By Christina Capecchi
Last night, while many of my peers tuned into the finale of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” a three-hour event dubbed “historic” by the show’s ratings-minded host, I delved into some real history. I joined more than 2 million people and subscribed to the genealogy website Ancestry.com.
No, I don’t fit the target demographic, but somewhere in my 20s, the curiosity sprang up. If the charge of early adulthood is to develop a better understanding of who you are and where you come from, then exploring my heritage seems a logical pursuit.
I began with the ancestor who has loomed largest: the great-grandpa who emigrated from Florence, Italy, to St. Paul, Minn., in 1906, a 17-year-old who didn’t speak English and broke his mother’s heart.
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