Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree with you but the census asks what's your ancestry and not what nationality are you. If someone don't know exactly his ancestries and just say American, I don't mind because it's not his fault but when you know exactly where your ancestors came from I don't know why you don't answer to the question.
Except for Native Americans, everyone comes from an other continent (Europe, Africa and Asia) and the aim of the census it's to show how much this country is rich in diversity. Later the issue will be that American will be the largest ancestry ahead of British, German and Irish and more people will forget about their heritage.
Well, honestly, my ancestry is at least eight different distinct ethnic groups - it just seems a bit much, especially since they've been in North America - far from their country of origin and it's customs, for 200 - 400 years.
Certainly there has to be a point after centuries and centuries and centuries of your ancestors being American that it's pointless to say that your ancestry is European?
Well it depends how your community is assimilated into American culture. Some people have Dutch, French or German ancestry that goes back from the colonial area and they are proud to say it. You can say you have deep Scottish or Italian ancestry without identity with these people. Saying "I'm Scottish" and "I have Scottish ancestry" is two different things.
Well, honestly, my ancestry is at least eight different distinct ethnic groups - it just seems a bit much, especially since they've been in North America - far from their country of origin and it's customs, for 200 - 400 years.
For here, any ancestry that goes back 200+ years is usually English, so those with colonial-era New England roots will write down English ancestry rather than American. Otherwise, people's ancestry is more recent, maybe not much than 100 years ago. The Irish have been here longer, but they were fairly distinct until maybe 40 or 50 years ago.
In Boston, and when you ask "what are you?" most people will say Irish mainly, or Italian or some mutt mixture. Even if they can be traced back to the original Yankees (original Protestant English New England settlers of the early 1600's) they will still claim the ethnicity of recent immigrant ancestors. I have no hypothesis as to why exactly this is.
That's less true in the rest of New England. My guess is it's because there were strong class tensions between the native Yankees and the later immigrants in the Boston Area so claiming you're Yankee makes you sound like a snob. Also, the more recent immigration tends to be remember more. My ancestors came on the Mayflower gives a slightly elitist tone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
So really - what should I label myself other than "American" at this point? The last of my family tree to immigrate to the US from Europe came across the pond around 1830. I'd say we've pretty much lost touch with our European roots!
A friend of mine assumed it was unusual to have roots from before the late 1800s,
For here, any ancestry that goes back 200+ years is usually English, so those with colonial-era New England roots will write down English ancestry rather than American. Otherwise, people's ancestry is more recent, maybe not much than 100 years ago. The Irish have been here longer, but they were fairly distinct until maybe 40 or 50 years ago.
That's great, but my ancestors who have been here for over 200 years (several branches for over 300 years) hail from England (1660s), France (1650s), Switzerland (1720s), and Germany (1640s). Oh, and then of course there are the two different tribes of Native Americans - who've been here since, well, who knows when. A thousand years, maybe more. So...
My ancestry isn't all that unusual for old Southern families.
Then you have my husband - whose family name is the same as a central European country. One would assume that this means his family was originally from that country, and for years he was told that. Turns out it's inaccurate - it's actually a family name from IRELAND and his ancestors are from Ireland and England. So - as far as he knows, he has absolutely no central European ancestry - and all these years he'd been thinking that's where his people came from!
Is most of your family from a particular region of the South [assuming you moved to Texas]?
Many of my father's ancestors moved to the Mid Atlantic region (starting with Jamestown and Yorktown and moving on the Williamsburg and that area) in the 1600s. (A few settled in Pennsylvania but then moved south into VA by the 1700s as well.) Several branches then moved south to South Carolina, then "west" to Alabama, then further "west" to Arkansas and then into Texas. They were in Arkansas and Texas by the early to mid 1800s (one of my ancestors fought in the Battle of Goliad in 1835).
On my mother's side, they came over further north (don't know much about her family till the early 1800s). They moved from PA into Missouri and then south and west to Arkansas and Texas by the late 1800s. By the early 1900s, several of them had made it all the way to California.
The trend on both sides was "push west as it opens up." I come from a family of adventurers!
However, my immediate family (father and mother) didn't move to Texas till 1980, though we had relatives here long before that.
Interesting. Very different from out here and where I lived previously (New York State). One of the guys I lived with is originally from South Central Pennsylvania, he's entirely German, descended from settlers that came in the early 1700s.
Interesting. Very different from out here and where I lived previously (New York State). One of the guys I lived with is originally from South Central Pennsylvania, he's entirely German, descended from settlers that came in the early 1700s.
There are lots of Germans and German towns here in Texas too - huge German influence in the US.
There are lots of Germans and German towns here in Texas too - huge German influence in the US.
They're actually not that common in New England and downstate NY, at least relative to other groups. Back home (downstate NY) it was a good assumption that most with a German-sounding last name is Jewish, a friend of mine who moved there got that.
Seems like Texas is the most German part of the South, maybe because it's a bit different and newer from the rest of the South?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
