Family Hertiage

Like many Americans, I can trace my predecessors back to those who first immigrated to the United States. Beyond that, my ancestry is unknown. To organize my thoughts, I've collected the names of past family members and have created a sort of genealogy. Interestingly enough, there is much more information on my mother’s side (predominately white) than my Dad’s side (of Hispanic origin). The only thing I know about my Dad's family is that his father, Daniel Cruze, was born in America, but his parents emigrated from Mexico to Texas. The rest of this post details my mother's side of the family.

This man, Charles Melrose, is as far back as I can trace my heritage. My mother gave me an interesting article about my oldest ancestor’s past – an obituary I believe. Charles Melrose emigrated from Scotland to New York in 1828, and settled permanently in Iowa in 1849. I grew up knowing only that he was an orphan boy found on the steps of the Melrose Abbey and adopted the name as his own.

The Agnew family has some interesting stories about being farmers in America. James Agnew emigrated from Ireland to the United States and settled down in Iowa. There he married his wife Elizabeth, bought and renovated a chicken coop into a home, and lived there with his family. He and his wife were farmers and had twelve children. Only six survived.

The Melroses:

My grandfather Hugh Melrose (back right) was born in China even though he was of Scottish and Irish descent. His parents and grandparents were missionaries in Hainan, China. My great grandfather Paul C. Melrose (Left) wrote a book on his experiences as a missionary. I have yet to read the book, but I remember my family telling me they were detained in a communist camp and survived thanks to a local Chinese girl and her mother who snuck them food and messages through a wire fence.

My grandfather actually moved to America for the first time when he was twelve years old. Oddly enough, he felt as if America was the strange and foreign place even though he was white. The reason he moved was because of a tragedy in his family. His father, Paul and younger sister Jean had died, but his mother decided to stay on the mission in China. Ester (right) split her remaining four children among relatives in Iowa and California. The separation of the siblings among the family members caused somewhat of a distance and tension between siblings.