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From what I can determine, my mother's mother's side hails from Scotland. They immigrated here around 1600's, after first going to Ireland. They were part of a Presbyterian sect that wanted to practice in a more liberal manner. They settled in PA.
My mother's father's side came from Germany, I don't know when, but it was before the Revolution. Actually my German descendant was a hunter, and gunsmith. He made guns for the revolutionaries.
I haven't had as much luck tracing other members of my family. I do know my father's side came from England, and settled in Virginia, but I don't know the circumstances. There's also some Cherokee Indian on my father's side.
I'm still in the process of putting it all together!
Well, some of mine were here to begin with and some didn't here by choice (slaves), but the rest seemed to be either running FROM something in the old country or running TO the land of opportunity.
I know Dad's family was partly already in Alabama before his father moved south from the north east and married his mother. The family goes back far but I don't know any specifics. Most of mom's family had moved to Iowa by the Civil war, but I haven't seen when they came.
But...I do know my grandfathers line goes straight to London, and the East End in particular. They never actually moved to London, but can be traced back to the first census in 1300 or so. The area they lived was three small villages, and one church. By the next generation there two of the villages had merged, then the third did later. But when London overtook them and they were merged into the city, as their records were available, all those parish records kept by the three down to two and then one villages were saved in city records which exist to this day.
But my five x great grandfather and his brother were arrested for petty theft of clothes off a line. It was ruled more than petty and he had a trial in court, and talked them out of hanging. He and his brother were shipped in 1719 among the first shipful of convict indentured work. Since they weren't trusted, all but a very few were sent to work the fields. I even found a copy of the sale of he and his brother to a planter in Maryland.
I have several big mysteries but it was an awesome feeling that the actual docoments, from the court to the transportation and sale are still around.
I have so many colonial branches I couldn't even begin to detail all my immigrant ancestors, it would take forever. Some of them were Swiss/German Mennonites, who went to PA for religious freedom and good, cheap farming land. Some were French Huguenots looking for the same in New Amsterdam (New York). Some were Quakers, also looking for religious freedom.
More recently, my Norwegian ancestors went in the 1840s to Wisconsin, I suppose it was just a good opportunity. They were sailors on the Great Lakes, and farmers.
And most recently was my Italian ancestors, who came for better working opportunities. in the late 1800s/early 1900s.
Aside from wanting to experience the prosperity of the United States, compared to the economic situation in Italy at the time (1912), my grandfather wanted to get away from the influence and power of the Roman Catholic church. He recognized that priests didn't believe the mythology they were promoting any more than he did, and that they only did it because it was easier to make a living that way rather than being a farmer, stone-cutter, or mason.
My dad’s family and one side of my mom’s came from Spain and immigrated to Hawaii to work in the sugarcane plantations. They came in different years and both families had a 7 year contract to work and after completing their contract they moved to California, although they were offered jobs in Hawaii. I don’t know why my dad’s family actually left Spain, they were doing ok there according to stories they told (maybe they exaggerated how well they were doing). My mom’s dad left Spain with his family because he felt Spain and Morocco were going to have another war (which they eventually did) and he didn’t want his son to have to fight in the war.
My mom’s other grandmother was born and in Uruguay to Spaniards and lived in both Uruguay and Spain with her family and husband/kids. They all eventually immigrated to New York and eventually some came to California. We don’t know their specific reasons for leaving Spain/Uruguay.
Last edited by twins4lynn; 07-02-2017 at 10:50 AM..
I haven't actually traced mine back that far, but have read others research. Some left a part of what is now Germany after the Nine Years War and some bad weather. They couldn't grow the the crops they needed. I believe they left in the earlier 1700's and made their way to the United Kingdom, but didn't meet the skill base needed there and they did not culturally fit in so they came to the US.
Another line was from Luxembourg. From what I read, less babies and other people were dying so they were running out of land. I'd have to go look up specific dates, but I know that side of the family came here around the turn of the century. Some people may have been here in the 18880's, but I know that ancestor showed up around 1906. The Luxembourg line married into German families and are often counted as German.
I also have the Scots-Irish lines. I don't have enough info on them. They were probably riffraff that were kicked out of their country. Lol!
My mother's side were mostly Puritans escaping religious constraints but later on there was a family of Ulster Scots, probably coming for religious reasons, and a Dutch couple who came here for reasons unknown to me.
My father's family arrived in 1912 from Yorkshire, England. There had been a scandal because my gt grandfather, widower, was sued by a woman for "breach of contract to marry." Due to the scandal, his son (my grandfather) was looked down upon, especially by his mother in law. My grandfather endured it long enough to see his sister married and his older relatives, including his father, dead and gone. When there was no longer anyone who needed looking after, he immigrated and the next year he sent for his wife and children. I suppose they also came for a better life than working in the mills of industrial England and living at poverty level.
He would never speak of England and we were never allowed to ask.
Last edited by in_newengland; 07-02-2017 at 02:29 PM..
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