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In reply to the discussion: How did you get here? [View all]
 

Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)
28. My ancestors left Europe for one reason or another
Thu Feb 21, 2013, 03:53 PM
Feb 2013

I have been able to trace, probably, a few hundred immigrant ancestors; as far as I know only four of them arrived after the Revolution, and most of them arrived before 1700. Most of them left Britain, most of those were English, but they were also Scots, Welsh, Irish...and Dutch, German, and French. My various ancestors include the younger sons of gentry families who set out to make their fortunes in the New World (one ancestor left his sons behind in England to finish their schooling; one of those sons went on to become a founding member of the Royal Society and royal physician to Charles II), Catholics who went off to Maryland with Lord Baltimore, Puritans (including one of the commissioners sent to govern Maryland under Cromwell; he was killed in the Battle of the Severn, called "the last battle of the English Civil War"'; and one of the founders of Hempstead, Long Island, whose great-grandfather was supposedly burned at the stake under Bloody Mary), Quakers who had land grants from William Penn, French Huguenots, Palatine Germans, and (my most recent immigrant ancestors) Irish escaping the famine.

How did you get here? [View all] loyalsister Feb 2013 OP
I recently did a post like this Control-Z Feb 2013 #1
Sorry I missed it loyalsister Feb 2013 #8
Nah. Yours is going great! Control-Z Feb 2013 #27
I didn't post much back then loyalsister Feb 2013 #39
All ancestors on mother and father's sides came from Ireland and England RebelOne Feb 2013 #2
Ditto dixiegrrrrl Feb 2013 #16
All of my ancestors settled in the North, RebelOne Feb 2013 #54
On The Hercules in 1635. DURHAM D Feb 2013 #3
My history knowledge starts much later loyalsister Feb 2013 #12
England DURHAM D Feb 2013 #15
My parents left the Soviet Union shortly before Hitler invaded Light House Feb 2013 #4
That's awesome that you kept your Russian Language loyalsister Feb 2013 #6
Thanks. Light House Feb 2013 #9
How did they get out of there during a war? (nm) Elwood P Dowd Feb 2013 #10
They fled just before Hitler invaded. Light House Feb 2013 #13
My ancestor was a pirate who accepted a French amnesty Recursion Feb 2013 #5
Ancestor? loyalsister Feb 2013 #21
Oh, sure, but that's my paternal great-great-etc. grandfather who first came here Recursion Feb 2013 #24
That sounds similar to my family loyalsister Feb 2013 #37
Aaron Burr BainsBane Feb 2013 #90
"Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God" loyalsister Feb 2013 #107
for sure BainsBane Feb 2013 #110
An ancestor on my father's side was Edward Teach (Blackbeard). RebelOne Feb 2013 #55
My grandmother and mother crossed the border from Canada to steal cleaning jobs. Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2013 #7
My parents came to the U.S. in 1949 LiberalEsto Feb 2013 #11
How interesting. DURHAM D Feb 2013 #17
I wish they could have but my mother died in 1975 LiberalEsto Feb 2013 #72
Amazing loyalsister Feb 2013 #23
Well, it helped that they both spoke fluent English LiberalEsto Feb 2013 #74
Great story loyalsister Feb 2013 #81
Latvians, Lithuanians and Hungarians do pretty much the same stuff LiberalEsto Feb 2013 #89
Mother's side...Bohemia/Germany/Ireland SoCalDem Feb 2013 #14
My dad’s paternal ancestors were English and emigrated frogmarch Feb 2013 #18
My maternal relatives came here as indentured servants. It seems America has written them out Romulox Feb 2013 #19
True loyalsister Feb 2013 #31
Not real history BainsBane Feb 2013 #91
Late 19th century--Mother's side: French/German Father's side: Irish/German ScreamingMeemie Feb 2013 #20
Well, the Bay Colony gave my 11th grt grandfather land in Lynne, MA that he thought was crap... HereSince1628 Feb 2013 #22
On my mother's side, octoberlib Feb 2013 #25
My Father's parents from Slovenia. My Mother's grand-parents from Ireland. lamp_shade Feb 2013 #26
My ancestors left Europe for one reason or another Spider Jerusalem Feb 2013 #28
boring family ancestry. All Scotland, England and Wales. CTyankee Feb 2013 #29
It could be worse loyalsister Feb 2013 #45
Growing up in Texas I remember hoping that maybe some of my forebears were CTyankee Feb 2013 #51
