Honoring our Ancestors
There are many ways to honor our ancestors. The best way is by living a life that would make them proud. Other ways we can honor our ancestors include:
- Preserving their memories and histories
- Collecting their information into a book
- Passing on their wisdom
- Keeping a united family and preserving family ties
- Remembering them
- Visiting grave sites
There may be a certain way to honor our ancestors that you were not aware existed. There is a special monument in the United States dedicated to those who have immigrated to America.
Remembering the Struggles of our Immigrant Ancestors
Think of the struggles that your ancestor went through to decide to leave his or her homeland and embark on a journey to live in a foreign country. Why did they leave their homeland? Was it for economic, religious, or social reasons?
Some left in the heat of the summer, others came in the dread chill of winter. Some came in the ease of an airplane while others spent weeks on ships and traveled with hundreds of others seeking a new and better life.
Did your ancestor have to learn a new language upon arriving in America? Was there enough to support your ancestor financially or did he or she have very little? Needless to say, there were probably many, many challenges and hardships. Many sacrificed all to start a better life for their family.
Wall of Honor
The Wall of Honor located at Ellis Island is a special monument because you can include your ancestor’s name on the wall. The name needs to be of the person that immigrated to the United States. It doesn’t matter if your ancestor came through Ellis Island or not. It doesn’t matter when your ancestor came to America.
The monument really is special in that it is open to all who have immigrated to United States.
See a pictures of the wall at http://www.wallofhonor.org
How Many Names & How to Search?
The wall has over 700,000 names have been included on the wall.
Search the list of names to see if your ancestors are already included in the wall at http://www.wallofhonor.org/search.asp
Adding Your Ancestor
If your ancestor is not included on the wall, you can fill out the order form to have the name placed on the wall. There is a one-time fee to have names added to the wall.
Add your ancestor’s name on the wall, and next time you’re in New York, stop on over to Ellis Island and see your ancestor’s name on a monument. To view the National Parks site about Ellis Island, click here.
Of the many ways to honor your ancestors, don’t forget the ones that traveled far and in many cases gave all to provide a better future for their families.