[Waitone]

A related thread on immigration got me to thinking.

--How many generations has your family been in this country?
--What is your family's country of origin?
--Do you know where they entered the US?

I'm a fourth generation American from Ireland entering the US through New Orleans.

[Stetson_CO]

Moms side --
1547, from Perth Scotland.
Settled along the PeeDee River in NC.

Dads Side --
Date unknown, from England
Settled in Texas

We are still researching my dads side. I cannot do anymore unless I go to Scotland for my moms line.


c):{

[TarpleyG]

I think I had some relatives come over on the Mayflower...

I have tried to trace it back and I cannot get out of the states as far back as I can go. Also, my mother's side of the family is part Cherokee so that doesn't help tracing it any either.

GT

[cuchulainn]

Mom's father's parents
1/8 -- 1880s Irish (Clare) entering at Galviston
1/8 -- 1880s Irish (Cork) entering at Galviston

Mom's mother's parents
1/8 -- unknown-date (18th or early 19th century) Scotch-Irish settling in Virginia
1/8 -- unknown-date (18th or early 19th century) probably Norman (Perdue) settling in Virginia

Dad's mother's parents
1/8 -- 1880s Irish (Belfast) entering at Baltimore
1/8 -- 1880s Irish (Donegal) entering at Baltimore

Dad's father's parents
1/8 -- 1880s German (Alsace) entering at Baltimore
1/8 -- 1880s Dutch entering at Baltimore

I'm half Irish.
The Irish are great wits.
That makes me a half wit.

[stevelyn]

Father's side from Scotland mid-1700s. Mother's side from Poland near turn of the century........the 20th one.:D

[glockten]

I'm not sure how many generations, but on my dad's side my ancestors settled in Virginia, from England, in the late 18th century. I don't know about my mom's side.

[mtnbkr]

I don't know much about my mom's side of the family, but my dad's has been in the US since at least the 1700s. I know we had family involved in every war up till WWII (several officers as well). Supposedly, some school in NC has a statue of a Civil War officer that is a relative of ours. It was all down hill after I was born. ;)

Chris

[444]

I don't have the exact details. I know we did have family on the Mayflower. On my mother's side, they settled in New Hampshire. My dad's family in Virginia. By the time the Revolution kicked off, my family had been well extablished in this country. Following the Revoution my mother's family moved to what is now southern Ohio. My fathers family was still in Virginia at that time. After being released from the POW camps of the civil war, my dad's family also moved to Ohio where they have been working the steel mills ever since.

They came from Scotland

[Greg L]

Both sides had lines that were here before the Revolution (I traced it back and mom & dad are actually 10th cousins :D ). The rest showed up in the early-mid 1800's (mainly from Germany (Bavaria) & Scotland).

Greg

[greyhound]

Mom's side German, settled in PA in late 1700's. Dad's side Polish, settled in Baltimore early 1900's.

I had always assumed Mom's side came over much later, but someone did the research and we now have all the names and dates.

[gypsy3]

My family has always been here......Tsa La Gyc....Cherokee....

[Boats]

1890 my great grandfather on my father's side emigrated from Denmark to Winnipeg Canada.

1896 my great grandmother emigrated from Norway to Fergus Falls Minnesota.

In 1910 they meet and marry in Northern Minnesota.

On the maternal side, in 1905 my great grandfather emigrated from Finland to the upper peninsula of Michigan.

My great grandmother's family emigrated from southern Ireland during the potato famine and became "yuppers" working the iron ore mines.

In the 1940s both families of my parents had moved to Southern California where my grandparents all met and married, forming their respective families. My parents met there too.

I am fourth generation. I never complain about work after hearing tales of the iron mines of Michigan or of farm life in Northern Minnesota. I still have a smattering of Finnish and Danish in my verbal skill set.

[Art Eatman]

On my mother's mother's side, Rev. John Witherspoon came from Scotland--and signed the Declaration of Independence. The Witherspoon descendants moved southwest, with my line winding up in the Texas Panhandle in 1880.

My mother's father's folks--Fertsch--came from Frankfurt to Texas around 183?.

