“We are a nation of immigrants? Not exactly.”
To label our country as a “nation of immigrants” is hardly accurate. There already were indigenous people, Native Americans, here. Yes, their ancestors probably migrated across the Bering Strait between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago before any other humans were here. But that hardly classifies them as “immigrants.” They are truly natives.
African Americans cannot be called immigrants. They didn’t choose, as did my ancestors, to come here. They were kidnapped, brought here, sold, and subjugated by force.
My Ancestors
My ancestors, the Ó Cinnéíde (Kennedy), Günther (Ginter), and Klavër (Klover) folks, chose to come to the United States as true immigrants. They came of their own volition for a variety of reasons, such as economics, political/religious, or survival. These families provided my DNA.
As with so many other immigrants, the United States has always been a preferred geographic destination. My ancestors had similar reasons for leaving their native countries and finally settling in the greater Wilmington area. Each ancestor in my case had slightly varied reasons for emigrating.
The Irish
My Irish folks, for example, first arrived in the person of Mary Walsh in 1836. As a single, 27-year-old, she probably started as a domestic servant in New York City. In 1840, she married John Barrett who became a policeman. They had a daughter, Margaret, in 1843, and when she was 12, they moved to Florence Township in Wilmington. (1855).
In 1864, Margaret married James Kennedy, an Irishman who had immigrated in 1855. (My Irish ancestors came from counties Tipperary, Cork, and Waterford.)
Most Irish at the time were leaving Ireland for economic reasons such as: the potato famine between 1845 and 1852, severe conflicts with the English, and overpopulation.
The Germans
Augustus Ginter II (born in 1837) arrived in New York in 1857 and settled in the Peotone area with his family. After he served as a blacksmith in the Civil War (Union side), he married Dorothea Bierman in 1867.The couple gave birth to my grandfather, Oscar Ginter, in 1880.
Why did the Gunther’s leave Germany? They probably lost the family farm through bankruptcy and needed to leave to live. At the time, thousands of Germans suffered through extremely high taxes on their farms. So, it was a combination of political and economic reasons.
The Dutch
Pieter and Katherine Hof Klaver left Antwerp, Holland and arrived in New York in 1886 with 7 of their 10 children. Their oldest, Margaret, emigrated in 1892 with her husband, Pieter Van Duin (later Van Duyne), and their family. They had recently been married in Holland in 1891.
A dairyman by trade, Pieter found first work on the railroad near South Holland, Illinois and then moved to the far end of Lakewood Shores in Wilmington. One of the 7 children, Eva, was one of Margaret’s sisters. Evelyn gave birth in 1890 to my grandmother, Margaret Klaver, who subsequently married my grandfather, Dan Kennedy.
Between 1880 and 1890 there was a large influx of Hollanders leaving their country. During that time, about 75,000 came into the United States, the largest group in Dutch immigration history. Rather than escaping for religious or political reasons, they were seeking a better chance at prosperity.
Once they were here…
Within one or two generations, the three nationalities blended in with the Wilmington and Peotone populations. Physically, there were few distinguishably differences. (Their skin was light.) Notably, they gradually lost their native languages, accents, and customs while the dominant local culture prevailed. Mixed nationality marriages became commonplace and future generations were distanced from their European roots. Maintaining those roots became more problematic as the older folks passed from the scene.
This article is an attempt to briefly summarize some family immigration history. Loads more information is contained in my many binders containing letters, notes, and genealogy reports.
Picture on the left: Grandfather Dan Kennedy and grandmother Margaret. Upper right: the Ginter family including Augustus, young Oscar, and Dorothea. Bottom right: Evelyn (great grandmother), Pieter (great, great grandfather), Margaret (grandmother), and Katherine Hof Klover (great, great grandmother).
Braidwood Beginnings 