Heinz 57 Varieties

Whenever my family is asked about our ethnic background, my Dad often tells a joke. He says that we are Heinz 57 Varieties. I must caution that this is a joke not to be taken so seriously. It is just a joke. It just means that we are a little bit of everything, you know, English, Scottish, maybe Irish, German, maybe French, maybe Dutch, etc. Not that it matters very much in white America. Anyway, it's not like my family ever put much stock in genealogical research or ever thought of going back there. What would we find there? Probably just ordinary people, nothing to get excited about. Only in these modern days of online resources have we rediscovered some interesting information about the Calkins who arrived in America in 1640. We used to have no idea, really. My uncle said we were Welsh but I don't know. The name could have Irish origins or maybe it is an English word, an attachment to a horseshoe. With a "u" in the name we might have been caulkers, maybe window sealers or boat builders, but we don't have a "u" in our name, and anyway, we really don't understand why it should be this important. After all, no castle real estate is involved.