Ancestors and Heritage

[viking]

I was reading a thread about why marry a RW that moved way off post to a discussion of  where we came from. So I thought I would start a new topic to see, well... where did you come from? I thought it might be interesting to hear some background data on those members who are proud of you they are, where they live, etc.

Guess I will go first.

On mothers side, she was born in Italy. Up north, a small village called Albino. Near the Alps. I guess the general area would be called Piedmonte. Came over as a young girl, through Ellis Island and lived with her uncle until she met my father. I never met my grandparents. I visited there once in my 20's and met a whole bunch of uncles and aunts, cousins and they were wonderful people. My mother had one sister, who died a few years back, who lived in New Jersey. The rest of her sisters, the remaining three, never made it here and there are only 2 left. So I am one half Italian.

On my fathers side, it gets a bit more interesting. The original ancestor who emigrated to the 'new world', came from a small town in southern Holland, which bears my last name. There is a fairly well known castle there that was built by King Charlemagne and was last used by the resistance in WW2 to help others. It is partially destroyed but still a major toursit attraction. OK. It ain't the Alamo but I am proud of it. This guy came over in 1642, worked as a minor official for Peter Stuyvesant and was the first individual to own a piece of property where the Empire State building now stands. He sold it to the ancestors of the Roosevelts. I guess that was the decline of the family fortunes!! So after a few hundred years we are now scattered all over the place. So here I am mostly Dutch with a bit of German thrown in for good measure.

I do consider myself 100% American and a native New Yorker.

[TexasBoar]

Originally my family was Norman . . . Danes (Ingaevones, primarily) who followed Rollo's Band into Northern France around 912 CE, and then conquered England in 1066 and Sicily in 1068. 

My family appears in the Great Roll of Normandy in both 1180 and 1195, but settled around Essex, England around 1350-1400 CE.  Reliable records only extend back so far; but the family seat, post-nobility anyway (we were originally landed gentry, but there seems to have been some sort of unfortunate loss of status around 1480 CE) is in the Spayne's Hall district of Great Yeldham, Essex, England.

Around 1636 CE, my direct patrilineal ancestor settled in New London, Connecticutt, where my family lived until shortly after the American Revolution (four of us fought in it that I know of, including another direct ancestor of mine) moving from there to Vermont, and then gradually westward, generation by generation, until we ran out of "westward" in Port Orchard, Washington, where my father was born.  I was born near there myself, in Renton. 

It's on my father's side as well that I'm 1/8th Tsilagi.  I've some Dutch, Irish, Welsh and Scots in me as well.

~Boar

[LatinSwede]

My cultural heritage is Scandinavian Hispanic. Hence my handle LatinSwede.

Dad's side is Swedish with possibly some Danes or Germans.  I think it's Schweislig-Holstien that used to be part of Denmark.   According to grandmother most of the family came from Sweden in the Early 1900's. Infact I give my grandma credit for sparking my long time interest in learning about Northern Europe. Eventually, this interest lead me to actually visiting, and trying to learn the language.  I can speak very basic Swedish, and a little Finnish.  When I say I got Swedish roots, people tend to glance at me funny.  I was born with my mother's features, black hair, dark eyes, and a light tan complexion.

Mother's side originates in that thin strip of land called Panama.  The family is mainly Spanish, with indigenos, and black. The culture is what' you'd call Spanish Carribean very silmiliar to Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.  IMO, Panamanian coffee is the best.  My "mother in law" loves the stuff.

[catzenmouse]

Mothers side is Swiss/Italian and Native American Indian. Fathers side is English with some German thrown in. Don't have a lot of information on the family history aside from my father's mother being a card carrying DAR back to someone named Lovejoy.

Me... I'm just a scruffy alley cat that got really, really lucky!

Ken

[Vaughn]

My Scandinavian ancestral records indicate that the last name changes with each generation, and I'm wondering if that's still true today? For example, starting with my Grandfather and going back in time, Hjalmar Olsson (implying the son of Ols) Ols Hansson, Hans Trulsson, Truls Karlsson, Karl Bengtson, Bengt Nilsson, etc. Some of the footnotes are fascinating: one of my paternal ancestors' brothers was killed instantly at the age of four "by the swing of an iron gate".

