Which of your ancestors was your family’s first American?

I’m writing this to all Americans. We claim the name American, forgetting our neighbors of South America. So I ask you, where did you come from? No, not where you were born but how did you get to be an American?

For me, the journey began when a young Irishman left his home seeking a better way of life. He arrived in an angry New York. Businesses had signs in windows, “No Irish need apply.” So he went west and settled in Wisconsin. There he married a young girl and together they raised 10 children — five girls and five boys. They named the youngest John and he became my grandfather. On a trip from Minneapolis to St. Louis, the train stopped in Mallard, Iowa. There he saw a great slew filled with all kinds of ducks. He decided to stay and start a business. He married a young farm girl and together they raised a son and daughter. That son became my father. He went to high school where he met the new preacher's youngest daughter. They graduated, married and produced two children, one of them me.

It took four generations before I arrived, an American. What we have done on our borders is criminal. Taking children from their parents and placing them in cages is immoral. We deny these people the right for a good life.

How many generations did it take before you were born as an American? Who was your refugee who started it all?

Jane Cox

Clive