My father's folks came from England to Georgia and to Alabama in those colonies' early days, and thence to Texas after the War of Yankee Aggression. The Farrars came to Texas from Georgia; who knows whether or not they came from a debtors' prison? We've had little luck in tracing "Eatman" back before Alabama...

No bank robbers; no horse thieves. Dutiful folks. Boring. Guess I'm the first mostly-outlaw in the whole bunch.

:), Art

[rick_reno]

Father's side came over around 1760, settled in upstate NY, from England. Mothers side came over in 1932, from Germany.

[Iain]

My family have been in this country for a long time, the name has existed in the county of my birth since the 1100's.

Course I am a Brit. :D

[Standing Wolf]

My father's people arrived in America about five generations ago. Some of my mother's people showed up about 14,000 years ago, however many generations that might be.

[Zundfolge]

My dads side of the family has been here along time.

Two brothers came over with the second supply to the Jamestown expidition ... one ended up moving north and the other south. I'm a descendent of the one who moved north.

They where English, with Scottish ancestry.

My mother's side of the family came over just after the revolution. Her maiden name is Darling so it'm pretty sure they are English :p

[Hypnogator]

My father's grandfather immigrated from Wales in 1881. My mother's great grandfather immigrated from Germany in 1864. He arrived in the US the day Lincoln was re-elected, and arrived in Burlington, IA, where he settled, the day after Lincoln was assassinated. He bought a newspaper the day he arrived in Burlington, with all sorts of news about the assassination. It's still in the family.:)

[Poodleshooter]

My father's direct family through the paternal line has been in North America since the mid 1600's, specifically near the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Movement to the United States occurred later at several indistinct point.
On my mother's side, it's much later-one of my great grandfathers jumped ship from a German freighter near Galveston just before the Great War. I don't complain about "illegal immigration" for that reason. :)
He was the last direct relative to get here, so I'm at least the 3rd generation born in the United States.

[MeekandMild]

From five to about 800 depending on which branch of the family you're looking at.

[longeyes]

From what I've read so far everyone on this forum stems from one
Anglo-Teutonic tribe if you go back far enough. Suggest Berkeley
do a study on whether gun ownership is genetic.:D

As for me, three generations, Ellis Island, bell'Italia. Those of us
on THR who aren't in the "Braveheart" contingent are probably from the SPQR.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

we've been here 9 generations on my dad's side. Arrived on the Anne in 1624 after the Mayflower; my great (x7) grandfather was Bradford's secretary. His father returned to England and wrote a history of Plymouth colony. Came originally from around Dumfries in the Western Marches- border country- I guess the prime family activity was probably stealing cattle and killing English, which sounds like a splendid pasttime to me. Of course, I was raised around cattle and have a dislike of the English so I assume there's a dominant gene in there somewhere. I've got that side of the familys geneaolgy back to 1540's (the Red Douglases). My great-great grandfather, born in eastern TN in 1836, came to Texas in 1855. I have a photogaph of him taken in about 1900; the resembelance is spooky. As for my mother's side of the family, we've got it back to the 1860's but I'm hesitant to say more than that without a lot of further research.

I've definitely got a Viking in my family woodpile because I have a genetic marker unique to Norse peoples.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[EOD Guy]

Mother's side around 1900 from Ireland.

Father's side from Germany during the Revolution (deserter from the British Army).

[ACP230]

Both sides of my family came over from Norway after the American Civil War. It might have been as late as the 1880s, but my maternal grandmother was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1894 and .
her family was well established here by then.

My Dad's family may have come in through Ellis Island. We think my mom's family came in some other way but we aren't sure exactly how.

My kids are the fifth generation in America.

I am intensely grateful that we got out of Europe when we did.

[jimpeel]

Don't know, don't care. Last name of Peel makes me very British, though.

[BOBE]

From Scotland in 1623 on the ship "Prosperous", on my father's side. They brought two sons,one of which died as a child. Offspring of the other one is at 16 generations, father to son. They also settled in James Town.

[Hkmp5sd]

Since the early 1800's (German) and forever (American Indian).

[Sindawe]

Both side of the family have researched this topic:

Maternal Line: Originally settled in Pa with William Penn, where line's fourtuine rose and fell several times.

