My Great Grandfather

     Although I may not be able to trace my heritage all the way back from when one of my ancestors arrived on Ellis Island in New York or in San Francisco. Through stories in my family I have found that I am greatly Swedish,  French, and English. One of my relatives on my Fathers side that is mostly Swedish is my great grandfather, Carl A. Turner. He was born in Southern California in the late 1800's and  lived there through early 1900's when most of the immigration from across the Pacific was occurring. His father wasn't the most successful of men and the most pleasant to be around. So Carl didn't see himself with a great future in the "Gold Mountain State". After the 8th grade my great grandfather hopped on a train car and took himself all the way up through Oregon and into Washington.

     Carl did not have the best education since he left after the 8th grade. But in my family he is known as "the self taught man" and was probably the brightest man anyone could ever of met. From the time he jumped on the train he was able to acquire books to read and he studied as hard as he could for he knew that education was the key to success. He ended up residing in Seattle and later in Spokane with my great grandmother. Throughout his life he was able to start 8 different companies from the ground up, involving real-estate, mining, railroad, coal, and machinery. He became an extremely successful man and inventor and was able to travel the world in his retirement as a reward.

     The Chinese immigrants did have a much more difficult time in California than Carl Turner did but,  I found it interesting that my great grandfather didn't find it appealing at all to stay in California during that time period and sought out moving to another state in order to find success.
-Spencer Piper