Anyone here of only one ethnicity, a pure-bred if you will? If not, what's your mix?

[Antonia]

I got to thinking about it while discussing my Irish-ness with dc today. I am only one-fourth Irish, also Italian, German, English, and a tiny bit French... a real European mutt! How about you?

[Gailmegan]

I am exactly 1/2 Scottish, 1/4 Irish, 3/16 English and 1/16 French.

[Lorna in the boonies]

Oh, goodness. English, Scottish, Irish, German, French, Finnish (is that the right term?), Danish, Spanish, Swiss, Cherokee, and Comanche. More Comanche than anything else, though you wouldn't know it to look at me.

As far as I know, that's it.

[Jenny in Atl]

We are also a great mix...

Scottish, Irish, English, Dutch, German, Swiss, Hungarian, Russian, French/Algerian, Norwegian, and who knows what else. I would love to do that DNA test through National Geographic to mark all the paths our ancestors took.

[Whisperlily]

I'm a total melting-pot kid. ;) My great grandparents were full-blooded Dutch. I'm either 1/4... or 1/8... but I have no clue what else I am.

On my Dad's side I had a McDonald and a McClendon... but I don't know anything else.

I'm a purebred American. :D

[OnTheBrink]

German, Scottish, English and about 6 generations back, a Cherokee.

[Jennifer in NH]

isn't it pretty difficult to be an American and NOT have a mixed geneology!? as for me...English, irish, scottish, french (so I'm told)...but on my father's side we have been in America since 1636...so pretty much I just call myself..american...my kids have part native American in them through DH, but I do not. at least, not that I know of...

[Momto4kids]

My paternal grandparents were both full Irish. My maternal grandparents were Pennsylvania Dutch and German I believe. We of course were brought up to be Irish, my dad insisted that we were more Irsih then anything else.

[abbeyej]

Western European. Or, as my mother says of her side of the family, "horse thieves and Civil War deserters". :)

[RebeccaC]

My dad's dad was from Norway his mother was Swiss German (Amish.) My dad has done his mothers genealogy back to the 1500 in Switzerland and has a great...... grandfather who was burnt at the stake for being an Ana Baptist and then the another being in prison in Prussia before coming to America On Penn's ship the Friendship

My mothers father was English, Scot Irish, and Cherokee and her mother was German, Scot, French, Osage, Fox and Cherokee.

[Karenciavo]

I'm Hungarian and Polish. My husband is pure Italian, although my FIL always teases my MIL by saying Sicilians are not true Italians. :001_rolleyes:

[Jenny in Atl]

Western European. Or, as my mother says of her side of the family, "horse thieves and Civil War deserters". :)

I've got some great photos of folks from my dad's family gambling under a house in Kanas, I'm guess around the end of the Civil War. They have that look!

[Brigitte]

I got to thinking about it while discussing my Irish-ness with dc today. I am only one-fourth Irish, also Italian, German, English, and a tiny bit French... a real European mutt! How about you?
[/I]

I am 100% Belgian and all from the Flanders (no Waloon in me, despite the French first and last names). :001_smile:

I am first generation American. Only one other member of my family my generation or earlier was born outside Belgium and that is my oldest sister. She was born here when my dad did his residency. The siblings between us were all born in Belgium.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My mom is Spanish (from Spanish settlers in New Mexico). There are rumors that there is some Cherokee in the mix somewhere, but it's not confirmed.

My dad is half Norwegian (3rd generation), 1/4 Irish, and 1/4 English.

So, I guess I'm half Spanish, 1/4 Norwegian, 1/8 Irish and 1/8 English

[Mekanamom]

Hee hee, I won't know for sure until I send off a sample to the Genographic Project (https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/). And even that won't tell me exactly what my ethnicity is.

My grandfather spent years and years compiling 3 huge volumes of genealogical data. He painstakingly typed the entire thing out for every single family member. I could never tell him that I simply don't believe that all those records are accurate. Human beings are simply not that honest. There were all kinds of social reasons to fudge birth records... one inaccurate entry and poof! The whole line is altered.

