Identity crisis solved

Just like me - German and Irish - St. Patricks Day Parade Baltimore Maryland a photo by litlesam on Flickr.

I enjoy researching family history. I have spent many hours working on family trees. I pay a monthly fee to use the Ancestry.com web site. For some reason its all very important to me. I have heard many stories told to me over the years about family history. My mother loved to talk about the family and share stories that had been told to her. My research has challenged some of the stories that were told to her, but that also adds to the mystery and fascination with tracing ancestors.

This week I will be celebrating St. Patricks Day. Part of my fathers family immigrated to the United States from Ireland in the 1840's. I celebrated St. David's on March 1 for the other half of my fathers family. They immigrated from Wales and met the Irish half of my family right here in Maryland.

My mothers family immigrated from Germany in the late 1840's. They immigrated from the Hessen area of Bavaria. The patriarch Peter Christian Roth was in the Bavarian Army and brought his family to the United States after he was released from the military.

I was at the St.Patricks Day Parade in Baltimore on Sunday. I saw this beautiful daschund at the parade dressed in green shamrocks. This is me. A German wrapped in shamrocks.

I am going to Ireland and Wales next month. Mark and I are taking my daughter Katie with us as part of her 30th birthday celebration. Mark also has Irish roots to his family. It will be great fun visiting the homeland of our ancestors.