LIthuania, Ukraine, Russia and Syracuse, NY.

They all ended up in the US.

I’m not sure about all of them. My maternal grandmother’s father grew up in America after having been born in Russia. Her mother was either Latvian or Russian, I am not sure. My maternal grandfather’s parents were Russian and part Austrian or Swiss, we aren’t sure, but they mostly were raised in America. My paternal grandfather was born in Latvia and moved to America at the age of 14 with his siblings without their parents. We have reason to believe his father was Hungarian and then emigrated to Latvia I guess? And, mother Latvian. My paternal grandmother was Latvian born in America, I have no idea at what age her parents came to America.

Confusing.

I have to go back about four generations to find ancestors who weren’t English and then they were Scottish and Irish. My great grandfather on one side was an accountant and on the other a farmer (I think).

Most of my great grandparents were from Russia and stayed there, including places like Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, and Ufa. My paternal grandmother’s parents were from Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, though.

Oh, I forgot what they did for a living. My maternal grandmother’s father owned a laundry in NYC, for commercial customers like hotels and restaurants, and was very successful until he died at age 38. His wife, my grandmother’s mother lived off the money, but a lot was stolen by those who were supposed to be looking after her interests. My maternal grandfather’s parents owned a bakery in NYC.

On my dad’s side they were extremely poor, and I don’t know what my great grandparents did to earn a living. My paternal grandfather had been sent to an orphanage in Latvia because the family could not afford to feed him, he was the baby. It was horrific from what I can tell. When their uncle living in America helped them come to America, they were able to get my grandfather out of the orphanage to travel with his siblings. I wonder what that was like for his parents? Just awful I would guess. Depressing to think about.

I am pretty sure the old country was a very oppressive sometimes very dangerous situation for all of them, with maybe the exception of the swiss/austrian relation. Not sure.

Father’s side: Great grandparents grew up in Indiana, joined the Mormon church and moved to Utah. Grandparents grew up in Utah, then moved to Delta Colorado to become pastor and pianist in the new church. They lived the rest of their lives there

Mother’s side: Great grandparents were forceably moved to Indian Territory from the lower Mississippi area and met their spouses there. Grandparents were born in Indian Territory and later had my mother in the new state of Oklahoma, on Indian land, now known as the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.During the great drought of the 1930’s, Grandpa and Grandma took their two teenage daughters and they new baby son and headed for California. When they reached Delta Colorado, Grandpa said “This is our new home”

My Mom and Dad both grew up in Delta Colorado It looked exactly like this picture when I last saw it in 1950.

On my mother’s side my great great grandfathers were both from the Kentucky Tennessee border.
They both lost arms at Shiloh, one for the Blue one for the Butternut. When their kids got married everyone expected a knock down drag out fight. They ended up drinking buddies and reminisced about the war every time the family got together.

My great grand mother was born in little rock, arkansas. I dont know where my biological great grand father was born, but they met in colorado I believe. I believe they each moved to california, though separated/divorced. He passed long before I was born.

Here’s an interesting story though…(I was raised by my great grandparents btw).

Ellen (great gma) moved to CO as a teenager to live with her older brother & finish high school. At 16 she met a friend of his, Cecil, who was 17 & originated from Texas. They fell in love.

He used his brother’s name to enroll in the army (WWII) before he was of age. Ellen contacted Methe (his mother who did not like her) & was told that he had died in the war.

At 18 she met & married my biological great grandfather & had 2 children. They divorced & she moved to Tracy, CA, he followed, I think? I think her sister Louise and husband Cash were already here.

Here comes the good part, Folks ;)

Ellen is 35, guess who shows up…CECIL!!! He hadnt died afterall & he contacted her brother who told him where Ellen was. He was in CA too & was divorced himself. They married that same year & lived happily ever after. :)

Sometimes real life can be just as good as fiction! (Of course I left out GG dragging Papa home from the bar & making him quit smoking, etc, in their younger days LOL!)

Oh, family is still all in the valley in CA, I was the only one in Tracy left, but I moved to Reno, NV back in May. :)

Oh, and Papa did construction & built the freeways/overpasses in Stockton, CA. GG was a bus driver in Tracy. They also owned “Ellen’s Pancake House” at one point. Papa was cook (like in the army).