Edited to add (From the Genographic Project)... bold added by me:

What to Expect
Your results will reveal your deep ancestry along a single line of direct descent (paternal or maternal) and show the migration paths they followed thousands of years ago. Your results will also place you on a particular branch of the human family tree. Some anthropological stories are more detailed than others, depending upon the lineage you belong to. For example, if you are of African descent, your results will show the initial movements of your ancestors on the African continent, but will not reflect most of the migrations that have occurred within the past 10,000 years. Your individual results may confirm your expectations of what you believe your deep ancestry to be, or you may be surprised to learn a new story about your genetic background.

You will not receive a percentage breakdown of your genetic background by ethnicity, race, or geographic origin. Nor will you receive confirmation of an association with a particular tribe or ethnic group.

Furthermore, this is not a genealogy study. You will not learn about your great-grandparents or other recent relatives, and your DNA trail will not necessarily lead to your present-day location. Rather, your results will reveal the anthropological story of your direct maternal or paternal ancestors—where they lived and how they migrated around the world many thousands of years ago.


Edited again... this site (http://www.healthanddna.com/genealogy.html) will do an ethnicity DNA test, but it's $400! Has anyone ever done one of these? I'd love to hear about your experience, if you did.

[GothicGyrl]

If I have to break it down:

Mom--Italian and Welsh (her mom and her dad)
Dad--Italian and Cuban (his dad was both, his mom was Cuban)

So I am more italian than anything...

[CleoQc]

100% French.
Historians did my maternal ancestry (I have a famous ancestor...) and it seems everyone was either born in Quebec from French ascent, or freshly of the boat from France. No native blood, no Irish blood, nothing else but French.
As for my father's side, it looks the same way, although the possibility of native blood is there. Some people who married into the family tree may have been metis (half native half european, not sure of the English word for that). We'll never know for sure, but that's at least 4 generations back.

Btw, on my mother's side, we were in Nouvelle France 400 years ago, at the foundation of Quebec City. On my father's side, it's *only* been 200 years in Quebec.

I'm pretty much the closest thing to a pure-bred French-Quebecoise that one can get.

[Tonyababyrn]

Irish, English, Scottish with some Cajun French thrown in to liven things up a bit!!:001_smile:

[Danestress]

Dad - Bohemian. I think one of his grandparents was Lithuanian.

Mom - a mix of mostly English names, but I can't say for sure that no one was anything other than Engish.

[RoughCollie]

I am 1/8 Pawnee, 3/8 Irish, and 1/2 German. My mother is German, and my paternal grandmother was 1/2 Pawnee & 1/2 Irish, and my paternal grandfather was Irish.

DH is an mixture of unknown proportions: English, Scottish, Irish and Dutch.

[mommybee]

I'm almost completely Puerto Rican except for a tiny bit (maybe 20%) of German on my dad's side.

My mom's family is from Puerto Rico but farther back they are from Spain so we are spaniards. My mom looks completely white, blond hair, very light skin and she is 100%.

[Antonia]

my FIL always teases my MIL by saying Sicilians are not true Italians. :001_rolleyes:

He must be from Naples. :D I always kid my dh that that's why we can't along - he's sicilian and I'm napolitan.

[GothicGyrl]

He must be from Naples. :D I always kid my dh that that's why we can't along - he's sicilian and I'm napolitan.
WHOA!! Are you SURE we are not seperated? I am also neopolatian!! From Padua...

[mellifera]

I'm English, Welsh, Scotch, a tiny bit Irish, German, Dutch, Swiss, and possibly something else. Dh is part Gypsy, part Scandinavian, part something else. Most of the time we just say Northern European.;)

[Antonia]

WHOA!! Are you SURE we are not seperated? I am also neopolatian!! From Padua...

I wouldn't doubt we are related, although my people were from Ischia, an island in the gulf of Naples. I still have relatives in Abruzzi whom I plan to drop in on some day. :)

[GothicGyrl]

I wouldn't doubt we are related, although my people were from Ischia, an island in the gulf of Naples. I still have relatives in Abruzzi whom I plan to drop in on some day. :)
How freaky cool... Any Burzo's(my direct relation) on your side? Romano(not Ray either)? Bernardo?

