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Texas has many more Germans than the rest of the South. That pretty much says it all. The North was once nearly entirely Germanic (English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian) while the South was largely Scotch-Irish.
Just as Atlanta's (and DC's) blacks are, NYC, Philly, Boston, B-More, and DC's non-blacks aren't socially accepting. Along with that, I would assume that (from what I've heard) for Austin and Houston, I wouldn't be treated spitefully, looked at as a criminal/thieve/welfare bum, or turned down by women because of my skin color. That's good enough for me not to see Texas as part of the (historical) South
Honestly, I think the population in the south is MUCH more accepting of different types of people than the places I've been to in California and especially Northeast. People in Texas care about class standing more than anything. I have never seen the type of class/race segregation that is rooted so deep anywhere in Texas that I've seen in California. Everytime I hear someone from a Blue state wailing about how racist people are in Texas, I'm incredibly confused. I can't wait till I see someone say that again because I can't wait to put them in their place.
Texas has many more Germans than the rest of the South. That pretty much says it all. The North was once nearly entirely Germanic (English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian) while the South was largely Scotch-Irish.
Yes, there is a large German population in Texas (mostly in the Hill Country), however the Scots-Irish population is still the largest Anglo "ethnic group". Here is a good link on the topic:
The 1990 U.S. Census, 5.4 million Americans claimed Scottish ancestry; one third of them lived in the South. Another 5.6 million respondents identified Scotch-Irish ancestry, almost half of whom lived in the South. This was in a four-region division of South-Northeast-Midwest-West.
In the same 1990 census, the massive impact of Americans of Scotch-Irish descent continued to be obscured. The census found that Southerners comprise one third of the 39 million Americans identifying "Irish" ancestors. And, then there were the 1.1 million of "British" ancestry. These broad labels probably conceal many Scottish ancestors. This Southern stock is the core group of "Anglo-American" Texans.
Nowadays most Southerners claim "American" as their ancestry, don't they?
Yes they do Missymom, I don't think many of us really know very well exactly which ancestry we have (Scot, Scot-Irish, Irish, English, etc.). In places up north like Chicago, so many first generation have foreign born parents from Poland and whatnot so they know well where their ancestry comes from. But here in the South, its a little more vague.
I have a southern Scot-Irish and a midwestern German backround for the most part. Whereas the Germans settled and built much of the midwest, you have to hand it to our Anglo-Celtic southerners for sheer persistence in taming a wilderness with a climate such as we have (esp. in the deep south). The Scottish, Scot-Irish and Irish and English are one tough bunch of people.
Texas has many more Germans than the rest of the South. That pretty much says it all. The North was once nearly entirely Germanic (English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian) while the South was largely Scotch-Irish.
The "German" towns in Texas are a unique factor that one doesn't find in the other southern states. They are not just in the hill country, even though that is the epicenter of German decendants. St. Jo and Munster near the Oklahoma border north/northwest of DFW and Nazareth in the panhandle are two that I have been in. The ex told me how growing up in Happy, the girls basketball team from Nazareth regularly slaughtered their team because "those German girls are so tall!"
Uhoh, hope that doesn't start a PC argument. SHE said it, not me!
The "German" towns in Texas are a unique factor that one doesn't find in the other southern states. They are not just in the hill country, even though that is the epicenter of German decendants. St. Jo and Munster near the Oklahoma border north/northwest of DFW
You are absolutely correct in this, Saintmarks (that it, the German influence not just in the Hill Country). As you say, St. Jo and Munster in North Texas are also heavily German (and Catholic). Windthorst is another town worth mentioning (which is about 25 miles or so south along 281 from where I live).
In fact, my g/f has a lot of "German blood" in her (her last name is "Reinwalt" fer gosh sakes! LOL), and when she moved to Texas, one of the first places I took her to visit was at an old general store in Windthorst, where they still make "German sausage" the "Old Country" way.
Geez, I love the stuff as much as anybody, but she got to where she wanted to load up and head down every single weekend! LOL
But anyway, yeah, the German influence, like the French-Catholic in Louisiana is something atypical from the rest of the South...
I recall a relative who claims to have traced part of my families 'blood' to a large SC slave owner of English decent. The other side came someway from Ireland.
I have noticed certain 'Texas' features in the local people. They've got a certain look. I suppose it could be the Germanic decent.
I have done some of my own geneology and I have Scottish, Irish and English ancestors but I will only claim American because my people have been in this country since the late 1600's. Most people in my area either claim black or American as their ancestry.
You are absolutely correct in this, Saintmarks (that it, the German influence not just in the Hill Country). As you say, St. Jo and Munster in North Texas are also heavily German (and Catholic). Windthorst is another town worth mentioning (which is about 25 miles or so south along 281 from where I live).
In fact, my g/f has a lot of "German blood" in her (her last name is "Reinwalt" fer gosh sakes! LOL), and when she moved to Texas, one of the first places I took her to visit was at an old general store in Windthorst, where they still make "German sausage" the "Old Country" way.
Geez, I love the stuff as much as anybody, but she got to where she wanted to load up and head down every single weekend! LOL
But anyway, yeah, the German influence, like the French-Catholic in Louisiana is something atypical from the rest of the South...
Forsyth County in N.C. was settled by German immigrants in the 1700s. Salem, Bethabra and Bethania were all German Moravian settlements that grew into the city of Winston-Salem - which is still the headquarters for the Moravian religion.
There were also large settlements of Germans in Virginia and in South Carolina. Richmond is 30% German-American.
Last edited by DeaconJ; 11-30-2008 at 03:33 PM..
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