If they traced their roots, everyone in America would come to see that their ancestors emigrated from somewhere else. America is like a great big melting pot when it comes to diversity. There are many different people, all coming from different places. In the following essay I am going to share with you the story of my family's emigration from Holland to America.
             My great-grandfather, Teunis Johannes, was born in 1892 in Holland. Teunis decided at an early age that he wanted to travel to America. Life in Holland wasn't too great back then. They had horrible weather, and were suffering economically. Teunis attended school through the sixth grade before he left for America. Back then, this was the average grade completed. Teunis worked hard to earn the money needed to fund his trip. In all it would cost him one-hundred dollars.
             March 12, 1910 Teunis boarded a ship with many other immigrants headed for America. It was on that very ship that he met his future wife, Anna. Their ship landed in New York ten days later. Teunis then boarded a train that took him half way across the country where he then took an autobus to Washington state.
             Having not spoken any English before coming to America, he picked it up quite fast. One of his first jobs was milking cows and riding horses. Although milking cows wasn't one of his favorite things to do, he did what had to be done to earn a living. Teunis was a good, hardworking man often having to do different jobs for different people. Most of the money he made was sent to his family back in Holland.
             Teunis and Anna were married in the fall of 1913. Shortly after they were married, they moved into a small house in Washington. Times were tough for the young couple, having 12 children and living through the great depression. When they first moved into that house, all they had was a mere chicken coop, two cows, and a pig. With help from everyone in the family they came to own tho...