I'm Frisian? Focke Aden and Taalke Gerdes Siefken Aden (originally published 2019)

I'm Frisian? 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 3 Theme: Unusual Names

Fokke/Focke Aden
Generation 7
My 2nd Great Grandfather

It is important to remember that the map of the world has changed over time, and that, even more importantly, ethnicity is just as relevant as nationality. Obviously I new this, but I was having trouble researching my "German" ancestors Focke and Taalke Aden. What strange names. Were these the correct spellings? I assumed they would be easy to 
trace because they were unusual.

Focke/Fokke and Taalke/Thalke turned out to be a bit of a revelation. I knew they immigrated in 1870 and had lost a child at sea. I knew they settled in the Petersburg, Illinois area and then moved to Missouri, losing another child on that journey. I knew they came from Hanover. I knew their birth dates. In the grand scheme of things, 
I guess I knew pretty much. 
But I wanted to learn more.

I am very lucky because my daughter works at St. Louis County Library in the History and Genealogy Department (Yes, I raised her right!). She mentioned this couple to some of her co-workers one day, and one of them responded, "Those look like Frisian names." Constantly I am amazed by the combined skill and knowledge of the staff in 
that library, but this was amazing. 

So who are the Frisians? I had heard of them, but I thought they were something from the past. In actuality, the Frisians still exist as an ethnic group. They live in the historic region of Frisia, now along the North Sea in both the Netherlands and Germany. 

Flag of Frisia (2018)

The Frisians have been around for awhile, and about half a million people still speak the Frisian language today, which sounds a lot like German to my untrained ear, but 
is actually pretty similar to English.

I have a lot to learn about my Frisian heritage and those unusual names!