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 can trace almost all of my lines back to Colonial America....NY, MD, VA.......people who then migrated south to NC, SC and northern GA. No hint or documentation of NA blood.
I have one 3rd great grandmother in upstate SC, who remains a bit of a mystery. I have tentatively connected her to a German father whom other people have connected to a NA wife. I don't buy it yet and I haven't DNA tested yet either. None of the people connected to this alleged NA ancestry have any documentation so I am not inclined to believe it.
There are no stories of NA ancestry in my family and in fact there are lots of stories documented and otherwise of people fighting against the NA population as they settled upstate SC which was a wilderness at that time. Given everything I know including what I know about the history of this area hard to believe. The importance of their religion alone as well as their status as in society as large land owners as well as some slave owners would have precluded marriage to a "heathen" imo.
Having said that, 3rd great grand ma's marriage was at least originally common law based on court case with her children fighting over their father's land. Whether because she was part NA and no one would marry them or because there were no ministers available at that time in what was a wilderness I don't know. If she was part NA, then she was either passing or accepted because her WASP neighbors came to court and testified that her marriage was legit.
I could also point to physical characteristics of my mother and maternal grandfather as possibly being of NA origin....slightly beaked noses, straight hair, skin tone when in the son, etc. But, that's hardly proof.
I doubt I will be able to settle this question without boots on the ground in local courthouses researching land records or wills unless someone with the NA stories turns up with some other kind of documentation. I'm pretty skeptical though since none of the hundreds of people claiming this connection have one iota of anything resembling proof.
I can trace almost all of my lines back to Colonial America....NY, MD, VA.......people who then migrated south to NC, SC and northern GA. No hint or documentation of NA blood.
I have one 3rd great grandmother in upstate SC, who remains a bit of a mystery. I have tentatively connected her to a German father whom other people have connected to a NA wife. I don't buy it yet and I haven't DNA tested yet either. None of the people connected to this alleged NA ancestry have any documentation so I am not inclined to believe it.
There are no stories of NA ancestry in my family and in fact there are lots of stories documented and otherwise of people fighting against the NA population as they settled upstate SC which was a wilderness at that time. Given everything I know including what I know about the history of this area hard to believe. The importance of their religion alone as well as their status as in society as large land owners as well as some slave owners would have precluded marriage to a "heathen" imo.
Having said that, 3rd great grand ma's marriage was at least originally common law based on court case with her children fighting over their father's land. Whether because she was part NA and no one would marry them or because there were no ministers available at that time in what was a wilderness I don't know. If she was part NA, then she was either passing or accepted because her WASP neighbors came to court and testified that her marriage was legit.
I could also point to physical characteristics of my mother and maternal grandfather as possibly being of NA origin....slightly beaked noses, straight hair, skin tone when in the son, etc. But, that's hardly proof.
I doubt I will be able to settle this question without boots on the ground in local courthouses researching land records or wills unless someone with the NA stories turns up with some other kind of documentation. I'm pretty skeptical though since none of the hundreds of people claiming this connection have one iota of anything resembling proof.
I've seen a lot of this in my ancestry connections. Tons of alleged Native American connections that doesn't stand up to genealogical standards. Ironically my grandmother has some Native American DNA and I've triangulated it to ancestry that happens to be one that doesn't have the stories lol.
DNA tests have shown that people with Spanish colonial ancestry (who do not identify as "Indian") in parts of the US that once belonged to Spain, then Mexico, have the highest percentages of Native American DNA. Most people of English colonial background east of the Mississippi, many of them who do strongly identify somehow as Native American (often Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, etc.) and can trace their ancestors back to tribal rolls, usually have less Native American DNA than Southwestern Hispanics who do not identify as Native.
I believe this. My dad got his DNA test because he was interested in his European roots. He was especially interested in whether he had any Jewish blood because he was under the impression that a lot of Jewish had settled at different times in New Mexico. (His DNA didn't show any.) ... He wasn't thinking about Native American ancestry and needless to say the 30% came back as quite a suprise.
Most Americans that have been living there more than 220 years are either mestizos or mulattoes.
I guess that I'm the exception then. My DNA test showed 0.0 on the Native American and all the rest showed Irish, Scot-English, Scandinavian and French. And my ancestors moved here to the new colonies from Scotland in 1740, so that makes me as (white bread) as they get, LOL.
I guess that I'm the exception then. My DNA test showed 0.0 on the Native American and all the rest showed Irish, Scot-English, Scandinavian and French. And my ancestors moved here to the new colonies from Scotland in 1740, so that makes me as (white bread) as they get, LOL.
I think he was referring to people in the Southwest who's ancestry goes back a few hundred years there. In other words the Hispanics/Mexicans.
I think he was referring to people in the Southwest who's ancestry goes back a few hundred years there. In other words the Hispanics/Mexicans.
Doubt it. He was being ironic. Europeans think it is bizarre that some white Americans spend time thinking about admixture. Many think white Americans are obsessed with racial purity. I have read enough posts on this forum to say there are some of those for sure that have some sort of pride on being "pure white" really weird if you ask me. It's one of those quirks found in white American culture. However most I would say on this forum are primarily curious about genealogy.
Originally Posted by EarthBound?
I guess that I'm the exception then. My DNA test showed 0.0 on the Native American and all the rest showed Irish, Scot-English, Scandinavian and French. And my ancestors moved here to the new colonies from Scotland in 1740, so that makes me as (white bread) as they get, LOL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 80skeys
I think he was referring to people in the Southwest who's ancestry goes back a few hundred years there. In other words the Hispanics/Mexicans.
That must be the explanation. I was trying to make sense of the previous post too. When I think of "colonial" I think of the thirteen original colonies. And there are plenty of us (if not most of us) whose ancestors came over to those colonies in the 1600s and 1700s who don't have Native American blood. A lot of us wish we did!
Maybe we need to define what was meant by "colonies."
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.
