Anyone with ancestors from another culture/country?

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Irish, Alsatian (the German-speaking kind) and Northern Italian. Not a very interesting mix. However, there is one passingly interesting thing. Years ago, perhaps two years after my wife and I were married, I found an old book written by a priest, concerning the history of a place in Indiana called New Alsace. My wife is from Indiana and I am from Missouri. We met in school. In reading it, I discovered that my wife’s Alsatian ancestors came from the very same town in Indiana as did my Alsatian ancestors. Researching further, I found that they were from the very same town in Alsace.

Also, perhaps interesting. A few years ago, my cousin was traveling in Europe. As she was driving from Italy to Austria, headed toward the Brenner Pass, it suddenly struck her how beautiful a valley was, so she turned into it. She drove and drove, and the more she drove, the more “perfect” it seemed. Ultimately she arrived at a town named “Caoria”. She was stunned! She knew our ancestors came from a town in the Italian Alps named “Caoria” but had no idea where it was. She did have an ancient postcard from there, though, and yup, it was the same town.

A friend of mine whose ancestors came from Germany had the very same experience during a bicycle tour of Europe. He was struck by how “perfect” a particular town in Germany was. Years later, after his father died, he learned from his mother that his father’s father came from that town.

Makes a person wonder about the tiny cultural things that adhere within families for generations; things that can be “recognized” subconsciously without our really knowing why we do this this way, or particularly admire that, or find this beautiful and that not so beautiful.
 
mahalia said:
:hug1: btw, it’s PETRINJA 😉 and if you ever decide to visit it, I would be glad to show you around 😃
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Oh - geeze, I’ll have to tell my dad he’s been spelling it wrong! :o

Thank you for the offer, that is quite sweet of you! I’ve always wanted to go - perhaps in a couple of years, we have two other trips to Europe planned this year and next. 😃

~Liza
 
English on Mom’s side, Italian on Dad’s as well Austrian, German, Scottish, and Spanish thrown in. As for religion, my mom’s family is mostly Protestant, my dad’s family has a lot of different kinds including, Orthodox Jewish, Catholic, Mormon, Protestant, and agnostic.

I was not brought up in a religious faith but chose Catholicism when I entered high school.
 
My mom is from Canada, with a mix of Irish, Scottish, and French. My dad is 2nd generation Norwegian. I am an American Mutt :D.
 
French-Canadian, Irish, Norwegian, English, Scottish, and very likely more than that. Roughly half Catholic, half protestant (Anglican).Here is the gravesite of one of my great-great-great-great-something-uncles. We have a bit of documentation left from him and from his nephew, my direct ancestor.

I didn’t really grow up experiencing much of the cultural richness of my heritage. In the days when my ancestors emigrated from Europe, it was not fashionable to keep one’s language or traditions alive (far from it). Now we actually don’t even know where some of my ancestors were from.
 
5/8 Irish, !/4 German, and 1/8 Czech.

My wife’s is more interesting. She has at least on Mayflower ancestor, is a little bit Irish and a little bit Scots, she’s part Choctaw, and maybe Cherokee as well. So to her, we’re all immigrants.

John
 
I really enjoyed reading about every poster’s geneology and their anecdotes on it. It seems a lot of us are a mixture of many cultures.

I also got to learn about history and a little geography too. Some of the countries/places mentioned were new to me.

Really interesting! Thanks! 🙂
 
Yep! That’s America for you. However, it is fascinating to find out. :yup:

My family is of a presidential line, so we are most certainly of european descent. However, our faith tells us we all decended from Adam and Eve, so technically we are all of a middle eastern decent. 😉

:blessyou: God bless you and Mary keep you!
 
Hmmm… My dad was 100 percent Polish. My mom is German mixed with a little French. My kids are half Irish as my ex husband was all Irish. My dh is German and Blackfoot mixed with English or Welsh… If dh and I have kids they will be German, Polish, French, Welsh, and Blackfoot. Here in the US this is not at all unusual. Many of us have such mixed up ancestry it is hard to look at someone and know what nationality they are from. The fun part is when 2 or 3 generations removed a child is born with prominent features of one nationality. I personally am convinced if dh and I have a child together he/she will have the darker skin of the Indian culture, the bright green eyes of DH’s German side, The tall slender build from my French/German side and red hair just because both of us have alot of red highlights. We just aren’t sure if the hair will be straight or curly. I always get a good laugh at this… dark skin and red hair idea.
 
I love learning about the cultures and nationalities of my family. I especially identify with my Italian ancestry, since I love a good coffee (espresso, cappacino(sp?)), the food is amazing, I’m learning the language, and I have a special attachment to Italian saints. St. Francis of Assisi, St. Maria Goretti, and St. Gianna Molla are some of my favorites.

I also know what clan in Scotland my ancestors belonged to and we know where in England my mom’s family came from. We also have the places in Germany and Austria where some of my dad’s family is from as well. I’m actually going to both Austria and Germany this summer, and I’m excited because I will be able to see two of the countries where my family came from. Spain, we don’t know for sure, but we think we have some ancestry from there. It wouldn’t surprise me, who knows?

I’m extremely proud of my family. Both sides had to overcome so much, poverty, language barriers, religious persecution (we’ve had some relatives die in the Holocaust for being Jewish), etc. and it goes to show that being an American does not mean being a certain ethnicity in the slightest
 
1/3 English
1/3 Irish
1/3 Scottish

Translation: I am unable to tan past a nice petal pink and if I cut my finger I bleed Tetley’s breakfast tea. 🙂
 
Hello everyone!

Thanks for your responses. They were all truly interesting and fascinating to read.😃

btw, sanctamaria17, even though I am not Italian, St. Francis of Assisi is also my favorite saint. 😉
 
Jay2 said:
Yeah, all of us…:confused:
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That’s what I thought also. It’s the typical question for most of us in the US.

I guess I really never considered that to be the out of the ordinary in other parts of the world. What a sheltered life we can often lead in the United States.
 
I’m 100% Italian.
My husband’s 100% Swede.

Italian and Swedish - I guess that makes our kids (are you ready?)
MEATBALLS!

😃
 
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