Where did your non-North American ancestors come from?

[CutiePie2000]

Hi there,
Along the lines of getting to know each other better, I'd love to hear where everyone's roots are from.

Now, to keep it "interesting", I would like to hear where your ancestors came from, and please go back as far as it takes, in order to have non-North American ancestors. (Of course, if you are descended from Native Indian/Native American/First Nation/Aboriginal...then I guess I can "relax" the rules a bit)

So, if you are 4th generation American born or Canadian born, you'll need to trace back a little further.
(i.e. "My grandparents were from Ohio" does not 'count', according to the guidelines that I set).

I want to see how "exotic" we are here on Greek Chat!!
It's easy for me..I'm first generation Canadian.

Dad (and all his ancestors) came from Germany.
Mom (and all her ancestors) came from Latvia.

NEXT!......................

[greeklawgirl]

Easy for me, too!

I'm first generation American.
My mother is from the island of Chios in Greece.
My father is from the province of Evrytania in Greece.

greeklawboy is also first generation American.
His mother is from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
His father is from Cork, Ireland.

[kappaloo]

I'm also first generation Canadian.

[aephi alum]

Mine's pretty straightforward.

My mother came from the UK.
My father's grandparents all came from Poland.

So I guess that makes me a first/third-generation American?

[steelepike]

well let's see my roots
I'm more of a multi generational American as my great grandparents were born here and as far as they remember we lived somewhere in America for atleast two generations before that.

Father's side: english/irish

Mother's side: Dutch, Scotish, Irish and Cherokee Indian

[DeltaSigStan]

Republika ng Pilipinas (Republic of the Philippines)

Dad is from Zambal
Mom is from Baguio

[AlphaSigOU]

Father is 2nd generation New York Irish from St. Albans, Queens, New York. My great grandmother (his grandmother) was fresh off the boat from near Dublin (still have some very distant relatives there).

Mother was born in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela (the Texas of Venezuela... lots of oil and ego to boot! ) Her father's family came from India by way of Trinidad.

[ZetaLuvBunny]

I have done LOTS of family tree research lately, and I have over 200 individuals listed on my family tree program on the computer.

Mother's Father's side:
Some of my anscestors came from Ulster, Ireland in the early 1700s. Before that they lived in Scotland, and I have traced the names and years of birth back to the 1690s. The first of these anscestors to live in America was a Captain in the Revolutionary War as well as a Teacher, Plantation Owner, and a Methodist Clergyman.

Others came from Palentinite, Germany, also in the 1700s.

And yet others were from France. I have not been able to trace much on this.

Mother's Mother's side:
Great grandmother came over from England in the mid 1800s. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Great grandfather's parents came over from England in the mid 1800s. He was a Mason. Some of his family was also from Wales somewhere along the line.

Father's side
I don't know much about them except that they are mostly German.

My two sides are wildly different.

On my fathers side, I am 3rd generation American.
My father's grandparents all came over from Belgium. His parents still speak the language, and my dad and his siblings are the first generation not to have crazy-strong accents.

My mother's side is just the opposite... I'm 12th generation or something like that. The line of the family tree we can trace most easily is from England, they came over in the 1720s or somewhere around there. We have hints of a few of the other lines (the one we've traced is my maternal great-grandfather's line) that all seem to come from England or the greater Isles, with one stray line that came from Luxembourg

[PM_Mama00]

My mom and her family spent 14 days on the Volcania in 1956 all the way to Ellis Island from Palermo, Sicily (Cinisi to be exact). My father came over on a plane some years later. He was also from Palermo (Cinisi).

Woohoo for 1st generation Americans!

[greeklawgirl]

Originally posted by PM_Mama00
My mom and her family spent 14 days on the Volcania in 1956 all the way to Ellis Island from Palermo, Sicily (Cinisi to be exact).

My dad came over on the Queen Anna Maria!

[ZTAMiami]

1st generation American. Born and raised in NJ, now in Miami.
Father from the province of Matanzas, Cuba (San Miguel de los Banos)
Mother from the province of Oriente, Cuba (Santiago de Cuba)
Great grandparents on both sides originally Spanish and some possible Italian on my Dad's side.

[adduncan]

Uh, how far back can we go on this?

I'm pretty much mostly northern European but the pedigree is a couple of thousand years old. Lots of different things get mixed in at that level from Scandinavia to Italy.

Adrienne (PNAM 2003 and All American Mutt <g>)

[enlightenment06]

My mother's family moved to NYC from North Carolina.
My father's family moved here from the Bahamas via Miami.

Prior to that my ancestors came over shackled in the hull of a slave ship amidst the stink of feces, urine and death, waiting to be showcased and sold like livestock.

So basically, besides guessing the general region of Western Africa, I don't know where my ancestors came from. I can only wonder

Edited to Add: My great-grandfather on my mother's side is either Irish or Scottish and one of my great-grandmothers on my mother's side is Native American, either Cherokee or Blackfoot

[CutiePie2000]

Originally posted by adduncan
Uh, how far back can we go on this?

You go back as far as you like! .