[*anj*]

I still have relatives in Abruzzi whom I plan to drop in on some day. :)

My dh has relatives in Abruzzi too.

[Sarah CB]

Ok, Cleo you've got to tell us who your famous ancestor was. Was it Champlain?

[astrid]

(Swedish girl) with a wee bit of Scottish and Irish on my mom's side. But dad was a first generation American, both of his parents are from Sweden. My Swedish heritage has always been important to me, and I LOVE my first name, Astrid, which reflects my heritage.

But I married an Irish/French guy, so dd is a bit more of a mutt, and the first brown-eyed member of my family! The whole family was stunned that she wasn't born with blue eyes! But they're beautiful dark brown and fringed with long French lashes, so no one minds!

[astrid]

brought her back as a nine week old pup. Her breeder is Dominique DeWame, and she's from Kennel Lion de la Toison d'Or in Ruisbroek. LOVELY country.....we just adore our Belgian girl, who is, officially:

VLA Ch. Yuma Lion de la Toison d'Or, CDX, DD, TT, CGC, TDI :D

[Sarah CB]

I have German and English ethnic roots, but they're so far back that I wouldn't consider them cultural heritage by any means. I had a wake up call when I lived in England - it didn't take long to realize that I could not, in good faith, describe myself as "English". My family has been in Canada too long to have retained any significant heritage from Germany or England - I'm just a Canadian now : )

[Kelli in TN]

1/2 PROUD Norwegian
PLUS
1/2 comprised of nearly every caucasion ethnic group known to man
EQUALS
1 Great American Melting Pot Person :patriot:

[Mamagistra]

I am a happy mix of Louisiana French, Cherokee, Russian, and Scots-Irish Americans. :)

[Cornerstone Classical]

All my descendants are english or scotchish except my great grandmother full cherokee indian. Before she married my great grandfather she didn't have a last name. Since I am 1/8 my brothers and sister could actually have benefits from the Cherokee nation. But we never were able to due to poorly kept records. And the fact that my grandfather didn't even have any birth records and he didn't have a middle name.

Dh has some cherokee on his dads side but italian on moms. I love to go to her house and see a picture of her parents, Joseph and Maria Corriere (with was shortened,of course) that was taken the day they became US citizens. They were dressed like they were getting married all over again....:001_wub:

[LizzyBee]

My Dad was full-blooded German. Even though he was born in America and his ancestors were here since the 1860's, he spoke German before English. My mother is about half or more German, but also Irish, Scottish and English.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

The Cherokee I have never been able to prove, but I can't disprove it either. My father said his great great grandmother was a Cherokee and I can get back about that far and then nothing.... The German, English and Irish are easy. I used to think my maiden name(Beach) was Welsh but I have come to find out it is English.

[Lisa in Jax]

LOL, Abbey,

The surnames (and ancestors) of my grandparents were German/Swedish/Swiss/Welsh -- 3 of my 4 grandparents were first- or second-generation Americans. The fourth came to the US several generations earlier than the others.

My Swedish great-great-grandfather was a convicted felon and an identity thief -- how does that compare with your horse thieves and Civil War deserters?

Lisa
100% American "mutt"

[Closeacademy]

Ok, my dad researched his family history and got us back to basically Jesus. :001_rolleyes:Yeah--I thought so too.

But he did find alot of interesting stuff about our family.

My dad's side--English (he says mainly from Suffolk) of Viking descent (Hubba the Viking), German, Huegonot French, and Jewish (converted by force to Christianity during the hundred year's war). He thought he would find Scotch-Irish and some Native American but other than a relative living in the Cherokee style of having 2 wives and households back in the 1830's there was none. We had some family come over with the second or third Jamestown charter.

My mom's side--Dutch (a grandmother from Holland) and the rest is probably similiar to my Dad's family since they both families lived in the same area of Kentucky for almost 200 years. My mother says that her Grandmother was 1/2 Native American of Blackfoot (not Blackfeet like in Montana Canada but a smaller tribe in SW US) descent but I couldn't find it when I looked at the notes my uncle had taken on the family history.

