Out of the Ashes | Biography

Prior to this project I had never thought much about my family heritage. I knew my family, on both sides, originally came from Europe, but I did not know exactly from where or from when. Yet, these details did not mean much to me as I saw those events as things of the past which had no affect on me today. I did not view my ancestors as long-ago family members, just as people I never knew who would eventually become my great-great grandparents, who again, I never knew. However, once this project was assigned I was surprised how much of it interested me. Being a Jr., I had always felt as more of a Shotton, rather than a Lane (my mom’s maiden name), and therefore knew I would trace back the Shotton line for the sake of this assignment. You will find various information on my family throughout my project including the main idea in which my project is centered around under the “Proposal” tab, numerous photographs of the Shotton family under “Photo Gallery”, a very detailed interview with my grandfather under “Interview”, as well as all of the sources I used in finding my information under “Sources”. Lastly there is a brief fact/fictional story under “Short Story” which attempts to uncover what may have happened to my great-great-grandfather. Together these works combine to create the Shotton family Routes and Roots project for my English 1102 class, Out of the Ashes: Moving away from tradition.

Some information about myself before diving into the story that is my family. I am a 19 year old, first semester freshman at the University of Georgia. Currently enrolled as a Linguistics major, I am here on scholarship for Army ROTC and intended to commission as an active duty 2 Lieutenant in the United States Army immediately following graduation with the intention to branch into some sort of combat arms, whether that be infantry, armor, or field artillery. Both of my grandfathers served during Vietnam, and my father is just recently beginning to retire from his 21 year active duty service. It is from my family’s involvement in the Army that I suspect my initial interest with the military began. My desire to come to UGA originated from growing up around my parents who have been Georgia football fans all their lives. As I mentioned with my father being in the military my entire life, that has caused my family to move numerous times. During my years in K-12 schooling I attended 9 separate schools due to constant travel, 6 different elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools. This experience of leaving schools and established friendships I believe has greatly affected who I am today as I have learned to adapt to different circumstances as well as get along with just about every type of person. That is all on me and from here on out the rest of this project is devoted to my family and their history, enjoy!