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England was settled/invaded by Germanic tribes on top of a Celtic population. ( Angles and Saxons (Anglo-Saxon) were German). And then there were the Vikings who came and settled as well. The Norse also settled in France, Normandy and William the conquerer came in 1066. You could find pictures of Norweigans that look similar as well.
Speaking of genetic markers, the British Isles ( Great Britain and Ireland to be clear) share many genetic markers with Spain and Portugal surprisingly. Galicia in Northern Spain is one of the 7 Celtic Nations.
According to the POBI or People of the British Isles study. The people of Wales may be genetically the closest to the original settlers of the British Isles who came to Britain after the end of the Ice Age. Their greatest genetical contributions are from western Germany and northwestern France, not Iberia!!
In my reference, I am referring to Whites not other groups. People of English ancestry have always been more numerous in the North-East and the West. Utah and Idaho are in the West for your information and Maine, Vermont are in the North-East. In the south, you have the English with Scots, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh ancestry together will form a majority, but also the French (especially Louisiana), Spaniards (actually the first White people to settle Florida, plenty of Germans in the Carolinas. Those who identify as American ethnic do this due to multiple ancestries, of which English could be one of them but not their sole ancestry.
I agree American ancestry is a blend of English, Scots/Scotch-Irish, Welsh, Irish or German, what I'm saying is that even English ancestry alone is greater in the south than most western states (except UT and ID) and northeastern states (except VT, NH and ME).
People of English ancestry are a higher percentage in the West but they are not more numerous than southerners with English ancestry. Yes, English ancestry is high in UT and ID but not so much in Montana or New Mexico while in the south they represented approximately 20% of the population (except in Louisiana) according to demographers and historians.
I agree American ancestry is a blend of English, Scots/Scotch-Irish, Welsh, Irish or German, what I'm saying is that even English ancestry alone is greater in the south than most western states (except UT and ID) and northeastern states (except VT, NH and ME).
People of English ancestry are a higher percentage in the West but they are not more numerous than southerners with English ancestry. Yes, English ancestry is high in UT and ID but not so much in Montana or New Mexico while in the south they represented approximately 20% of the population (except in Louisiana) according to demographers and historians.
20%? No way! No state in the south has such a high percentage for people of sole English ancestry. In the early colonial days, yes, the vast majority of Whites in the south were of English, but this changed tremendously later.
Last edited by saxonwold; 04-22-2016 at 06:49 PM..
People seem to confuse British with English ancestry. Yes, Americans of British ancestry are probably more numerous than those of German ancestry, but not by far.
20%? No way! No state in the south has such a high percentage for people of sole English ancestry. In the early colonial days, yes, the vast majority of Whites in the south were of English, but this changed tremendously later.
I think there's a process that you forget it's the multiplication. When other immigrants arrived (Germans, Irish, Dutch or Scandinavians), they mixed with the English Americans already present and thus their number grew more and more. It doesn't necessarily mean they're fully or mostly of English descent, it can be 1/8 English or 1/16 but they still have an English ancestry.
Thirty years ago, they represented on average 25% in the south, I know there have been many transplants from the northeast, midwest and west since then but not from the point of completely changing the demographic of the south.
Keep in mind that the South hasn't received as many Europeans during the great wave of immigration of the 19th century as the Northeast and the Midwest so most southerners can trace their lineage to the colonial era, therefore, English ancestry who were the most numerous but also Scotch-Irish and Scottish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saxonwold
People seem to confuse British with English ancestry. Yes, Americans of British ancestry are probably more numerous than those of German ancestry, but not by far.
I'm not confusing English and British, I really speak about Americans tracing their lineage to England alone. I didn't even bring the fact that Scotch-Irish & Scottish ancestry combined are only 9 million, which if you think about it and look at their early arrival must be much higher.
German immigrants had colonies in south as early as 1730s. In north and South Carolina. Also a very strong French element along the gulf coast. Sure, it is a mostly British area, but definitely not entirely. Channing Tatum, Kevin Costner, Jared Leto are just some random southerners that have non-British ancestry. Channing and Kevin have stated they are mostly British even though their immediate surnames are not. It shows how difficult this question is to answer because even the most British part of the country is not entirely British.
Edit: sorry, Kevin was born in California actually, so not really a southerner, but states his last name came from German immigrants to North Carolina in the 1700s.
Last edited by Happiness-is-close; 04-23-2016 at 07:04 AM..
German immigrants had colonies in south as early as 1730s. In north and South Carolina. Also a very strong French element along the gulf coast. Sure, it is a mostly British area, but definitely not entirely. Channing Tatum, Kevin Costner, Jared Leto are just some random southerners that have non-British ancestry. Channing and Kevin have stated they are mostly British even though their immediate surnames are not. It shows how difficult this question is to answer because even the most British part of the country is not entirely British.
Edit: sorry, Kevin was born in California actually, so not really a southerner, but states his last name came from German immigrants to North Carolina in the 1700s.
Channing is mostly of English descent with some Scotch-Irish and distant German and Welsh
I agree about the surname of Kevin Costner but the remain of his ancestry is also English with smaller Scottish, Welsh and Scotch-Irish ancestry.
You should look at this website Ethnicelebs , you'll be surprised by the ancestries of some celebrities
The point is mostly, not all. Some people talk about it as if all southern ancestry is British. You basically mimicked everything I said.
Your posts are bizarre. Every post of yours is about the same topic.
I'm not that kind of person. The thing is I'm really interested about genealogy. I've read many books and articles about American ancestry and numbers don't necessarily reflect the reality.
I think there's a process that you forget it's the multiplication. When other immigrants arrived (Germans, Irish, Dutch or Scandinavians), they mixed with the English Americans already present and thus their number grew more and more. It doesn't necessarily mean they're fully or mostly of English descent, it can be 1/8 English or 1/16 but they still have an English ancestry.
Thirty years ago, they represented on average 25% in the south, I know there have been many transplants from the northeast, midwest and west since then but not from the point of completely changing the demographic of the south.
Keep in mind that the South hasn't received as many Europeans during the great wave of immigration of the 19th century as the Northeast and the Midwest so most southerners can trace their lineage to the colonial era, therefore, English ancestry who were the most numerous but also Scotch-Irish and Scottish.
I'm not confusing English and British, I really speak about Americans tracing their lineage to England alone. I didn't even bring the fact that Scotch-Irish & Scottish ancestry combined are only 9 million, which if you think about it and look at their early arrival must be much higher.
Then they became what they are, American ethnic group which is a multiple of ancestries with none really predominant.
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