My dad takes a sort of romantic pride in our Native American ancestry loyalsister Feb 2013 #108
All English and Welsh here. Shrike47 Feb 2013 #62
when my daughter studied theatre in Dublin her Irish friends said she looked so Irish! CTyankee Feb 2013 #73
Remember the Alamo Blue4Texas Feb 2013 #30
I know descendents who are Mexican American LeftInTX Feb 2013 #34
We already had land grants Blue4Texas Feb 2013 #38
I missed TX when I listed territory gained in the war loyalsister Feb 2013 #43
True in Texas too Blue4Texas Feb 2013 #46
Interesting how there is considerable evidence of positive effects of knowing more than one language loyalsister Feb 2013 #49
Great thread Blue4Texas Feb 2013 #53
Thank you loyalsister Feb 2013 #65
My paternal grandparents are survivors of the Armenian Genocide LeftInTX Feb 2013 #32
Has there been any public admission of that genocide? dixiegrrrrl Feb 2013 #68
Not by the Turks LeftInTX Feb 2013 #71
I was just watching the movie America, America about Turkey and the WCGreen Feb 2013 #92
Sounds like a very good movie LeftInTX Feb 2013 #98
TM runs it a couple of times a year... WCGreen Feb 2013 #105
Standby on Braniff Air jannyk Feb 2013 #33
Wow - Braniff loyalsister Feb 2013 #41
Braniff Ron Obvious Feb 2013 #47
Our flight was almost empty too jannyk Feb 2013 #69
Russia, France, Spain. JaneyVee Feb 2013 #35
European.... OldDem2012 Feb 2013 #36
My mother's grandfather came to Ellis Island from Italy. Jennicut Feb 2013 #40
good thread JustAnotherGen Feb 2013 #42
Thanks! loyalsister Feb 2013 #44
My paternal grandfather came from what was then Austria-Hungary in 1914 at 13 years old independentpiney Feb 2013 #48
It's been hard to track down. MyshkinCommaPrince Feb 2013 #50
England, Ireland, Scotland as far as we have genealogical records. northoftheborder Feb 2013 #52
On a plane from Germany in 1985, so I'm right off the (flying) boat, I guess Blaukraut Feb 2013 #56
Right before the end of the Cold War loyalsister Feb 2013 #60
No, necessity. Hubby was in the Air Force and got an assignment back to US. Blaukraut Feb 2013 #67
Great grandparents came from Poland, Ireland and blueamy66 Feb 2013 #57
Slave ship, Immigration from Greece (just guessing/it was rape), and as a WWII war bride tblue Feb 2013 #58
Well my ancestors were kidnapped from the homeland Chisox08 Feb 2013 #59
I once saw a bumper sticker that said loyalsister Feb 2013 #64
+1 Blue_Tires Feb 2013 #85
On a DC-6. hobbit709 Feb 2013 #61
This message was self-deleted by its author pipi_k Feb 2013 #63
Croation grandpa jumped ship, joined US Army Jersey Devil Feb 2013 #66
My Dad's side came here before the American revolution sufrommich Feb 2013 #70
Cornish also on my Dad's side Freddie Feb 2013 #101
It's nice that distant relatives now can sufrommich Feb 2013 #102
on my mothers side Broken_Hero Feb 2013 #75
That's quite a hike your dad took to find your mom loyalsister Feb 2013 #76
Mothers side of the family Lebam in LA Feb 2013 #77
Funny you should ask....... wandy Feb 2013 #78
My American dad, whose ancestors arrived from Holland and other parts of Europe Cleita Feb 2013 #79
citizenship complications... loyalsister Feb 2013 #84
Ireland, England, Spain, and Cherokee liberal_at_heart Feb 2013 #80
Both sides of my family came in 1710 ..... oldhippie Feb 2013 #82
My Dad was born in Czechoslovakia and came here in 1929 livetohike Feb 2013 #83
Asian land bridge eons ago along with some French Canadian Irish in the 1800's. catbyte Feb 2013 #86
Mayflower BainsBane Feb 2013 #87
Thanks for the rec. loyalsister Feb 2013 #94
On my mothers side... WCGreen Feb 2013 #88
My ancestors were Quaker and came over with William Penn. Blue_In_AK Feb 2013 #93
Message auto-removed time 4 me to fly Feb 2013 #95
It's about ancestry loyalsister Feb 2013 #96
Message auto-removed time 4 me to fly Feb 2013 #97
Fairly recently. KamaAina Feb 2013 #99
All of my family came from Ireland, Italy, and Spain... a la izquierda Feb 2013 #100
I am a originally a New Yorker and the Dutch and English side of my smirkymonkey Feb 2013 #103
It's interesting what people learn when they do that research loyalsister Feb 2013 #104
Puerto Rican... Benton D Struckcheon Feb 2013 #106
"All of the above makes the point that the US ain't the only melting pot" loyalsister Feb 2013 #109
Famine Irish chieftain Feb 2013 #111
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