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Dad's side- Grandpa was a full blooded Algonquin. His parents left the reservation in northern Quebec and had my grandpa in New York. Grandma was 1/2 Polish and 1/2 Sicilian
Mom's side- Grandpa was full Russian and Grandma was full Portuguese Sephardic Jew.
So that makes me 1/4 Native, 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Portuguese, 1/8 Polish, and 1/8 Sicilian.
Mostly western Europe but not entirely. A mix of 1/4 Irish, 1/4 German (Hesse Darmstadt), 1/4 German (Pomeranian), 1/8 Russian/Ukrainian?, 1/8 English-Dutch-French Walloon. Male haplogroup is North Sea/Friesland. Mitochondial line is Irish.
DNA picked up the Russian/Ukrainian thread -- Gr. Grandpa was "on the lam" and claimed to be Bavarian and changed his name running from someone or something...he was probably from the Russian Empire somewhere. A mystery man.
When I think of describing "my genealogy" I don't usually think of ethnic origins, although that is a part of it. Where they were born they could not control so there is nothing to be "proud" of. Rather I think how my ancestors probably were really anxious to get out of a bad situation and move to America for a chance at a better life. My ancestors all worked much harder at that than I have had to. In many ways I know I am enjoying a better life because of choices they made. I like to try to look behind the obvious in genealogy and understand the kinds of things my ancestors lived through, what their world was like, and how that influenced their decisions. I could care less whether they wore a "kilt" or "lederhosen."
I am black American as such, I don't have an immigrant ancestor I can trace. But my family has been in America since the mid 1700s as far back as I have traced.
I have documented 7-9 generations of black Americans in my family. A large branch of my maternal line were free people of color and they claim to have native ancestry but I have yet to find any proof of this.
So I consider my family to be "from" the 13 colonies. Ironically the earliest ancestors I have found, which was recently, were enslaved persons and they lived in NC in the late 1780s, born approximately 1755. That line eventually had an ancestor move to OH where I'm from in the 1870s when he was 17 years old. This is my maternal line. The rest of my maternal line were from PA, MD, and VA.
My paternal line were from SC and VA and later on West VA. I am upset that the county where my father's maternal line hails from had a courthouse fire in 1890 (Appomatox County) and so I cannot find anything else about them.
Update for me. My family has always been labeled as "mullatto" on census records from the 1800s through 1940 and I recently discovered another branch on my maternal side. I am now part Irish! My 5th great grandmother was born in VA but her parents were Irish according to new records I have found. She married my 5th great grandfather who was listed as a "mullatto" born in VA in the mid 1700s.
Update for me. My family has always been labeled as "mullatto" on census records from the 1800s through 1940 and I recently discovered another branch on my maternal side. I am now part Irish! My 5th great grandmother was born in VA but her parents were Irish according to new records I have found. She married my 5th great grandfather who was listed as a "mullatto" born in VA in the mid 1700s.
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