Pretty much we have been here forever, have a colorful history including a Revolutionary War Hero with a statue in South Carolina and towns named after him and a spy for the North in the Civil War who has his letters on display in a museum.

If it was a boring family history it wouldn't be as much fun.

[Elm in NJ]

:)I have no idea what is in the mix.

Elmeryl

[JFS in IL]

both parents mostly Irish...hubby's folks are a 50%Italian 50% Irish mom and a 100% Polish dad...so my kids are a real blend (but still a tad over 50% Irish)!!!!!

Hubby's dad was a first-born American of pure Polish stock, his mom was born of a first-gen. Irish and Italians. My folks, although mostly Irish, date back in this country to waaay BEFORE the Famine drove many Irish here.

[MNClaire]

...on my biological mother's father's side was Irish, English, Welsh, German and Cherokee. Soooo...all of that is about 1/4. A lot of people who know me say that can see the Native American in me, so maybe I'm getting it from a another bio parent or grandparent. I'm not sure. My adoptive family is mix of Irish, English, German and French.

Dh is 100% Dutch imported from the Netherlands, and ds is Bulgarian/Turk/Gypsy adopted from Bulgaria.

One big melting pot we are!!

[CleoQc]

Ok, Cleo you've got to tell us who your famous ancestor was. Was it Champlain?

Nope, not Champlain. I think he died childless anyway. Since Helene Boullé stayed in France for most of their married lives...

My ancestor isn't that famous, you probably wouldn't know him, but he's got a statue in Quebec City.
Here's his Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_H%C3%A9bert

[Margaret in CO]

I'm 3/4 German and 1/4 Scots. Dh is about 1/2 German, and 1/2 English, so our kids are pretty German!

[imeverywoman]

:)

[Doran]

But, it looks like I'm surrounded by my kin!


Scottish and English are the ones I know for sure. But, I figure by now there's a bit of just about everything European in the mix. I always wanted to claim some American Indian heritage, but I don't know of ANY in my family. Wah.

Doran

[Stacy in NJ]

I'm 100% American.

[Colleen]

I was born in Germany. My mother was born and raised in Germany and everyone on her side is German. My father was born in Ohio, but his ancestry, to the best of our knowledge, all traces back to Germany.

[CLHCO]

My mother is Hispanic but since much of Mexico is actually immigrants as well, breaking that down she is about 1/2 French, 3/8 Spanish, 1/8 Native Mexican. A family history was done not long ago and my very prideful Hispanic uncles were a bit put out to find out they're actually half French. :tongue_smilie: Due to my grandfather's side, there is a Spanish coat of arms they tracked it back to which gave a bit of pride back.

My dad's side is a mix of English, Irish, and a few other Northern European groups. My husband is largely English and Welsh.

[Sarah CB]

Very cool, Cleo. And hey, I guess you're grateful that you survived your ice slip - apparently that runs in the family. I haven't heard the names of two of his children before - did those get passed on through the family line at all? Are there more modern variations of them? They probably sound beautiful with a French accent.

I wanted to resurrect an old family name for our last baby, but dh would only consent to have it as a middle name. Cassimier.

[Parabola]

Western European. Or, as my mother says of her side of the family, "horse thieves and Civil War deserters". :)

Thats funny, I've got thieves and Civil War deserters in my family too! Hmmmm maybe we're related. :001_huh:

Not like there's really any such thing as full blooded anything, just going back a mere 100 years go to @ 1908 gives most people about 32 different ancestors. There's a slight chance they may all be of the same pureblood ethncity. Go back another hundred to 1808 and now you're talking over 1000 different ancestors (give or take a few, we've been a little less ickly about cousins etc marrying in our past), and there is pretty much *no way* ANYONE is a pureblood anything.
Generally speaking though, in our recent genealogy, my mom's side of the family is predominantly Scots/Irish, and my dad's side of the family is predominantly German.

