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Like everyone said British ancestry is very underestimate in the U.S.
Demographers and some authors estimated:
English at 80 million
Scots-Irish at 27-30 million
Scottish at 20-25 million
If you add up the all British group, a third of Americans have at least one British ancestty. I'm sure Welsh ancestry is also a bit underestimate and they might be around 3-5 million.
Scots-Irish is really Scottish so that means that Scottish would be at possibly 55 million. That sounds way too high and very unlikely.
My father's maternal grandmother's family came from England to Boston about 1620s. A cousin supposedly traced him to 300 CE. I did not do the work. I did not see any evidence of her research. She said she did all her research in Salt Lake City library in the 1950s. I can follow this line to New York. Another of his line I can follow to Boston and Paul Revere but no further.
My father's paternal grandfather's family can be traced 1694 in VA. DNA indicates this family was in Western Europe about 8000 years CE.
Mother's paternal grandmother's line is Dutch and can be traced to the Low Countries circa 1550. Mother's paternal grandfather's line can be traced to 1712. Family lore says he's a Scot, but there is no proof where his family existed prior to his birth, or where/if his parents ever lived in the British Isles.
Family research, regardless of who does the work, can get very thorny very fast when one depends upon records they've never seen, that were translated by a person living in another country. This is particularly true of Dutch records when authors attempt to translate statin bijbel, kerk, and Dutch family records to American English. It does not help and it is not funny. I had a cousin tell me she was fluent in Dutch; if I wanted to know what a Dutch record says, I should learn Dutch. I did. What I learned is [1]my cousin sells a good story, but she doesn't know how to write Dutch names. [2]The Dutch word "van" is not always a second name or part of a second name. [3]It is almost totally impossible to trace family when names are spelled incorrectly or misrepresented.
My ancestral Dutch uncle was born in the Low Countries ca 1624. He had 4 wives and a dozen kids before he died. He, his brother, a mutual friend, and their families (25 individuals) set sail for the new world in the 17th century. Shortly after they landed, the English wrested control of the Dutch colonies, and the King of England demanded everyone adopt a fixed second name. No longer would the patronymic naming scheme be allowed. Some families adapted quickly. Others waited nearly a 100 years before the change. The Dutch church only listed the new and old name one time only. Thereafter only the new name is found in these records.
In the case of misrepresentation some errors are easy to see. Jane Smith was not born in the Netherlands in the early 1600s. Her baptismal name was not American English. The Smith name did not appear in this family tree for another 200 years. When an author pens he does not understand the connection between two families he should not ever be cited as an authority. All this I found while trying to trace a "authority cited" Van Pelt ancestor who never existed. Not only was she not even van Pelt (from Pelt), as was her grandfather, her native (birth) name was not Van Pelt or American English. But after searching some 1000+ church records I did find the missing links and was able to reunite the missing families. It was an adventure of love for 20+ years before my sight began to fail.
- German at 49 million
- Black or African Americans at 41 million
- Irish at 36 million
- Mexican at 32 million
- English at 27 million
Interesting.... looks like nobody is descendant of Native Americans
even though I lived in Missouri for many years and you could clearly tell people that had Native American blood because of their straight soft hair and some facial features.
Interesting.... looks like nobody is descendant of Native Americans
even though I lived in Missouri for many years and you could clearly tell people that had Native American blood because of their straight soft hair and some facial features.
Straight soft hair is not something exclusive to Native Americans. My family has several members with straight soft hair and we don't have any Native in us. DNA tests are showing that white Americans have even less Native Admixture than they claim to be. Many that are claiming the ancestry don't have any at all in fact. My family was one of these. Both me and grandma came back completely European despite her firmly believing she was part Cherokee.
Straight soft hair is not something exclusive to Native Americans. My family has several members with straight soft hair and we don't have any Native in us. DNA tests are showing that white Americans have even less Native Admixture than they claim to be. Many that are claiming the ancestry don't have any at all in fact. My family was one of these. Both me and grandma came back completely European despite her firmly believing she was part Cherokee.
Interesting you should write this. When grandma was mad at me she claimed she Cherokee. She wasn't. Warfield is an Indian name. It's Creek; it's also English. We need to remember long before white man settled in North America, the First Nation followed bison track across the Beringa Bridge and settled in Alaska and Canada long before subgroups began to explore and settle in what would become the United States. There is evidence on both coasts of Native American existence 10,000 -11,000 years ago.
It is very difficult to judge who is, or who is not, First Nation, or Native American, by looking at the face or hair. Wanna know? Ask. .
Interesting you should write this. When grandma was mad at me she claimed she Cherokee. She wasn't. Warfield is an Indian name. It's Creek; it's also English. We need to remember long before white man settled in North America, the First Nation followed bison track across the Beringa Bridge and settled in Alaska and Canada long before subgroups began to explore and settle in what would become the United States. There is evidence on both coasts of Native American existence 10,000 -11,000 years ago.
It is very difficult to judge who is, or who is not, First Nation, or Native American, by looking at the face or hair. Wanna know? Ask. .
Actually, these days if you really want to know you can do a dna test. So many people in the US claim Native American blood only to find out they are 100% European American.
Actually, these days if you really want to know you can do a dna test. So many people in the US claim Native American blood only to find out they are 100% European American.
There are a lot of people claiming Native American ancestry when logically it isn't possible as there were not that many Native Americans to begin with. Do people do it because they find it exotic or is it because of family folklore?
There are a lot of people claiming Native American ancestry when logically it isn't possible as there were not that many Native Americans to begin with. Do people do it because they find it exotic or is it because of family folklore?
Nope not me as 23andme states I have just 0.1 % East Asian DNA however as an non olive skin British American with 94 % Northern European DNA (23andme results) I've always been perplexed as to why I can easily tan and feel naturally high (endorphins) when exposed to the hot sun?
Actually, these days if you really want to know you can do a dna test. So many people in the US claim Native American blood only to find out they are 100% European American.
Or in some cases, it's a smidgen of Sub-Saharan African ancestry that shows up, and then they're shocked.
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