Also, GG worked for Johnny Cash’s mother when she was young back in AR! She said that wasnt his name then, though, before he was grown. I cant remember what she said they called him.

I was about to answer this question thinking that the OP was asking about grandparents, but then did a double-check and realized that it was about great-grandparents and, unfortunately, I don’t know anything about any of them, except for one.

My mom’s maternal grandmother was born in Portugal and moved to Cape Verde with her parents when it was still a Portuguese colony, which is where my grandma was born and lived all her life…that’s about all I know about my great-grandparents.

My paternal grandparents came from Slovenia (at the time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) in the late 1880’s. They came over as as children, and met here. That grandfather was a carpenter or woodworker (maybe both). My maternal grandparents came over individually from Ireland and also met here. He was a steelworker.

As far as great grandparents, they were all gone when I came along. My mom’s dad’s father was also a steelworker; don’t know much about ggm’s. Mom’s mom’s dad came to the US to visit his two daughters who were here. He died in the influenza pandemic in 1918. Don’t know anything about Dad’s dad’s parents, but Dad’s mom’s mom brought gm over to find what happened to her dad. He was with another woman!

Ukraine, Poland, England, and Ireland. They ended up in Ukraine, Poland, and the US.

Dad’s grandparents: Both sides spent most of their lives in central Pennsylvania. One grandfather was a sales rep (I think). His mother’s side ran a family brewery that survived prohibition by bottling soda.

Mom’s grandparents: Both sides grew up in western Pennsylvania. One grandfather was a farmer with 11 children; the other was a doctor. The doctor moved his family out to New Mexico for a couple of years when he had health problems. They eventually moved back to Pa.

Where am I now? In Tennessee, but planning to move to England. Oddly, the town is not too far from where the surname’s family probably came from. No one in our family ever talks about the English ancestry though. If ever brought up, it’s about the German ancestry.

My great-grandmother and great-grandfather, on my mother’s side of my family, were Cherokee Indians from Virginia and North Carolina and were farmers.

My great-grandmother, on my father’s side, was a housewife and helped on the farm in an area that would now be on the border between Virginia and North Carolina. My great-grandfather was a farmer and surveyor. My great-great grandfather helped Daniel Boone survey and blaze the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap.

It makes me proud that we all know our history. I love your stories and would love to hear stories from @Ciaolucedelsole‘s family. Good stuff.

Great question.

On my father’s father’s side, my great grandpa came from Belgium and his bride came from an area then known as Prussia, I think. She spoke both German and Polish. Great grandpa spoke French. They met and married in New York State, I believe. My father’s mother was Irish and I know less about that side. I know her maiden name was Ryan, but I don’t know how recent her immigration was to the US. They ended up all living in a small area in North Eastern Wisconsin.

My mother’s side I know a bit less about that far back. I know they were from a line of French Canadians and they came down from Quebec to New York State, as well, somewhere, but they ended up living in Northern Wisconsin in a small town called Goodman.

My paternal great grandparents were from Hong Kong and Madeira, Portugal.
My maternal great grandparents were from India and Guyana.

@Aesthetic_Mess wow… you are an ‘aesthetic mess’, but I bet of the most beautiful kind. What a wonderful blending of the beautiful regions of the world.

My maternal great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Germany.
My paternal great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Canada.
I am currently in the U.S.

great grand parents? Ireland. They ended up in- Ireland.

Paternal side: California, great-grandfather in the Navy, ended their days in California; Missouri, both farmers, died in California.

Maternal side: California, great-grandfather was an accountant, great-grandmother legal secretary, both died in California; great-grandfather from California, painter and artist for movies, ended up in Mexico, died there, and great-grandmother from Canada, fashion artist and author, lived (and died) in California most of her life.

I’m currently in Los Angeles.

I’m pretty sure my great grandmother was born and died in the same village in India.
I am in the U.S. but thinking to expatriate myself in the not too distant future…

I’m great happy that my great grand parents was born and died in the same village here in my country. Happy to be in same village and country.

@Vpeter7543: Where?

Welcome to fluther.