[Karenciavo]

He must be from Naples. :D I always kid my dh that that's why we can't along - he's sicilian and I'm napolitan.

Napolitan! No way. (That's his view :tongue_smilie:) He's Frosinon and considers himself a Roman. :rolleyes:

[Suzybearybake]

I am German, Irish, and Sioux. I was adopted and grew up thinking I was Italian. Who knew?

[CleoQc]

Very cool, Cleo. And hey, I guess you're grateful that you survived your ice slip - apparently that runs in the family. I haven't heard the names of two of his children before - did those get passed on through the family line at all? Are there more modern variations of them? They probably sound beautiful with a French accent.

I'm assuming you're talking about Guillaume and Guillaumette. Guillaume is still well used, but Guillaumette, as a name, is completely forgotten. I'm a descendent of Guillaumette.

[AnneJ]

I'm 100% Dutch.

[dirty ethel rackham]

1/4 Irish, 1/4 Norwegian and 1/2 German (maybe a little bohemian/polish mixed in?)
Isn't the saying if you are 1/4 Irish, you're half Irish. If you're a tiny bit Irish, you're Irish!!

[Rosie_0801]

My grandfather was a Pole, and dd and I will be visiting his sister over in Warsaw in a few weeks time! Dh's parents are both Poms, as is most of my family background, but he and I are Aussies. The more useful categorisation around here is Deaf/Hearing. He's half-Deaf, I'm hearing and dd is hearing for the moment too. We live in a culturally hard of hearing household.
:)
Rosie- who finds the American pre-occupation with ethnicity to be very interesting.

[Plaid Dad]

My people are Ulster Scots-Irish and English. I think there's one German in there who came to the U.S. before it was the U.S., but I'd have to check my genealogy files to be sure.

My wife's family is Sicilian on one side, Scottish and Irish on the other.

[nukeswife]

I'm 100% Polish. I'm actually 4th generation here in america. My great grandparents were all the original "boat people" as we call them. Many of my Aunts have married other ethnicities so the family's "Branched out" so to speak.

My dh is mostly Norweigan, with a bit of German, Polish, English, French and Sweedish in there.

My kids all looked very scandanavian at birth. They all had bright blue eyes, very fair skin and blonde hair. The older one's hair has since turned darker and my dd eye's have changed but my youngest is still got the "norse" look.

They were very excited to do history last week as we were covering the Vikings, Eric the Red and Leif Ericson. They were overjoyed to learn that there are some Vikings in their family tree :lol:

[Maria from IN]

We are German and French Hugenot, with I think a little Sweden in there and definitely some Cherokee.

A Frenchman on my mother's side of the family married a Cherokee girl from the Trail of Tears, and she didn't have to complete that awful journey.

I always thought it was sad that no one remembered her name.

[Christy B]

...on my biological mother's father's side was Irish, English, Welsh, German and Cherokee. Soooo...all of that is about 1/4. A lot of people who know me say that can see the Native American in me, so maybe I'm getting it from a another bio parent or grandparent. I'm not sure. My adoptive family is mix of Irish, English, German and French.

Dh is 100% Dutch imported from the Netherlands, and ds is Bulgarian/Turk/Gypsy adopted from Bulgaria.

One big melting pot we are!!

I'm also adopted, so I don't know much about my biological heritage. Many, many people have commented that they "see" Native American in me as well. Probably Cherokee (I'm from the southeast). I do know that my bio mom had the coloring one would expect of a Native American. My bio dad, however, was fair-skinned with blonde hair and blue eyes. I have fair skin but dark hair and hazel eyes. Who knows.

The one thing I can say with certainty, is that I "feel" like I am descended from Native Americans. Can't explain why, but I have felt that way, strongly, all my life. I'm fairly certain I was convinced of the fact, before I even understood about being adopted.

I would sure love to get genetic testing done, but I don't know that I could justify the $$. Maybe if I sell a bunch of books this summer, or something.

[Tracey in TX]

I wouldn't doubt we are related, although my people were from Ischia, an island in the gulf of Naples. I still have relatives in Abruzzi whom I plan to drop in on some day. :)

DH still has family in Abruzzi as well!

