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Just to add...I don't think I'd pin any distinctive look on Scots-Irish ancestry though since that's also quite prevalent across central and western PA as well as western NY. In fact...if your family has been here since around the revolution, you probably have some bit of Scots-Irish ancestry, even if you're African-American.
The more I study genealogy, the more convinced I am there are lots of us who are related!
RE: PA and WNY, perhaps there are lots of Scots-Irish there, but since the early 1800s, lots of Irish have settled there, since the 1860s lots of Germans, and since the 1890s, lots of Poles and Italians. So compared to the southern Appalachians and the Piedmont where few European immigrants settled in the 1800s, the Scots-Irish presence has been greatly diluted.
I find this to be an interesting thread... From my own personal experience I've noticed some totally unrelated people (but not all of the people) I've met from the South have a certain look about them. Same with Australians and even Mainers. Australians probably the most.
I see many people everyday of Scot-Irish ancestry. Most are I see around here are brunette hair color, brown or blue eyes, rather well built (even if they are tall), basically handsome and the women are pretty. I don't know how many southerners really and truly know their ancestry unless they have old bibles it is written in. I don't see many redheads or blonds at all in this neck of the woods, or auburn colored hair. Anywhere in lousiiana, even the northern part, there may be some French ancestry and some American Indian as well. Some people call themselves Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Irish, Welsh, etc. I don't even know my own lineage except my Dad was from Ohio and I have a good bit German ancestry.
Stormcrow talking about appearances in Appalachia, said...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormcrow73
These are pretty distinctive features in my family and most people I've talked to claim the high cheekbones and eyes are evidence of Cherokee heritage. I'm currently of the opinion this is bunk but I can neither prove nor disprove it.
It's not "bunk". I grew up in central West Virginia, the heart of Appalachia. The valley I grew up in had a large number of people who came from Native American ancestry, tossed in with a few Scotch-Irish and Germans who migrated from other more remote valleys in the state.
My Great-Grandfather was Iroquois - here is his photo...
My Father (his Grandson) likewise, shows the physical characteristics, with some baby fat since this photo was of him in 1938 when he was 8 years old...
These are small crops from VERY old (1930s photos) that have been enlarged, hence their crappy quality - sorry.
Now, West Virginians typically do not consider themselves to be "Southern" and many shun that label, as we are Appalachian - not Northern OR Southern. Still, in the region of the state that I'm from, the above looks are very common to see among the populace. Very common, actually. I never saw a red headed person and only a handful of blonds before I moved to Atlanta. If you travel to other valleys in WV though, you stumble across areas that were settled by Germans, as well as Polish - and you DO see a difference in the people's physical appearances in those areas.
You drive thru cities looking at people and make assumptions such as these, about as silly as another posting that read germans tend to be a little more "stocky" and hold weight in different ways than other backgrounds.
But wait aren't you the one that stated almost everyone is fat especially if they are over 30 years old.
But goddamnnnnnnnnnnnnn those southern girls are cuteeeee .
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North Louisiana, center of the deep South
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