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Dia Jones
Lynn Raymond
English 1103
21 July 2014
Life Before and After Dia Jones
Karolina Kurkova pointed out, Remember who you are and where you come
from; otherwise, you dont know where you are going, and that is exactly how I felt
while I began research on my family. Growing up I believed that my ancestors originated
and came from Africa, but I was recently proven wrong. I also believed that my family
prior to my grandmother, I believed that my relatives and ancestors were owned by slave
owners or were runaway slaves. Once again, I was wrong, I had no idea where I was from
and who my family was. This project encouraged me to look beyond what I believed and
dig deeper into my familys history.
I began researching and trying to find out my grandmothers family origin, until I
failed to realize I did not know where to look. I called my mother and found out that my
great great-grandmother was Native American, Cherokee, and her great grandfather was
Caucasian, but no one knew where exactly he was from. I asked my mother where
exactly did the Cherokees settle in North America and she stated Georgia (Jones,
Karen). But, there was still no information on where my grandmothers great-grandfather
came from.
Cherokee Native Americans settled in Georgia, North Carolina and South
Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee (The Cherokee Before 1800). My great great-
grandmother settled in Georgia. On the way to settle in the South, the Cherokees had to
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move to Oklahoma, they began this journey on the Trail of Tears (The Cherokee Before
1800). There are multiple clans of the Cherokee tribe, but it is unknown to which she
belonged to. She did not believe in God because the Cherokees believed that the land
they occupied was the center of the universe, while also believing that everything, not
only living things, had a soul, except for the bear (The Cherokee Before 1800). My
great great-grandmother is the reason why I have Native American in my blood.
When my family finally settled in Georgia and time passed, their lifestyle began
to change. They started off poor and decided that it was time to start working. They
began as cleaners and helped around the house. My grandmother, Inez, worked in an ice
cream factory as a supervisor while my grandfather worked as a city supervisor.
My family has had various health issues over time. These diseases include kidney
disease and diabetes. Chronic kidney disease is when the kidneys lose function over a
period of time. According to the National Kidney Foundation, If kidney disease gets
worse, wastes can build to high levels in your blood and make you feel sick (About
Chronic Kidney Disease). Kidney disease can also lead to heart disease as well as blood
vessel disease. Chronic kidney disease can cause diabetes, high blood pressure and other
medical problems. There are multiple conditions that also affect the kidneys these
include: glomerulonephritis, which causes inflammation in the kidneys filter units, and
polycystic kidney disease, which are large cysts that damage the surrounding tissue. From
my research on my family and asking my mother, it is hard to figure out who has had this
disease and when. I also discussed with my mom whether my grandmother is suffering
from kidney failure, and my grandmother does have kidney failure.
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Diabetes is also an illness that has affected my family. There are two types of
diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 is specified to children and young adults. This type
was previously called juvenile diabetes. With this type of diabetes, insulin is not
produced in a regular pattern and insulin is important because it breaks down sugar,
starches, and other food into energy (Type 1). Type 2 diabetes deals with the blood
glucose, which is when the sugar levels increase at an irregular speed. With this type, the
body is insulin resistant, meaning that the body does not utilize the insulin in the right
way (Type 2). My grandmothers siblings had Type 2 diabetes and have passed away
from either complications with diabetes or other complications. My dads brother, my
uncle, developed Type 2 diabetes over time.
Despite the medical issues that run in my family, my grandfather served in the
military during World War II. World War II is one of the most important and historical
wars of all time. This war was fought between the United States, Germany, and other
countries. This war brought technology into the world and Civil Right Movements were
on the rise as well as the women rights, and exploring outer space became mainstream
(World War II). This war produced many causalities, totaling 58,000,000 deaths
(World War II). Fortunately for my grandfather, he survived fighting and lived on way
past the war and destruction.
My past family members were all involved in church, which has also been passed
down from generation to generation. My maternal grandmother grew up in church,
specifically a Baptist church, which was then passed down to my mother. My maternal
grandfather was a deacon in the church, which also contributed to my mother passing
down the tradition of going to church. My grandmother and mother both sing gospel
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music and in the church choir, which was also passed down as well. My brothers and I
all have sung in the church choir or have participated in any activity that would bring us
closer to God.




















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Works Cited
About Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney.org. National Kidney Foundation. 2013. Web.
17 July 2014.
Jones, Karen. Phone Interview. 17 July 2014.
The Cherokee Before 1800. Aboutnorthgeorgia.com. About North Georgia. 2014.
Web. 17 July 2014.
Type 1. Diabetes.org. American Diabetes Association. 2014. Web. 17 July 2014.
Type 2. Diabetes.org. American Diabetes Association. 2014. Web. 17 July 2014.
World War II. Historynet.com. Weider History. N.d. Web. 17 July 2014.