Since the topic of peoples background & cuture I was wondering what you are are made up of? On my Father's side I am German Jewish. My Mother's I am made up of a more colourful one. I am Irish & French. Anyone else like to share?
I'm a Celtic mutt of sorts, with a splash of Saxon My paternal side is Scottish, a sept of Clan Colquhoun. I have been to those ancestoral lands and they are wonderful. The surname itself is of Saxon origin, so apparently some Germanic blood from way back in the day (it would explain the draw to that aspect of Paganism). My paternal grandmother has Scottish heritage too, though I haven't really researched that. My maternal grandfather's family are from Wales, and certainly the surname is a very common Welsh surname. I don't know about my maternal grandmother's heritage, English I should think, but I need to look into that.
Both sides of my family have been here so long, we aren't even sure. I'm white and that's all I can say for sure. My brother thinks that my dad's side is originally French, and my mom's side is almost certainly Irish. We can only go as far back as the Civil War with any certainty, and we were here long before that. The most recent immigrant in my family is my mom's grandmother, but she was a step-grandmother. On top of it all I was born late in the game, so I almost skip a generation. My dad was in WWII and my grandfather was in WWI, so we aren't even talking about that many generations in my family.
Many think I am English because my last name is But, My Father (Who was born in the US) was adopted by his step Father and given his surname and moved the family back to his Home in South Africa. I didn't even know my father was Jewish till I was about 12. He told us about his Father and how he survived the Holocaust, Only to die at a young age from emphysema.
My mother's side is pure scottish. The MacRae clan to be exact. My father was adopted so we have almost no information about that side of the family. All I have been able to find out is that my grandfather was from Qubec. So I simply consider myself scottish, no more, no less.
I have come to the conclusion that most people in America have at least a little Irish in them. Especially if the families have been here a long time.
Well if you go back far enough everyone is related I read somewhere that about 40 million Americans claim some Irish ancestry. Which might be true; as the Irish have migrated en mass at various points in history, and it's a 'cool' heritage to have (however obscure). It must be noted though that not everyone here [thread or forum] is American. I've never even been there on holiday (born & raised English).
When I moved to the States in Massachusetts the three main heritage backgrounds were French(Canadian) Irish, Italian & Portugues. The only reason I know I do have some Irish is because my Mothers Mom Has an Irish surname. What part of Ireland her family was from. I have no idea.
Alot of immegrants americanized their names when thay came to the US. My great great grandfather MacRae dropped the "Mac" and changed the Rae to Ray when he came over the pond. It's a good thing we have living relatives in scottland or we would have had a hell of a time tracking our geneology.
Half German, quarter Ukrainian and quarter Irish. I intend to read the Prose Edda somday. Maybe the book of Veles if it ever gets translated into English. I don't really feel any pull towards my Irish side though. Maybe it's becuase the German dominates and my last name is Ukrainian.
Pure Scottish? Which one is the pure one? The Norman Scots? British Scots? Picts? Gael? English Scot? Scandinavian? Im confused.
Well, my mother's side goes back to King Henry the Fowler of Germany. And most of my dad's side is Irish! Honestly, I'm just a southern redneck!
"Pure" as in part of the clan split off and came to America, mixed with others of the clan, and now here I am. I have no german, no polish, no spanish, no sweedish blood in me, etc. Don't be a smart ass.
Hey Zadria!! Yo to another South African. My heritage is South African, French, Scots, Irish, Australian, English.