Our ancestors came to
America for different reasons. Some came seeking riches to be made from the
great gold rush in California or seeking religious/political freedom or to own
their own land by homesteading. Whatever their reason for coming, they were
following the American Dream.
According to Wikipedia online: The idea of the American Dream is rooted
in the United States Declaration of Independence
which proclaims that "all men are
created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.” Modern day immigrants
are still coming here to better themselves and their families.
JoAn McBride of St. George
tells us of her ancestor’s dream of a better life that brought them from
Germany to Russia then to America. I come from a long line of
carpenters…carpenters and farmers that go back to the Hessian area of Germany
and possibly Austria before that. In Norka, Russia, there is still a
Spady bridge built by my great grandfather. One hundred years before my
four year old grandmother came to America in 1887, Catherine the Great of
Russia (herself being originally German) invited any German people to come to
Russia that wanted a house and land and could farm on the plains and steps of
the Volga River. She would guarantee them freedom to keep their own
language and continue to be German, never getting Russian citizenship, and
never needing to join the Russian military. 
Those ancestors
that came to Russia built the little town of Norka on the Volga River, but
living in Russia was hard. There were wolves and Mongolian bandits, along
with very cold temperatures, and hard labor. The Russian people resented
the German people. Years after Catherine the Great, her grandson came to
power. He ruled that all Germans must speak Russian, become Russian, and
join the military to protect the country or leave. Many or most of
the Germans left Russia. My grandmother came to America with her father,
mother, and five brothers and sisters. The youngest was only 11 months
old. They arrived New York June 4, 1887 on the ship S.S. Ems, coming from
Bremen. My grandparents worked the land in Nebraska and helped build the
railroads. Yet, they are still
carpenters at heart and several by trade. Carpentry has been passed down
generation after generation in our family to this day.