[Anne/Ankara]

I'm 7/8 Irish, and the last bit from Alsace-Lorraine (German and French). But my dh is 100% Circassian, a people from the mountains north of Turkey (now in Russia). Interesting!

[Tracey in TX]

Mom: Polish, Prussian/Austrian

Dad: English, German, Scottish, Irish...and was raised 100% Hillbilly :bigear:

[buddhabelly]

Would that be Native American, then? Everyone else's "American" ancestors came from somewhere else. Since I'm in Alaska, we have many folks descended from the Russians (original non-Native settlers of Alaska). We also have Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida natives. Lots of folks from Mexico, Central America, Hawaii and the Phillipines (sp) as well.

Let's see. I am Norse/Viking, Scottish, Irish. Burn easily. :) The Norse/Viking folks invaded/settled in Britain (can you tell I'm not taking sides here?) and one of my direct ancestors is Lord North, advisor to King George during the Revolutionary War. The "North" surname of course means "those folks who came here from the north."

Fun thread.

Julie

[percytruffle]

German, Dutch, and French here. My dad's side was from Alsace-Lorraine, hence the German and French, but the sir names and first names were decidedly German. My mom's side was Dutch and German with some good Dutch sir names like Van Dyne and Hendershott!

[LadyNancy]

100% Italian

[Antonia]

How freaky cool... Any Burzo's(my direct relation) on your side? Romano(not Ray either)? Bernardo?

My family name is Pettine, which means "comb" in Italian. Many of my relatives were and apparently still are barbers. No Burzos, Romanos or Bernardos that I know of.

[Antonia]

DH still has family in Abruzzi as well!

My dh has relatives in Abruzzi too.

Maybe we're all related! :)

[Janet in Toronto]

My mom's ancestry is English/Scottish. My Father was a Russian Jew.

My husband's ancestors were from Turkey. His grandmothers were Armenian Christians and his grandfathers were Turkish Christians (who spoke arabic). They were forced out of Turkey during the Armenian genocide in the early part of the 20th century.

So my kids have arabs, jews, protestants and catholics in their not too distant ancestry!

[Karin]

I'm half Icelandic, descended from many famous Icelanders, and some infamous ones, too. I will say that one of my ancestors was born in Vinland, which means his mother was, too, and she made a pilgrimage to Rome after she lived in Vinland. Travellers in my family going way back!

Not sure what to call my dad's side--Prussian or German? They all spoke German and were both religious and cultural Mennonites for a long time. Centuries. There may be a tiny bit of Russian left from one intermarriage way back in my family tree (and the term Russ is from the Scandinavians who "civilized" Russia;).

Dh is 100 percent Norwegian stock.

[OceanBreeze]

My background is Amish / Mennonite. The first of my ancestors came over to Pennsylvania in 1742. My children are mixed, though, they have German and Yaqui Indian added in.

I noticed some of you had ancestors coming from Alsace-Lorraine. Many Swiss Ana-Baptists moved there from Switzerland and then they or their descendents migrated to America. We might be related! :)

Jenelle

[Laura Corin]

.... Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, French, Jewish, Norman ......

Where does 'pure' come into that, I wonder?

Laura

[Karin]

.... Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, French, Jewish, Norman ......

Where does 'pure' come into that, I wonder?

Laura

I wondered the same thing. It reminds me of the old Pete Seeger album my parents had called Strangers and Cousins. But I answered anyway, interpreting it as national heritage.

[Brigitte]

brought her back as a nine week old pup. Her breeder is Dominique DeWame, and she's from Kennel Lion de la Toison d'Or in Ruisbroek. LOVELY country.....we just adore our Belgian girl, who is, officially:

VLA Ch. Yuma Lion de la Toison d'Or, CDX, DD, TT, CGC, TDI :D

Wow that is a long way to go for a dog!

Unfortunately I don't think my pedigree is as refined as your furry friend!:lol:

[*anj*]

Maybe we're all related! :)
wouldn't that be funny?