandpa too often. When I did, I was always a little scared of him. However, I still enjoyed his time with my family and looked forward to it every summer. I grew up learning stories about his family. But they weren’t good stories. They were about the time when his parents left his siblings and him alone without food for days or how he didn’t have a lasting relationship with most of his family. When my grandpa died in June 2020, I finally learned more of the good stories surrounding his life. My family looked through old documents and pictures, which was special for me because I had never seen my grandpa’s parents and siblings, or even him as a kid. My aunt pieced together that my great-great grandparents immigrated from the Azores Islands in Portugal to Massachusetts. I had known my grandpa’s heritage was Portuguese, but learning specific details pulled me closer to the culture. Since then, I have been more interested in learning about Portugal and its culture. Some of my grandpa’s other items like his Portuguese Rooster and cookbooks made me feel even more connected. Without those pictures, I would have never experienced this appreciation of my family’s story, which goes so much farther than my grandpa’s childhood.  

– E A

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