Paternal Line: Setteled in (IIRC) in the 1750's, Menonittes originally.

[rrader]

Ancestors from England: 1740's

Ancestors from Ireland: 1720's, 1860's (through Quebec)

Ancestors from France: 1850's

Ancestors from Germany: 1850's

Ancestors from Mongolia (Narragansett): est. 9000 B.C.E.

[LawDog]

Dad's paternal line is Picto-Celto-Norse, they wound up on US dirt from the Scots Hebrides/Shetlands in the late 1780's.

Dad's maternal line came to the US from Siberia circa 12,000 BCE. Or from Europe circa 9,000 BCE, depending on which theory you ascribe to.

Mom's paternal line is straight Celt/Gael out of the Scots Highlands by way of Ireland in the mid-1850's.

Mom's maternal line came from Wales, early 1800's - again Celt, and probably some Saxons in the woodpile.

LawDog

[Mike Irwin]

Some of my ancestors were settlers in New Amsterdam, which is now New York in the early 1600s.

Others were some of the first settlers into Snyder, Union, Mifflin, Juniata, and Centre counties in Pennsylvania.

The last of them came from Wales in the 1880s.

[Mike Irwin]

"1547, from Perth Scotland.
Settled along the PeeDee River in NC."

Stetson,

Dude!

Are you sure about that date?

Most records say the first White settlers into the Carolinas were in the 1580s.

If that could be confirmed, your family could rewrite the settlement history of the Carolinas!

[PlayTheAces]

On my dad's side my great-great-grandfather came over from Germany in 1854. We've tracked the family back to the fatherland to 1680, but can't get much past that.

On mom's maternal side they go back well past the 1850's on the east coast, but again I've run into a dead end. I'm guessing they go back to the colonial period, but can't verify it at this point. They apparently came over from Scotland.

Mom's paternal great-grandfather was a forty niner, and our branch of the family has been hanging out in California since then.

I work on the genealogy in streaks.

[Mike Irwin]

"We've tracked the family back to the fatherland to 1680."

Given the destruction of World War II and upheaval afterwards, you're lucky you can get back that far.

My Grandfather's family came to the United States around 1810. An entire village up and moved to a mountain top in central Pennsylvania. My Grandfather still spoke German in the home as a kid before World War I (Whoops! Should have been WW I, not II!).

Some years ago my Uncle tried to trace the German branches of the family back.

All records were destroyed or lost.

[lee n. field]

Mom's side, way back. 18 cent, easily. Folger, some connection reputed w/ Benj. Franklin.

Dad's side, middle 19th cent, English immigrant.

[PlayTheAces]

Given the destruction of World War II and upheaval afterwards, you're lucky you can get back that far.

Mike,

Can't take credit personally for that bit of research. A cousin who is fluent in German did the research. The records were in a church, and he corresponded with the officials, receiving birth, marriage and baptismal information.

The church archives have a surprising amount of information, if still intact.

My Grandfather still spoke German in the home as a kid before World War II.

German was spoken and written in our family as well, until my dad's generation. He spoke some, I know maybe three sentences. I hear tell my great grandfather caught a bit of flak during WWI, until the family convinced him it would be a good idea to take down the picture of the Kaiser he had hanging in the house. He was a crusty ol' coot.

[hjrocket]

Settled Easern Shore of Maryland (Pokomoke River area) in
the year 1656 AD :)

[KillitnGrillit]

You guys are all wet behind the ears compared to the native Indians.:neener:

[Ed Brunner]

My mother's parents (Irish) arrived in 1887. My father's grandparents (German) arrived c.1860.

Makes me a native American.

[Robby from Long Island]

While we have family member names and dates going back to 1615, the first place mentioned on my mothers side is Stone Arabia, New York in 1737.

After that date, the family tree is very detailed on my mothers side, while on my fathers side it has yet to be completed. I do know it goes back 11 generations. Both sides of the family came from Scotland and eventually settled in Virginia, North Carolina and New York.

Safe shooting.

[Col. Mustard]

My maternal grandfather's family came to MA from England in 1639. Mom's mother's line came from Poland around 1920, IIRC, and Dad's parents came from Germany to Long Island shortly after the Great War to End All Wars. Dad spoke mostly German until he got into public skule.

