A Trip Across the Pond

Ireland landscape

The view from across the pond

Growing up in central Illinois, right in the middle of corn and soybean fields, I loved Spring when everything was green and in bloom. But when there were no crops, and it was just flat, I would often wonder, and out loud sometimes, why did people stop here to make this their home. There is nothing here. I was looking at it through my eyes. I never had left my home to go to a new country. Left family behind. Started over. I had spent my entire life in the same area. That all changed in the Fall of 2018.

England landscape

September of 2018 my husband and I and our friends took a trip to Paris, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. I had hoped to know places where my ancestors came from so we could visit. But that did not happen. However, my eyes were opened. As we were on a tour bus outside London in the Bath area, what I saw was Illinois. It reminded me of home.

My eyes were opened ... It reminded me of home.

The People of the Republic

In the Republic of Ireland we rented a car and drove pretty much all over the country. There is absolutely nothing but spectacularly beautiful scenery everywhere we went. The people were so friendly. There is so much history. Here are some things that I did notice there. My curly frizzy hair I have never understood, I now know where it came from. I thought my grandfather was the friendliest man alive. He knew no strangers. Well, the people of the Republic of Ireland reminded me of him so much. But once again there were areas as we drove through that I thought, “This is so much like home.” Green, big trees, crops and you can see so far.

Ireland is spectacularly beautiful

I took a wonderful vacation to see places I had always dreamt of seeing. What I found on that trip is that while I complained about how boring and flat Illinois is growing up, for the first time I could imagine how happy my ancestors must have been when they saw the vast green openness. Sometimes we need to put ourselves in our ancestors’ shoes, then we can learn to appreciate why they chose, in this case, the places they settled.

Tracy Hall

Tracy is an owner, a genealogy researcher, and author. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from Grand Canyon University. She has done genealogical research in the U.S., England, and Ireland. She has been actively researching family histories for over 20 years. She loves working with clients, breaking down brick walls, seeing the places where hers and your ancestors lived, learning about their jobs and work, and researching immigration and migration patterns. She is the Holder of the Tree in several of her family lines and has been for decades.