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About 30 years ago my Grandpa's cousin made a family history book that I have been reading up on. It was always said my Great-Grandpa was 100% German. However my Great-Grandpa has a Grandmother (my ggg grandma) who was born in Zurich, Switzerland in the 1840s. Apparently she was still "very German" culturally and was remembered for her German dishes. Of course, she also married a German and spoke German. Do people with ancestors from Switzerland often just associate themselves with the language spoken(i.e. French, German)? Do many people just consider the Swiss people who speak German as German as opposed to Swiss. I just thought it was interesting because you always would hear about my Grandpa's Great Grandparents as being German, even though one was born in Switzerland.
I do I have a line of Swiss ancestry, leading back to an Isaac Kauffman who was in the early round of Swiss Menonites who became "Amish". In fact there's a religious resolution/letter with Jacob Ammann ("Amish" is named for him) with Isaac Kauffman's name on it. There are records of him being arrested for his beliefs as well.
So part of problems you'll run into:
1) National borders were different then and they shifted officially and conceptually
2) People bounced between bordering areas. In America it's easy to think of distinct Nationalities, since we don't have many border Nations. In Continental Europe however people move and intermix to the point of cultures fusing. Consider that initially immigrants into the US had very strong cultural bubbles (which carried through somewhat but usually slowly integrated)... In Continental Europe it happened for more often with neighboring countries, so you might have an area of Germany that was very Swiss, or Switzerland that was very German etc. When you get to the border areas what do you really even call it. The concept of Nation was every changing based off who claimed what etc so it didn't dictate culture the same way we think of it
3) Many people who came to America came through the German Palatines
After Martin Luther published his 95 Theses on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg on 31 October 1517, many of his followers came under considerable religious persecution for their beliefs. Perhaps for reasons of mutual comfort and support, they gathered in what is known as the Palatine. These folk came from many places, Germany, Holland, Switzerland and beyond, but all shared a common view on religion.
Many people from Switzerland fled due to religious discrimination to the German Palatine and then often elsewhere like the US. This also means that many who came to the US merged into German/Swiss communities, intermarried, etc. So the culture then ended up with and passed down could be some adapted one.
4) To this day the majority of Switzerland is German speaking
All of my Swiss ancestors were culturally German, even if they were there for several generations. They spoke German, they had German names, etc. So I usually lump them together. Sometimes, I say "Swiss/German," sometimes just "German". When you consider how much political borders in Europe have changed over history, you stop thinking in term of modern political nations and think more about who your ancestors were culturally/ethnically.
I do I have a line of Swiss ancestry, leading back to an Isaac Kauffman who was in the early round of Swiss Menonites who became "Amish". In fact there's a religious resolution/letter with Jacob Ammann ("Amish" is named for him) with Isaac Kauffman's name on it. There are records of him being arrested for his beliefs as well..
I also have a line of Swiss ancestry, who came to the US as "Amish" people and lived in Pennsylvania for a while. They spoke German.
I've read that Switzerland was originally settled by Swedish immigrants and the name Switzerland means "little Sweden". Switzerland has a diverse group of languages that include French, German, Italian and Romansch so it's probably an ethnically diverse country.
The Swiss Swedish legend seems to suggest the name Switzerland came from the name of the leader of the migrating Swedes: "Suit", alternately spelled "Swit, Schwyt, Switer". I don't know how well accepted this legend is to begin with though, since it is referred to as a legend, not an established fact.
The Swiss Swedish legend seems to suggest the name Switzerland came from the name of the leader of the migrating Swedes: "Suit", alternately spelled "Swit, Schwyt, Switer". I don't know how well accepted this legend is to begin with though, since it is referred to as a legend, not an established fact.
This is interesting. I'm Swiss, born and raised in Zurich. I can trace my family tree a long way back and they're all born in Switzerland. But when my full brother did the NatGeo DNA test, it cited us as German.
My family lore as taught me as a child was something like my father was 3/4 german 1/8 Swedish 1/8 Dutch. By traceable country of origin, he is about 98% GermanIC. The 2% are 2 Huguenots at the GGGGG GP level. Note Zurich Switzerland is GermanIC as in they speak German. I have 2 separate lines from KT Zurich. Note NO Dutch Swedish Found. Dutch was Deusch.
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I have a line of Swiss ancestry, leading back to an Isaac Kauffman who was in the early round of Swiss Menonites who became "Amish". In fact there's a religious resolution/letter with Jacob Ammann ("Amish" is named for him) with Isaac Kauffman's name on it. There are records of him being arrested for his beliefs as well.