[Legionnaire]

I'd have to check the dates, but my paternal grandmother was a member of the DAR, so I know that side predates the revolution. Both sides are originally scotch-irish.

[Abenaki]

Let's see..........

On my Mothers side

Her father was Abenaki Indian
Her Mother was a Jew.......They came here right before WW1

My Fathers side

His Father was Irish and Scottish. not sure when the Irish came, but
the Scotts were sent over here before the Revolution to get rid of them.

His Mother was also Irish and Scottish..........Came over after the Revolution.

Abenaki

[Byron Quick]

Paternal side: English, Welsh, Irish, Creek here for several generations before the Revolution. It's not exactly clear when the Creeks ran the folks out that were here when they got here.

Maternal is Scottish and English...maybe some French.

[Mike Irwin]

PlaytheAces,

My bad. That should have read World War I, not World War II. Grandpa was born in 1902, IIRC. That's about right, as I'm pretty sure Grandma was born in 1906.

Hard to believe they've both been gone for over 20 years now.

[OEF_VET]

Mom's side: she's the first of her line to call the U.S. home; she moved here in 1968 from Canada after marrying my dad

Dad's side : I know we've had a member of the family serving in the American military during EVERY engagement from the Revolution up to and including Gulf War II. My Great-Aunt has a written history of the family, but I haven't seen it or her in nearly 20 years, as she lives in occupied territory (Chicago).

Frank

[Freedspeak]

From what I have been able to put together, (been doing some research and still investigating),.

On my fathers side it was probably in the 1600's, two brothers were "marine" guards at the signing of the D.O.I., and on my mothers side they came over in the mid to late 1800's.

Fathers side Germanic, and mothers side Celts ( Irish, English, Scottish, and French). (obtw, the French part was introduced in the Norman invasion of England in 1040 C.E.), so no French jokes please. :D

Also based on some "obscure" references and info, both sides had a bit of N.A., the hard part is about the fact they made a name change when they were "converted", at least when the name is "Tame Doe" (Delaware Nation area) you know for certain.

[10-Ring]

I'm 1st gen ;) Still a young pup!

[SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI]

On my mother's side- first maternal ancestor circa 1640 - came over with relatives of Lord Baltimore as an indentured servant- Scottish, from northern Scotland, Gunn clan. On my father's side, my paternal grandparents settled in eastern Mass. in 1905 - came from Galicia, part of Austria-Hungary at the time but is now in southern Poland. They were of Ukrainian descent. Most records were destroyed so there is no tracing any paternal ancestors back to the Ukraine.

[RON in PA]

I'm second generation born in USA. My father's maternal grandfather brought my grandmother in 1886 when she was a year and one-half old. Seems the Russian Tsar didn't want any Jews in Moscow so they either had to convert, move to the Pale of settlement(western part of the empire) or leave. My paternal grandfather came from what is now Slovakia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1906. He came through Ellis Island(listed on their web page). My mother's parents came from the Polish part of the Rusian Empire in the first decade of the 20th century. I know my grandmother came through Ellis Island as I was able to find her listed in the Ellis Island web page. Pretty typical story of the large wave of Jewish immigration to this country from the 1880s to the start of WW1.

[Hawkman]

1695

[Jesse H]

Parents, sister, and myself immigrated in the early 80's from Taiwan.

I remember having to fabricate a family tree for a grade school project because we just didn't keep track of that stuff.

[foghornl]

Dad's side 5, Mom's side 6, not counting me. Scots-Irish on dad's side, Scots & Cajun on Mom's.

[BowStreetRunner]

Dad's side
since before the Rev War, possibly late 1600's or early 1700's but unknown
Mom's side
arrived right before the Civil War
BSR

[Betty]

Well, let's see. Mom came from Viet Nam in (I think) 1971. Her family is supposedly 100% Viet all the way down the line. "No Japanese or Chinese," (and no French) she says.
On dad's side, grandma's Dodd family has been here since the Mayflower, and before that, Scotland, Norway, England and wherever else. (Grandma is the one into the whole family tree business, and has recently undergone a mission to find the crusty gravestones of our ancestors.) Grandpa's Wendt family was German, and moved here about three generations ago.

[davidtdm]

I used to think that I'd never truly know from whence I came. My paternal grand father was adopted, and there are only 4 grandkids from his side and it's just me and my brother that will carry the name forward. ( My bro. mostlikly won't have kids) It's a bit daunting knowing that if you don't have kids that your name could end with you.

My dad started doing our geneology anyway, thinking hey family is family right. We knew of most of the names from paternal and maternal grand parents to get stated. On my dads side through his mother (my granny) we found out that she was a decendant of my dads dad (grandpa). So my paternal grandparents were actually 2nd cousins twiced removed. :what: ( I told my dad that that explained alot).

It was pretty neet to find out that our last name is our true last name. From there (this is all paternal) my dad was able to track us back to about mid 1600's when the first French Huguenots landed in VA. It is said that we (family name) have a castle in France. One day I figured I'd storm it if the opportunity arose:D

We do know my grandfathers mother, ( I was actually able to meet her before she died in the early 80's. She was from Norway. We're un sure of my grandfathers father. When my grandfater was born, she left and went back to Norway because for what ever reasons. afair etc. My granddad was supposedly born to a very well known and liked politician and he was sent up for adoption. My great grandmother tried to get him back before leaving but they wouldn't let her take him back sence the adoption went through. I think my grandfather knew his real father, but unless he told my dad we'll never know. He passed away this June.

On the Paternal -Maternal side we go back to the Cheokee Indian Tribe and possibly the Souix Tribe. From there I've got relatives who were in Hoovers admin to the head grand wizard someth'n or other for the KKK.(not really the brightest point in the family but family is family right):uhoh:

On the maternal side: Grandfathers parents were French Canadian and had enough sense to come down;) We only have their names and not their parents names so we're kinda stuck on that front. Grandmothers folks we think came from England or Scottland. We can only go back a few generations with her folks and their still in the states at that time.

...Dave

[dog3]

Moms side of the family, most every side of her family is pre revolution.
Predominatly highland scotts.

Pops side, direct name line welsh just post revolution. patriarchal line
pre revolution welsh scott.

thaz a lotta generations. Most all mustered at Manassas, both sides.
I mean both sides of the field.

[Seeker]

My family name left Der Vaterland and landed in Phily, PA in 1763 in the ship "Chance". they them settled in Frederick cnty in Md. from where they fought the British.

[BadWolf]

Parents came over thirty-some years ago from Taiwan

[chaim]

Mom's mothers side: Russian Jews running from Czarist era pogroms early in the 20th century (great-grandmother was the only survivor from her family or villiage). My mom's dad's side, Germans but not sure how long they were here.

Dad's side:

The immigrant ancestor who brought the last name was a Hessian soldier the Brits brought over to fight- like many he switched alligences and fought for the Revolution. Obviously (if he was a Hessian soldier), German.

Most of the rest were Germans with some Scotch-Irish who came right around the Revolution (some just before, some just after). However, at least two lines have been here since the 1680s.

Several ancestors fought on our side in the Revolution and most fought in the Civil War (PA and WV units- Union of course).

[chaim]

The church archives have a surprising amount of information, if still intact. Unfortunately the same can't be said about synagogue records in the Ukraine and Western Russia. What the Soviets didn't burn the Germans were more than happy to finish off. Unfortunately, the records of my Russian/Ukrainian Jewish family are impossible to trace at this point :( (and in Judaism it is very important to know from who you came from).

[taoshooter]

1747 from Northern Scotland and early 1800s from Germany on one side.
Famine in Ireland brought the other side from the North of Eire.

(Interesting but what has this got to do with guns?) :confused:

[BogBabe]

Dad was an immigrant from Norway... came to the US about 50 years ago.

Mom's parents were both immigrants from Sweden, about 75 years ago.

[clem]

Father's side: 1753
Mother's side: 1837

[PATH]

Paternal side: Arrived in Ireland from Scotland in the 1500's. Great Grandfather came here in 1851 from Ireland.

Maternal Side: Mom is 1/2 English and 1/2 Irish.

So I guess I am 4th generation on my fathers side and 3rd generation on my mothers. Definitely a product of the British Isles!

[DadOfThree]

Let's see... Mark (me), Earl, Gifford, Milo, Seymour, James, William (emigrated from Ireland to Maryland), William Sr. (emigrated from Scotland to Ireland) The Douglass' hit the US shore somewhere around 1730.
On my mother's side I don't know. She doesn't have a family bible with the family tree written down in it.

[Yanus]

Dad's side: 1628 from England
Mother's side: 1847 from Germany; some from England


Yanus

[grampster]

On me fahders side, me gram's gram hailed from the lowlnds o Scotland, wit some roots in Oireland and England. Settled in Pa. and then to Michigan in the 1930's. Me gram's brudders was stonemasons in Pittsburgh. Me pap's folks vas Cherman's and settled in Pittsburgh too, and then on to Michigan as me grandpap (dad's fahder) was an inventor, artist, woodworker/patternmaker and built the patterns for the dies that stamped out the metal coachworks for the famous Cord automobile.
Me muhder's fahder and muhder was off the boat from Vilnius, Lithuania to Cleveland then to Michigan and back to Cleveland when me granfahder's store went under in the Depression. Me mudder stayed in Michigan.
I tink me granfahder, (ma's fahder) vas Chewish as he changed his name when coming to the States. Old name vas Chewish soundin' unt he vas from Chermany to Lithuania in early 1800's. Dey vas killen' da Chews back den, too.

:D grampster:D

[Sam Adams]

Longeyes Most of the folks here are, indeed, Anglo-Germanic in origin (though there are LOTS of part-Injuns - errrr - Native-Americans). However, I ain't very typical.

Mother's side - all Polish Jews, my four great grandparents arrived anywhere from 1909-1920, with my grandmother being the first native-born ancestor of mine (1912, passed away last year). All became citizens, and Gramps was a doctor over in Europe during our last "Rescue the Europeans from Themselves" outing. As an aside, he loved fishing so much that it nearly killed him - he went out fishing one day in some river in France or Belgium and almost got caught by the Krauts. His grandmother, my GG GM, arrived here in 1928, but didn't become a citizen before her death in 1944 at age 92.

Father's side - All Russian Jews. Both of his parents left the Ukraine (different cities - they met here) and arrived here in 1923. My grandmother came with her whole family (5 girls and a wife, all supported by a very poor tailor). She had a little brother who served as AAF aircrew for B-29's. Funny story - his mother, my GGM, sent him some bagles - its true, believe it or not - and, needless to say, when they arrived they were as hard as granite. He was going to toss them, but got a better idea. The bagels got taped to a bunch of bombs and dropped on the Japanese. Some officer with a sense of humor heard about it and recommended my GGM for a citation. Well, it worked its way up the line until FDR himself signed a citation for her, thanking her for her contribution to the war effort! I can't locate the damned thing, but everyone in the family swears its true.

My Dad's father ran from the Commies in 1923. He left everyone but one brother behind, and never saw most of them again. His story is something almost out of Hollywood: His father was a well-to-do man and had lots of horses and wagons. After the last of many battles in which his hometown switched between the Reds and Whites, the Reds (of course) won. They approached my GGF and "requested" that he bring a horse and wagon with him to the nearby battlefield to cart off the wounded and dead. Knowing that his father would be shot after finishing (because knowing how many casualties there were was a "military secret"), my 22-year-old grandfather volunteered for the job. After a few hours, most of the Reds were either asleep or drunk, so he took his chance and whipped the horse. The horse bolted, and as my grandfather was escaping the bodies were being tossed out of the back of the wagon - and the bullets from the Reds were flying by. He narrowly escaped, but couldn't go home. He went to an aunt's house, got some gold coins for bribes, train and boat fare sewn into the lining of his coat, and left. 2 months later he was here. We still have one of those gold coins. Anyway, he went back in 1969 to see his remaining brothers and sister. He became a citizen in the early 1930's (and GM during WW2), and he and my GM didn't speak any more Russian in the house after that (except when my Dad or aunt were in big trouble, and they knew enough Russian to know when they had to run). I got my hatred of left-wingers from this grandfather, as he hated anyone that was soft on the Russkies. He once met Kerensky at some speech, and gave him Hell for not killing Lenin and the rest of the Bolsheviks when he had the chance.

