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Germans have been coming to the US since before it was the US. Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina had large German settlements prior to 1850. Germany was not unified as a country until the 1870s so lots of political upheaval, thus huge German ancestry in the US, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and even Venezuela.
My German ancestors came to the US in the 1640s and settled in PA. I guess they were trend setters! LOL
Trendsetters indeed. They must have been the very first Europeans to set foot in Pennsylvania along with Governor Johan Printz because there were virtually no Europeans in Pennsylvania until the 1680s.
They are the second largest ethnic group in California after Mexicans at 9%. From what I read a lot of them arrived earlier in the century, yet I have quite a few friends of German ancestry who still maintain their traditions and have roots in the old country, so I'm guessing they can't be more than 3 or 4 (max) generations in. I know cities like Anaheim were founded by Germans (mostly farmers) back in the 1850's, but I don't know much after that.
Here is what the first German settlement in the British American colonies looks like today. I grew up going to this, btw.
I can't say I've ever known anyone who was "German" in the same way I've known people who proudly boast about being Italian. There are actually more Germans than Italians in the zip code I grew up in but you would never know that without looking at data.
I can't say I've ever known anyone who was "German" in the same way I've known people who proudly boast about being Italian. There are actually more Germans than Italians in the zip code I grew up in but you would never know that without looking at data.
I've met a few, all from Pennsylvania Dutch country, though not Amish.
Trendsetters indeed. They must have been the very first Europeans to set foot in Pennsylvania along with Governor Johan Printz because there were virtually no Europeans in Pennsylvania until the 1680s.
I don't know if he identified himself as German, because he had moved to England prior to moving to North America, and I believe he also lived in what is now the Netherlands prior to that. But he moved to Pennsylvania in the 1640s. We have the immigration records. I think it's safe to say he was a trendsetter and also multilingual. He was originally from around Munich.
The first record of Europeans in Pennsylvania seems to be around 1608. There were additional explorations in 1609, 1610 and then many more through the 1620s forward (including the establishment of trading posts). Johan Printz founded a settlement in PA in 1643. http://www.ushistory.org/pennsylvania/pennsylvania.html
So yes, it's entirely possible - in fact, probable since we have the records, that my German ancestor did come to PA in the 1640s and settle there eventually. I didn't say he was typical or part of a group of Germans - quite the opposite in fact.
Another of my relatives was a French Huguenot which settled with the English in Jamestown around 1620 - he wasn't "typical" or part of a group of French either -but he did settle in Virginia very early on. http://www.nicolasmartiau.org/history/
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 01-07-2016 at 09:54 AM..
In the Cincinnatti area they eat mettwurst and goetta.
Not sure if Cincinnati is North-belt or South-belt.
Oh, and I have definitely met a few German-Americans with the Italian-American style ethnic pride in Ohio. I have also seen quite a few cars with GER stickers and I have seen some shaped like the state of Ohio with the German tricolor. I do suspect that the identity is weakening with the generations, becoming more Anglo-Americanified, but a lot of German-Americans in that area have roots going back only to the turn of the 20th century +/- 20 years, and there was some post-WWII immigration as well.
I don't know if he identified himself as German, because he had moved to England prior to moving to North America, and I believe he also lived in what is now the Netherlands prior to that. But he moved to Pennsylvania in the 1640s. We have the immigration records. I think it's safe to say he was a trendsetter and also multilingual. He was originally from around Munich.
The first record of Europeans in Pennsylvania seems to be around 1608. There were additional explorations in 1609, 1610 and then many more through the 1620s forward (including the establishment of trading posts). Johan Printz founded a settlement in PA in 1643.
So yes, it's entirely possible - in fact, probable since we have the records, that my German ancestor did come to PA in the 1640s and settle there eventually.
I didn't say it was impossible. I said that your ancestors must have been among the very first settlers in America because there were less than 27,000 people in the American colonies in 1640.
I'm aware of Pennsylvania's history since I was bombarded with it in the Philadelphia school system. Pennsylvania was explored by Europeans the same way Barbados was explored by Europeans more than 100 years before its actual settlement. Exploration and settlement are two completely different things.
I haven't read anything about any European settlement in Pennsylvania prior to 1680 (since "Pennsylvania" didn't exist prior to 1680).
Oh, and I have definitely met a few German-Americans with the Italian-American style ethnic pride in Ohio. I have also seen quite a few cars with GER stickers and I have seen some shaped like the state of Ohio with the German tricolor. I do suspect that the identity is weakening with the generations, becoming more Anglo-Americanified, but a lot of German-Americans in that area have roots going back only to the turn of the 20th century +/- 20 years, and there was some post-WWII immigration as well.
I can't refute anyone's personal experience. I can only say that German-American identity is non-existent in Philadelphia even though it had one of the most politically conscious German communities in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Philadelphia received a lot of German immigrants in the late 19th Century. They simply assimilated faster than other immigrants. I'd imagine Ohio is no different.
In the Cincinnatti area they eat mettwurst and goetta.
Not sure if Cincinnati is North-belt or South-belt.
Oh, and I have definitely met a few German-Americans with the Italian-American style ethnic pride in Ohio. I have also seen quite a few cars with GER stickers and I have seen some shaped like the state of Ohio with the German tricolor. I do suspect that the identity is weakening with the generations, becoming more Anglo-Americanified, but a lot of German-Americans in that area have roots going back only to the turn of the 20th century +/- 20 years, and there was some post-WWII immigration as well.
Cincinnati is solidly North belt. No Southern city has the numbers of German Americans Cincinnati does. Louisville is an exception but it is culturally and linguistically Southern unlike Cincinnati. Cincinnati has far more in common with other Midwestern/Northern cities like Milwaukee and St. Louis.
My grandparents were Volga Deutsch from Saratov who settled in Ft Morgan, northeast Colorado in 1910. They worked a farm like most Germans in that area. My late mother wasn't allowed to speak German, even at home, and was told to "speak English like an American" by her parents. 2 of my 3 uncles fought in WWII (yes, for our side). As expected, they were Lutheran.
Sadly, she could understand the language when we'd visit during a funeral or other occasion but was never fluent.
There is still somewhat of a regional accent there not unlike the Dakotas, however it's considerably more Hispanic now.
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