Monday, November 4, 2013

My Culture and Heritage


 
 
 
 
 
 
My Culture and Heritage

Dayna Harkey Wunderle

Kennesaw State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnicity and Race

The Revell name was an English and French name. Revell was a nickname for a boisterous person, from Middle English. It was from the old French side, meaning revel. The Revell family came over from France. The Revell Family they came over to South Georgia from Alabama. They came over in a covered wagon. The Revell family were white English.

The Dryden family name is from Scotland. They are white English as well. They first left Scotland to come to North America in search of Freedom. Many Dryden’s were lost along the voyage. Some fought in the American War for Independence.

The Harkey family is an ancient Viking-Scottish name that was derived from Henry. They were Scottish and white English as well. The Settino family was from Sicily, Italy. They were full Italian.

Family

Roles

The Revell family were farmers. They worked hard on the famers in South Georgia. The used mules to help them work. They had sharecroppers. Myme Rainy Revell cooked dinner for them every day. The Revell family was a strong family with a strong bond. They worked hard on the farm.

The Dryden family grew up in small town Ashburn, Georgia. They lived and worked on pecan groves. They would gather pecans and sell them to make money. The family worked hard at selling ice cream and candy bars. It was the hang out joint for the teenagers.

The Harkey family grew up St. Petersburg, Florida. William Harkey served in the Army in World War II, where we received a purple heart. He met his wife, Dorothy Settino while overseas. She later came to the United States where they married. The Harkey family roles were very strong in supporting our country.

Beliefs

The Revell family believed in that importance of family time. They believed in working hard to earn a dollar. They believed a handshake and good word were all you need to seal a deal. The Revell family believed in getting married at a young age. The Revells married at 14 years old. They had strong believes in marriage. They didn’t honor divorce at that time.

The Dryden family grew up the town life. They believed strongly on family. My grandfather grew up as baby in the family. He grew up with 8 other brothers and 1 sister. The Dryden family were very strong minded family. They were set in their ways and didn’t like to be told what to do. They believed the wife stays at home and cleans the house and the man does all the work.

The Harkey family believed in freedom for the country and for fighting what is right. The Harkey family traveled a lot throughout the history of them. They are a really small family with a history of veteran’s who fought in the different wars. They were a family who believed in freedom for our country and doing what they believed was right.

 

Traditions

The Revell family would get together with other farmer families every July 4th. They would eat goat and work all night long to get the food ready. For Christmas time they always received bushels of apples and oranges. They cooked a big meal for Christmas. The Dryden family had traditions such as gathering for important holidays. The Harkey family traditions consisted of the same every year. They believed in Christmas dinners and spending time with families. One thing the Harkey family believed in was saving money. They are really wise when it comes to putting away money.

Values

Religion

The Revell family were Baptist. They were a very religious family. They weren’t allowed to do anything on Sundays except work on books and scrapbook. They went to small church in Turner County which is now known as Crispy County. They went to church by mule or wagon. They walked wherever they needed to go. The Dryden family were laid back Baptist. They believed in God, but didn’t believe on going to church as much as the Revell family did.The Harkey family were Methodist. They believed in God and going to church to worship Him. They went on Wednesday nights an Sunday mornings.

 

Morals

The Revell family was really laid back. They gave their word and a handshake. They lived up to it. The Dryden family believed in strong morals and value. They believed in the word of a man to seal the deal. The Harkey family also believed in strong marriages and believed in freedom for our Country. They believed that every penny should be earned.

 

Work Ethic

The Revell family grew up on farm. They worked sun up and sun down until they couldn’t work any longer. They had hard summers and winters. Living on the farm was challenging at times. It was hard because they did a lot of work. They canned all day. They believed in working hard to survive. The Revell family lived off canned foods during the winter time.

The Dryden family had the same family belief. They lived a crowded life in a crowded house. They Dryden family believed strongly in diligence. They believe in working hard to get the money you earn. They saved a lot of money and loved family time. My Grandfather, Raymond E Dryden was in the Airforce in 1943. He served all during World War II. He retired in 1963.

The Harkey family grew up in Florida. My father doesn’t remember too much about the family, but he said that the Harkey family is known as hard workers. They belief for what was right. They didn’t grow up farming, but they grew up with the belief that the mother should stay at home and the father will work.  They believed in freedom of expression and fought hard for the United States of America.

Assumptions & Stereotypes

There weren’t any assumptions on the Revell or Dryden family. The Revell family lived on a farm and kept to themselves. The Dryden family loved hanging around in town, but lived in the Pecan Groves and made an earning living by day to day life style. The Settino family has some assumptions today. My father assumes that there are some of the Settino family left who are Italian and could possibly be part of a mafia. Due to lack of knowledge, we don’t know much about the Settino family and can only assume certain information based on the facts that we are given.

Family Tree Explanation:

I was born September 28th 1985. My lovely parents are Charlotte E Dryden and William T Harkey. They married in 1980. My mom’s parents are Aubra Revell and Raymond Dryden. They married in 1941. My grandfather passed away in 2003, but my grandmother is still alive today. My grandmother’s parents (my great grandparents) were Theodore T Revell and Mayme Rainy. My grandfather, Raymond E Dryden’s parents were Eva Parten and Raymond E Dryden Sr.

William Taylor Harkey is my father. He was born in St Petersburg Florida in 1949. His parents were Dorothy Settino and William Taylor Harkey Sr. Jr. My dad lost his mother in a gas house explosion when he was 2 years old. He barely remembers anything about her or her family. She came over from Italy and didn’t speak much about her parents. We don’t have any information regarding her family. My dad was an only son. My grandfather, William Taylor Harkey Sr. Jr.’s father was David Harkey.

Conclusion

Overall, this was a very enlightening experience for me. I enjoyed researching information through old books at my grandmother’s house and reminiscing about how they lived back then. It amazes how happy they were back then with the little they had. This truly allowed me to spend time with my grandmother. She is 90 years old, but she surely remembers so much of our family’s culture and heritage. I really enjoyed researching this information for my culture and heritage family history. It brought a smile to my face to know that I have  such a strong family background with good morals and beliefs. My mothers side of the family believed strongly in one time marriage and it has followed throughout the whole family.

 

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