An American's Immigration History

I had a chance to talk with an American friend about his ancestors’ immigration history. Apparently, his great great grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland. Czech Republic and Slovakia were once a country before they were split around 18 years ago. He believes that he is the last descendant of his family right now, as he is the only child. It is unfortunate that he could not speak all of his native languages. Besides, his family does not have any contact with other family members in their home countries of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Poland. Nevertheless, they uphold some of the Polish culture in their family.

Back in the day, his great great grandfather immigrated to The United States of America in the mid of 1800. He chose to immigrate because of the religious freedom, material wealth, and new career opportunities in the USA. He was a Christian, however the churches were controlled by the King. He defied the rules and detested the feeling of being controlled in term of religion. The plight of being restricted from religious freedom was really miserable.

So ultimately, he decided to move. He landed in New York before taking the train to Milwaukee. He then settled down in Altoona. At that point of time, the USA embraced the capitalism model. He made up his mind to come to Wisconsin because the state was rich in lumber. He built a lumber business and then moved to Wausau and got married. It was easier to obtain land at that time too. Eventually, the family moved and settled down in Madison. Their culture assimilated to the American culture. They are the Czech Slovakian descents in Wisconsin.