Our #52Ancestors Challenge topic for this week is Adversity. The weather has been so pleasant here that I found it a little hard for me to focus on the topic!

It’s not hard to find examples of adversity our ancestors encountered, whether before they immigrated, during, or after. There was adversity for those who already lived on the land where our ancestors ended up.

My own genealogy research has allowed me to find some of the stories of adversity in my own family. I’ve mentioned some of them in other blog posts. Adversity, to me, has similarity to the topic of disasters from a few weeks ago. You never quite know when and where it will strike. It’s easy to find examples once we’ve located our ancestors, such as knowing one of my great-grandmother’s was poor, and epileptic, and ended up in an institution. What fascinates (and frustrates) me is what were the adversities they were dealing with in their native country that made them decide to immigrate?  To say nothing of the adversity of making the trip, and then settling into a new country.

I have had the privilege of traveling to the U.K. three times, and to Finland and Estonia once. The first time I flew to Ireland, I thought it was a long trip! It was nine hours to Helsinki from Chicago. I returned home after 10 days. I can’t imagine what it was like to get on a ship in the 1600’s. Ships were crowded, and passengers would share the space with cattle and other cargo. These trips took about two months.  By the 1800’s, passengers were categorized by the type of ticket they bought. Steam ships shaved a couple weeks off from trips between the U.K. and North America. My ancestors likely could not afford a cabin and ended up traveling in steerage.

So, I think I will try not to complain about the little things that come up during my day, such as slow traffic, or other minor frustrations. I will be grateful for the adversities my ancestors were able to overcome to provide our family with the lives we have today.

Next week, our topic is “Surprise”! Enjoy your week!