As genealogists we cherish our ancestral stories, photos, customs and food. But what do you do when this was all lost over time?
My grandfather James Hammond (see post Celebrating the Life of James Jacob Hammond) was born in Remsen, Iowa. All four of his grandparents were born in Luxembourg and emigrated here in the 1860s. James’ mother died when he was five and he and his siblings spent time in an orphanage for part of their lives and at other times were back with their father. As a young adult my grandfather wound up and raised his family miles away in upstate New York. Were the stories, customs, and food of the old country gone because there were no siblings or family nearby? Was my grandfather too young to remember and or were any memories he had too painful? All I knew growing up was that his family was German. After researching my grandfather’s family, I learned while they spoke German, they were all in fact from Luxembourg. Over the years I have been fortunate to learn the names and ancestral villages of many of my ancestors back to the 1700s. But even with the names, dates and locations that still doesn’t help me understand the food and culture of the area and country they were from. Several years ago, I joined the Luxembourg American Cultural Society (LAC) in Belgium, Wisconsin. In 2022 I was able to stop and visit the Museum and the Center on a trip across country. I hoped this would help me learn more about my Luxembourg heritage.
For 39 years LAC has held a Luxembourg Festival. I have tried to go for several years but was
unable to. This year I was asked to be
one of the Presenters for Luxembourg Fest.
I was asked to do a presentation (see post
Upcoming Presentation at Luxembourg Fest 2025) on basic genealogy, particularly
in the United States, regarding researching our Luxembourg ancestors. I gladly accepted because I was honored to be
a presenter and I would also have an excellent reason to experience Luxembourg
Fest and immerse myself in the food and some customs of Luxembourg. Best of
all, I could meet others with the same heritage. Who knows, perhaps even meet a distant
cousin.
On Thursday, August 7th I was able to attend the Annual Meeting of the Society for the first time.
I presented at the Cultural Forum on Friday morning, August 8th at the Cedarburg Cultural Center.
Jean Ensch, a native of Luxembourg, presented after me and spoke about the types of records available in Luxembourg.
Friday night there was a
fabulous fundraising dinner Luxembourg Under the Stars to support LAC at the
Buechler Farm complete with Luxembourg wine, beer, hard cider, Hors D'oeuvre, dinner and
dessert.
What a fun time followed by food and drinks that the local American Legion was selling.
A great chance to meet with other descendants of Luxembourg ancestors, talk about our ancestors and show our support for that heritage!
Later I attended the showing of a 40 minute documentary talking about Luxembourg heritage in the US and the 38th Luxembourg Fest entitled "Luxembourg in America" by director Geoff Thompson. There was also time to do some research at the Center.
Sunday there was a Roman Catholic Mass at the festival grounds in Belgium, the installation of the
Sheepshead is a card game competition which is an American version of the German game Schafkop. I
asked my mother if she ever remembered my grandfather playing this game? She remembered him teaching her a card game
when she was young but didn’t really remember the name or how to play it. Could this be some part of the heritage that
endured? I’ll need to see if my uncles
remember this at all.
"The Luxembourg American Cultural Society’s mission is to
preserve the roots of our heritage and nurture the leaves of ongoing
relationships between Luxembourg and America." What an amazing job LACS is doing in preserving this heritage!
Join and support your heritage societies. You never know what you may learn about your ancestors and just experiencing the heritage can be so much fun. Now to go on an actual tour in Luxembourg and hopefully, visit some of my ancestral villages.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby
