Where did your ancestors come from?

[ChristineES]

Let's see: My mother's father was born in Italy and came to America when he was 3 years old (in 1917). My mother's mother's parents came from Europe: Germany, Russia, and Basque (and they were Jewish, as well). My father's family came from The Four Corners area (My father was born on a reservation).

 

[Amechania]

My mom is from Santa Rosa and my dad is from Sacramento. I know right? Other than that I'm one-half lesbian on my mom's side and one-quarter retarded on ny dad's.

 

[Viker]

Oh yeah. We did that DNA thing. I have like about 5% Mongol blood. Makes sense. I'm basically a walking war of the nations.

 

[ChristineES]

Oh yeah. We did that DNA thing. I have like about 5% Mongol blood. Makes sense. I'm basically a walking war of the nations.

I always say I am "Heinz 57". It's an old joke. (Do they still even make Heinz 57 sauce?)

 

[Viker]

I always say I am "Heinz 57". It's an old joke. (Do they still even make Heinz 57 sauce?)

Don't know. I'm checking.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

My mom's side of the family: Germany (her mom's family originally hails from Heidelberg), Ireland, Scotland, Denmark and the Netherlands, apparently.

My dad's side of the family is more nebulous. They're from New Orleans and black. I'm guessing there's some Louisiana Creole on his mom's side (French last name), Native American and possibly some English in there.

 

[Baladas]

My ancestors are primarily Irish. Though I have have Swede, British, Blackfoot (I'm 1/16th), Cherokee and at least one more unknown Native American tribe.

 

[Estro Felino]

Actually I'm no longer sure. Given a few factors, as I mentioned in this post My family and I may not be Mediterranean (Italian & Sicilian) after all, it may very well be that we are of northern European descent. Going back to my great grandparents, and probably somewhat further back, we (my family) assume we are of Italian and Sicilian descent. That's where those previous generations lived and emigrated to the US from, but I was never really convinced we are primarily Mediterranean. Not with a preponderance of fair complexions, blond, reddish and light brown hair, and some family members with blue eyes.

well...Palermo is full of blue-eyed people because of the "Norman contamination".

Palermitan model

 

[Jainarayan]

well...Palermo is full of blue-eyed people because of the "Norman contamination".

Palermitan model

I'll give you a pass on "contamination". I forgot which province has the highest percentage of Norman DNA. It may very well be where Palermo is. I'll have to look it up. My grandparents were from Collesano. My father had platinum blond hair as a boy (so he always said), my grandfather had light blue eyes. My grandmother (I didn't know her) is said to have had light hair, one of my father's sisters had very red hair. The list goes on.

 

[Estro Felino]

I'll give you a pass on "contamination". I forgot which province has the highest percentage of Norman DNA. It may very well be where Palermo is. I'll have to look it up. My grandparents were from Collesano. My father had platinum blond hair as a boy (so he always said), my grandfather had light blue eyes. My grandmother (I didn't know her) is said to have had light hair, one of my father's sisters had very red hair. The list goes on.

well...my first boyfriend was from Palermo and was blue-eyed.
well....I guess that Scandinavians talk about contamination too, when they speak of us Mediterraneans

 

[Jainarayan]

well....I guess that Scandinavians talk about contamination too, when they speak of us Mediterraneans

Yeah, it took a couple of decades to finally get that island under control. Annoying, those Mediterraneans were.

 

[Norman]

Do you know where your ancestors are from? Most Americans are a pretty good mix of a little bit of everything, but do you know what that it? Does your family still have traditions from these countries?


My family is a British, Welch, Scottish, Swedish, Danish, and Swiss. When I was little my mom used to make me eat Swiss cheese because I was swiss (I felt obligated even though it tasted nasty). I don't really think that we have many other traditions other than the normal American ones that have been carried over from Europe. We do eat some Danish foods though ([size=-1]Aebleskiver![/size] yummm ).

Norman: Hi jonny, great topic, on my Father's side of the family is a long line of Jews from Poland and Russia. My Father's Mother is Russian and
his Father is Polish. On my Mother's side comes a long line of Catholics from Poland. Both of my Mother's parents are Polish. Both of my Parents
are gone now, I miss them so much. I admire your family line. Excellent post.

 

[psychoslice]

From the big bang, now that's going back lol.

 

[Muffled]

Yeah, it took a couple of decades to finally get that island under control. Annoying, those Mediterraneans were.

According to my ancestry leadership changed hands to Hohenstafen (German) and Spanish.

 

[Marsh]

Do you know where your ancestors are from? Most Americans are a pretty good mix of a little bit of everything, but do you know what that it?

My more distant paternal lineage on my grandmother's side is predominantly English going back to the Puritans of Massachusetts, with a smattering German and Dutch ancestry originating in colonial America. If on-line sources are to be trusted part of the English lineage can be traced to invaders arriving at the time of the Norman conquest of 1066. My surname is traceable to an English immigrant who arrived in Canada in the 1830s, but his lineage I have not been able to sort out any earlier than the late 1700s.

My mother's lineage is Irish, but they are Protestant Irish who originated as English immigrants intent on displacing the Catholics, so my roots do seem all to be English.

Does your family still have traditions from these countries?

No traditions per se, but the family was always strongly pro-British. When I discovered two separate UEL lineages on my father's side this made a lot of sense.

 

[Harmonious]

My mother's grandparents were Jews from Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and which ever Eastern European country had control of that town that week. My father's family was Jewish and from Turkey, but my grandfather could trace our family back to who was thrown out of Spain in 1492.

 

[VioletVortex]

Ireland, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, England, Scotland and Russia.

 

[sayak83]

Do you know where your ancestors are from? Most Americans are a pretty good mix of a little bit of everything, but do you know what that it? Does your family still have traditions from these countries?


My family is a British, Welch, Scottish, Swedish, Danish, and Swiss. When I was little my mom used to make me eat Swiss cheese because I was swiss (I felt obligated even though it tasted nasty). I don't really think that we have many other traditions other than the normal American ones that have been carried over from Europe. We do eat some Danish foods though ([size=-1]Aebleskiver![/size] yummm ).

Came to US for PhD, staying for a while as a postdoc researcher for now. As far as ancestry goes here is as much as can be known from written sources:-
1) The earliest identifiable ancestor group were the Brahminical family priests who were descendants/followers of the great poet/seer Kashyapa who is considered the author of the 8th and 9th chapters of the Rig Veda (so probably somewhere around 1300 BCE in North-West India according to linguists).

2) A descendant of Kashyapa, another renowned seer/poet named Sandilya was instrumental in the development of the 2nd Vedic corpus, the Sama-Veda (around 1100 BCE). Sama-Veda was the rendition of Rig Vedic poetry in melodic form so that it can be sung. The descendants/followers of Sandilya were dedicated to orally preserving one of the melodic structures of the Sama Veda called the Kauthuma rescension. Later descendents of the Sandilya clan (gotra) also composed the Chandayoga and the Kena Upanisads, two of the 10 major Upanisadic texts of Hinduism between 900-600 BCE.

3) Historical records (Rajatarangini) of the Middle Ages (4th century CE-12th century CE) show the Brahmins of Sandilya school settled in Northern India in and around the city of Kanauj that was the capital city of North India at this time (quite close to Delhi). However there was significant migration out of Northern India into Eastern and Central India from 11th Century CE onwards due to increasing expansion of Islamic rule in the North. 5 lineages of Brahmins of Kanauj migrated east into Bengal around this time and settled around what is now Eastern India (Kolkata) and Bangladesh.

4) One of these Sandilya lineages will later be called Bandopadhyaya (probably after their ancestral village name) and would spread to many parts of Eastern India over the later centuries.

5) My specific family comes from a district called Nadia (the river-district) in Bengal where they had settled at least for the last 200 years. Half the original village (now it has expanded and become a town) was some very very distant relative or the other. My great-grandfather was the first to migrate from the village to the expanding city of Calcutta, which was becoming the British capital of India, around 1870. Most of my close family have now migrated out, and the last piece of farmland and orchards were sold around 10 years ago.

So that's the story of the descent from the father's side from from 1200 BCE to present. Kashyapa-Sandilya-(Kauthuma of SamaVeda)-Kanauj-Bengal-Bandopadhyay.

6)From my mother's side the situation is quite similar, but even older. Her clan comes from the Bharadwaja group, credited with composition of the 6th chapter of Rig Veda as well as much of white-Yajurveda (the 3rd of the Vedic texts). Their ancestors were also part of the same migration in Bengal from Kanauj. Bharadwaja-Angirasa-(Madhyadina of Yajurveda)-Kanauj-Bengal-Mukhopadhyay. That would be around 1400 BCE to present. They also lived in a village somewhat south of where our father's family lived, also for around 300 years . The ancestral house exists and much of the family still lives there.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

from a planet far beyond space and time...and you'd think we'd have its location pegged better than that by this time...

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Do you know where your ancestors are from? Most Americans are a pretty good mix of a little bit of everything, but do you know what that it? Does your family still have traditions from these countries?


My family is a British, Welch, Scottish, Swedish, Danish, and Swiss. When I was little my mom used to make me eat Swiss cheese because I was swiss (I felt obligated even though it tasted nasty). I don't really think that we have many other traditions other than the normal American ones that have been carried over from Europe. We do eat some Danish foods though ([size=-1]Aebleskiver![/size] yummm ).

Scots/English mainly & 1/3rd Jewish

As far as traditions, well I am very tight with money... but I avoid traditional cuisine, which is mostly based on a dare apparently!