[LatinSwede]

I don't think it's like that in Sweden anymore.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  In Iceland, people's last name is their parent's first name.  Depending on your gender it could be Erik Thormanson (Son of Throman) or Elsa Gudmundsdottir (Gudmands Daughter).  Icelandic is probably the closest to the original Norse language.

Back in Holland (years ago) I spoke with a visiting Dane.  According to him, Danish was the first language.  Norwegian, and Swedish are derived from it.  He also said that Icelandic is really old Danish. Iceland became independent from Denmark in the 40's.  Since I know some Swedish I can look at Danish or Norwegian text and kind of follow what it's on about.  When I hear Danish, I can't really understand anything.  As for another northern language I can't seem to grasp is Finnish (Suomi).  When I was in Finland, I had to look at the Swedish signs and watch the Swedish channel.  There was no  cable where I was staying, and I barely know enough to get by.

[tim 360]

On my Fathers side Irish with a little German.

On my Mothers side all Ukrainian/Russian.

[SANDRO43]

As for another northern language I can't seem to grasp is Finnish (Suomi).  When I was in Finland, I had to look at the Swedish signs and watch the Swedish channel.

It's northern, but not Germanic. You may understand something of it if you know Estonian, Hungarian, or even Turkish (don't suppose you may be very fluent in Samoyedic ) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural-Altaic_languages

[LatinSwede]

Finnish is like Finnish.  For about $50 (could be more now since I left), you can ferry over to Estonia for the day from Helsinki.  I think Estonians and Finns can talk to eachother, and both have a common distain for Russians.  According to the Finns, the Russians stole parts of their country like Saimaa and Karelia.

[Kvinna]

an explosive mixture 

[LatinSwede]

Kvinna where does your handl come from. I'm just curious, because in Swedish Kvinna means woman.

[Kvinna]

Kvinna where does your handl come from. I'm just curious, because in Swedish Kvinna means woman.

on my mother side, I am from Moscow

[ScottinCrimea]

I can trace my lineage to roughly the year 1 AD.  It seems my Scandinavian ancestors married German royalty who then married French royalty who then married English royalty.  Somewhere along the line the "royalty" part was lost.  I have ancestors who came to America in the 1600's and one by the name of Patrick Gass who was the sergeant and third in command of the Lewis and Clark expedition.  I'm about as mixed European as you can get, but int the end, I'm all American.
    As a side note, I have an ancestor on my mother's side that emigrated from South Africa, so I guess that means that legally I can claim that I am African American

[dwfunk]

Not a lot is know about our branch of the family.  We're not sure where the family tree encompasses the vast majority of our German name sakes.

What little we do know, on my Fathers side, my Great-Grand Father immigrated from Russian Turkestan through Ellis Island in 1885 settling in Newton Kansas.  The family had lived in the Samaria region of Russia and was moved into the steppes when Catherine the Great moved all the German-Russians from Prussia (Poland) to the Volga River Colonies and then eastward into the steppes.

Their first child, a girl dies during the 3 month covered wagon journey to Europe where they boarded a German steamship to come to America.

Wife number one dies in Kansas and Great Grandpa goes back to Asia and marries wife number two, bringing her back to America.  In 1889 he participates in the Oklahoma Land Rush and manages to homestead 2 parcels.  Wife number two has 11 kids and dies giving birth to number 12.  My Grandfather was the first recorded birth of a Caucasian in the Oklahoma Territory.  After wife number 2 died, Great Grandpa went back to Asia and marries wife number 3 and brings her to America.

My Grandmother was born in South Russia and immigrated to America with her parents when she was a baby.  Her older sister married my Grandfathers older brother. So we've got tons of double cousins!

My mothers side isn't so clear yet.  Family is believed to be Swiss in origin, moved into The Prussia Empire, was there when the area was conquered by Napoleon. Was last known to be in South Russia and then came to the States and somehow ended up in Montana.

And people wonder why I want a "Russian" wife . . .




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David & Natalia
Republic of Texas/Moscow , Russia
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