So, you see, a love of firearms doesn't have to spring from traditionally warlike cultures, unless you want to go back a LONG way - my forefathers likely included Joshua (conqueror of Canaan), Samson (destroyer of the Philistines) and Bar Kochba (who put the hurt on a bunch of your SPQR ancestors :neener: ). Anyway, my brethren in Israel seem to have rediscovered our ancient fighting skills, and they also make great ammo.

Hey, have you ever noticed that Jews and Italians are mirror images of each other when it comes to being tough? Without uniforms, Italians are always the toughest guys around, and if your average one isn't bad enough, there's the Mafia to contend with. Jews, OTOH, have exactly the opposite reputation. But put a uniform on both, and watch the tables turn - the Italians can't wait to surrender, and the Jews fight like they're possessed. I never could quite figure out why all of this is true.

Abenaki - Your mother's mother was Jewish. That makes your mother Jewish (no matter what your grandfather was) which makes you Jewish (no matter what your father was/is). Sholom Aleichem!

Chaim - genealogical research in Eastern Europe and Russia isn't as difficult as you think. I have personally used microfilms of records from the 1820's in Poland, which tapes were made in the late 1960's. In the Ukraine, I have spoken with a professional genealogist who says that records in Kiev go back as far as the early 1800's, and are plentiful from the 1850's. Understand why these records exist, despite multiple wars: all of the governments in this part of the world were dictatorships of one kind or another. They have no power if they don't know every possible thing about their subjects. Thus, the first thing evacuated before the enemy comes are records - not people, not food, not weapons - records. A good website for you to use if you are interested in your family history is http://www.jewishgen.org They have great FAQs and lots of links to websites that have an extraordinary amount of information. By the way, where in Russia did your relatives live?

[chaim]

By the way, where in Russia did your relatives live? Don't know 100% for sure. Maybe western Russia or Ukraine, I hear both. Actually, knowing the history of the Jewish Pale in Czarist Russia we were probably in both at one point or another.

Funny, no one in the family except a Catholic uncle (born to my grandfather's first wife) seems to know anything about the family history on that side (he was very close with his step-mother, my grandmother, and her father).

Oh, as for Jews not being that tough out of uniform, I don't know about that. Many of us were involved in the mob in the early 20th century. Heck, I recently learned (from said uncle) that some members of the family were involved (mostly peripherally) with the Jewish mob back in the 20's and maybe early 30's.

Anyway, no one else in the family talks much about family history so it is hard to find many details out. I do know my GGM came over after a pogrom killed off her family and my GGF came over to avoid the Czarist draft that was designed to kill off Jews. They met here and I don't know how much they talked about family history to their kids. My grandmother must have known a bit (she died when I was 2) because in the 60's one of her cousins from Russia came to visit. Someone in the family may still have her address (assuming she still lives there 40 years later and is still alive) so it may be possible to contact her and get some family lore- if someone in the family still knew either Russian or Yiddish.

[gunsmith]

Yeah,that one. Shot old Alex Hamilton of the 10 dollar bill fame.
Went to school with some Hamilton's but they didn't hold it against me.
I don't bring it up much because all the anti's I argue with
would hold it against me.
My familys been here since the Pilgrims

[erikm]

None, unless you count living in the PRNJ as an expat brat for 3 years 15 years ago.
I'm hoping I have the opportunity to change this somewhere down the line.

Cheers,
ErikM :evil:

[ojibweindian]

My dad's mom was full blooded Ojibwe; her family has been in Michigan's Upper Peninsula for untold generations. My dad's dad family came from Scotland in the early part of the 18th century.

On my mom's side, the earliest known relatives established the Berkley Plantation near Jamestown in the early 1600's. Most of them were wiped out during the Indian uprising sometime in the early 1620's.

[sebago]

My Dad emigrated from Sweden in 1925.
My Mom's side arrived here from Tring, England in 1636.