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Okay, I have a thread on yankees impressions of the old money southern "upper crust".
Now for other southerners. If you are from above the Mason Dixon line, please comment in the other thread.
My impressions:
* They are status obsessed, indulgent, & sometimes lazy
* They want the status quo, they actually have held back the cities they are in.
* They own lots of land and don't permit it to be developed so as to not compete with their other business ventures.
* Their money is declining and the youngest of the generation of this old money who are of age (now millenials) aren't adapting the practice of their elders, so I believe this may be the "last generation" of the old money as it is now.
I mentioned in the other thread that a lot of this money has prevented cities like New Orleans from developing. They develop a repressive tax structure and system that prevents new money from coming in and revitalizing the city. I believe that old money is the reason why Houston surpassed New Orleans. Houston was a po-dunk town in 1900, New Orleans was the 3rd largest city in America in the mid 1800's. New Orleans should be the oil capital of the country, not Houston.
There's no reason why Charleston is as small as it is. It should be the size of at least Baltimore, it was an important port city in the Southeast. Again, the elite prevented the new money and people had to go elsewhere.
I doubt the opinions will be much different because of a different region, some people don't have a thought about any crust because everyone is human and they all do the same basic things I do daily. Things like eat, shower, get dressed one arm and leg at a time, put one shoe on at a time. Outside of that, there are numerous people who do not flaunt their wealth so you have no idea if the guy in bib overalls at the KFC is a millionaire or not.
I doubt the opinions will be much different because of a different region, some people don't have a thought about any crust because everyone is human and they all do the same basic things I do daily. Things like eat, shower, get dressed one arm and leg at a time, put one shoe on at a time. Outside of that, there are numerous people who do not flaunt their wealth so you have no idea if the guy in bib overalls at the KFC is a millionaire or not.
I'm not thinking of "judging" people but more of how those people interact in business environments.
To a stranger you wouldn't be able to tell some of them, but to those in the know, they can recognize them.
I think you are focusing on vast generalizations when, in fact, old money is like a lot of other socioeconomic groups in that they are more varied than given credit for.
For each of the impressions you listed, I can think of families that very much fit that type, and others that are almost polar opposite.
I think you are focusing on vast generalizations when, in fact, old money is like a lot of other socioeconomic groups in that they are more varied than given credit for.
For each of the impressions you listed, I can think of families that very much fit that type, and others that are almost polar opposite.
Exactly. My impressions:
They live below their means.
They are very low key.
They are philanthropic.
They are civic-minded.
They socialize and marry within their own circle.
They don't talk about their money, except to their investment counselors.
They tend to vacation at the same resorts year after year.
They often have first names that were the last name of ancestors.
They are often Episcopalian.
I joined this forum just to respond to this topic.
I am from an Old Southern Family.
Of the relatives who share my last name, there have been two governors, eight or nine state delegates, one state supreme court justice, one attorney general, two general officers, and a slew of other military officers dating back to colonial times. There are two counties that bear our name, and we hand in founding a couple others, including a mid-sized city, and one major university back when it was a little shack in the woods. There are several historical markers dedicated to the sites of old family 'homesteads' or miltary exploits, as well as at least one plantation registered as a historical landmark. Our history is plastered all over the Southern US.
And yet I doubt anyone in my daily life knows any of this, aside from a few close friends, because neither I nor my family go spouting off about a bunch of dead people with whom we share a morsel of DNA. And my friends who do know anything about it assuredly don't give a rat's ass.
Pretty much all of my furniture is from the antebellum period, including a ridiculous-looking Roccoco Revival sofa that has been in my living room for years and has garnered not a single word of interest from anyone other than a "nice couch" or two. I nod and say, "thanks."
I like some aspects of the old-time style (but, mostly, I like heirlooms because they are FREE), and have enjoyed reading up on this history, but it has had no impact on my life. People simply don't care, nor should they.
So, yes, I would agree that there are old families out there who are very low-key. So low-key, in fact, that our heritage may as well not exist at all. And that's fine, because we built our heritage by supressing others'. My family owned slaves for generations, breaking up their families, destroying their traditions and senses of culture.
My family history reminds me that the only thing that matters is how you treat people today. Anyone who suggests otherwise is no friend of mine.
Exactly. My impressions:
They live below their means.
They are very low key.
They are philanthropic.
They are civic-minded.
They socialize and marry within their own circle.
They don't talk about their money, except to their investment counselors.
They tend to vacation at the same resorts year after year.
They often have first names that were the last name of ancestors.
They are often Episcopalian.
I agree with alot of this but I always wonder who these upper crust people are? are they related to first families of virginia, or the george washingtons, jeffersons, james madisons, etc. or the first families like carroll's in maryland.
whenever you hear about so called "old money" in modern america, its never very old. lol the robber baron families like rockefellers and astors and carnegies all came from very humble stock,the families are usually founded in the early 20th century by some immigrant fur peddler,traveling salesman etc
Of the relatives who share my last name, there have been two governors, eight or nine state delegates, one state supreme court justice, one attorney general, two general officers, and a slew of other military officers dating back to colonial times. There are two counties that bear our name, and we hand in founding a couple others, including a mid-sized city, and one major university back when it was a little shack in the woods. There are several historical markers dedicated to the sites of old family 'homesteads' or miltary exploits, as well as at least one plantation registered as a historical landmark. Our history is plastered all over the Southern US.
whenever you hear about so called "old money" in modern america, its never very old. lol the robber baron families like rockefellers and astors and carnegies all came from very humble stock,the families are usually founded in the early 20th century by some immigrant fur peddler,traveling salesman etc
The Astor family goes back to John Jacob Astor. He was a New Yorker and made his fortune from fur trade in the early 1800s.
So, it is one of the true old money families in America.
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