The Effect Of War On Our Ancestors – Karen Frisch (reprinted with prior permission of Juliana Smith, Editor of Ancestry Daily News; from 19 Nov 2002, issue) Throughout history, war and its consequences have had a profound effect on our ancestors and on immigration in particular. Our ancestors' lives changed dramatically in the face of the social and economic upheavals that accompanied military conflicts throughout the centuries. The decision to emigrate was often motivated by more than mere economic need or the desire for a better life. Our ancestors had plenty of reasons to leave their homelands, including famine, poverty, religious persecution, and fighting during wartime. Frequently, war in the homeland made leaving more desirable than staying. Our forefathers often left because fighting was imminent. Hence the first big wave of immigration occurred in the 1600s when the Puritans chose to avoid the brewing conflict that became the English Civil War. Others emigrated when they found themselves in the middle of a conflict. Among the most notable are the many Armenians who fled their country during World War I. As recently as the 1960s, many Portuguese left the Azores when President John F. Kennedy agreed to give them refuge. Laotian, Hmong, and Vietnamese refugees also found safety in America during the Vietnam War. Some of our ancestors endured fighting at home but left at the close of wars where the government had been unseated and they chose not to live under the control of new leaders. When Bavaria entered the German Empire in 1870 and Prussia became the empire's largest kingdom, a large number of Bavarian immigrants came to America late in the century. Whether in America or abroad, the effect of warfare on the development of the American family was significant. While war made many families smaller by taking lives, it opened new worlds to others by introducing those who might never have met. World War I changed the American family's lifestyle in a major way. Young men who had never left home suddenly went overseas to France or to military bases across America. A soldier from Kansas might have found himself stationed at a base in Massachusetts, seeing the ocean for the first time. A new trend appeared as brides began to relocate across the country to new homes. After World War II the same process was repeated even more dramatically, setting the tone for future generations. Young American men sent overseas sometimes returned with more than military service. New brides came to America from places such as England, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, stirring the family melting pot even further. Some soldiers, ironically, saw service in the homeland of their grandparents The world became smaller as horizons expanded, putting the older generation in touch with their native lands again and creating new generations made up of blended nationalities. In earlier centuries, wartime changed the appearances of families in other ways. When storms wrecked the Spanish Armada off northern Britain in 1588, those sailors fortunate enough to make it to the coast of Ireland were able to retain their religion. The stranding of many Spanish so far from home resulted in future generations of dark-haired Irish. The effect of war on women was especially devastating, leaving many widowed, poverty-stricken or with child by the invading armies. When America offered new hope, the prospect of traveling across the ocean no longer seemed as daunting. More about Karen .. Karen Frisch has spent years getting lost in cemeteries. With a background in Victorian studies, teaching, and writing, she has traced her lineage back thirty generations. Her interest in genealogy began as a child when her grandmother gave her a collection of old photographs from Scotland. .