Thread for Heritage Americans

starlight

starlight

Protestant
Heritage
Woman
As a Heritage American, I think we deserve our own thread. This is a thread to share how and why our ancestors came here or any other old time family stories (without giving too much away, of course).

My maternal family tree are very much decedents of the Great American Revolution. So much so, that my mom thought (when she was a kid) that "GAR" was actually a family name when they would visit the cemetery. "Uncle Gar, Grandpa Gar" etc... GAR is the placard on the marker for those that served in Revolutionary War.

This is a thread to share your own Heritage American historical moments/memories.
 
This will be a good thread; thank you for thinking of it. I plan to return and post more as I have time, but my ancestors are deeply rooted in the founding of our country. It makes me appreciate our constitution and freedoms, for which they have fought through the generations and to continually pray that we don't lose it all.
 
My first ancestor (same last name) came to Massacusetts around 1640. Based on this, I assume he must have been a puritan.

That's almost 400 years ago, so he must be my great grandpa with 17 or 18 greats. I know almost the full lineage, except for a gap around the revolutionary war. I know the exact lineage back to the late 1700s, and the original ancestor's descendants are known for five generations, but there is a gap between them. It has to be the same family because the name is uncommon.
 
How far back do your ancestors have to go to be considered "heritage"? Do they have to be British? It's an academic question for me, because I honestly don't know.
 
Christos_NIKA said:
How far back do your ancestors have to go to be considered "heritage"? Do they have to be British? It's an academic question for me, because I honestly don't know.
Click to expand...
The term Heritage American generally refers to people descended from the early British settlers and colonies. But I personally believe that Europeans who immigrated and settled/homesteaded after that up to the Industrial Revolution could probably fall into that category.
 
One of my German ancestral lines were from very old mining towns. They accepted the invitation from Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood of Virginia in the early 1700's, to settle there and mine silver and/or iron.These first colonists wrote home and described a beautiful land full of opportunity and religious freedom. So others in my line came soon after. I had visited the site of the fort of Historic Germanna without even knowing my family connection! They have an extensive data base for genealogy and many books about the local history there. I recommend a visit.
 
Another ancestral line came originally from France. They were being persecuted by the French king in the late 1600's for being Huguenots. They moved first to Germany, then fled from there to settle in Pennsylvania in the 1750's. They were known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
 
Haha, I was wondering when such a thread would eventually be created. You Americans do so love to boast about your 'heritage' roots. My own German Lutheran ancestors first came to these shores (present-day Nova Scotia) in 1752, fleeing religious persecution from the Holy Roman Empire...before the Seven Years War against the French, before the American Revolution...should I start a similar thread for 'Heritage Canadians'?
 
El Dorado said:
Haha, I was wondering when such a thread would eventually be created. You Americans do so love to boast about your 'heritage' roots. My own German Lutheran ancestors first came to these shores (present-day Nova Scotia) in 1752, fleeing religious persecution from the Holy Roman Empire...before the Seven Years War against the French, before the American Revolution...should I start a similar thread for 'Heritage Canadians'?
Click to expand...
Better do that now before they're all speaking Hindi.
 
El Dorado said:
Haha, I was wondering when such a thread would eventually be created. You Americans do so love to boast about your 'heritage' roots. My own German Lutheran ancestors first came to these shores (present-day Nova Scotia) in 1752, fleeing religious persecution from the Holy Roman Empire...before the Seven Years War against the French, before the American Revolution...should I start a similar thread for 'Heritage Canadians'?
Click to expand...
So you're a late comer then? Welcome to the New World!
 
My earliest ancestors who immigrated to America (that I can find actual records for) were Puritans that helped settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630-1638. The ended up in Lynn and are my maternal 9th great-grandparents.

Thomas More said:
My first ancestor (same last name) came to Massacusetts around 1640. Based on this, I assume he must have been a puritan.
Click to expand...
Do you know which town?
 
starlight said:
My earliest ancestors who immigrated to America (that I can find actual records for) were Puritans that helped settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630-1638. The ended up in Lynn and are my maternal 9th great-grandparents.


Do you know which town?
Click to expand...
I had some of the details wrong. He was in Essex County, Mass in the 1660s and 1670s, but the first record of him is from Milford, Connecticut, in 1646. He came over from England, but pretty much nothing else is known about him before arriving in New England. Our last name doesn't appear in any English records. He eventually moved back to Milford, until his death there in 1690.
 
Last edited:
I intend no boasting. Genealogy research can be fun, especially if you like detective work, learning history, and, of course finding your roots. Imagine if only one person in your thousands of ancestors had died (in a war, an accident, crossing the ocean, disease, etc.) before producing offspring, you wouldn't be here. One of my ancestors settled near Jamestown. He was killed in an Indian attack and that would be the end of our line. However his son was still back in England with his mother and they arrived here later. Uncovering that bit of information made be grateful to be alive and it encouraged me to study the history surrounding the location and people. Stories like the ones you all are sharing make history alive, not just names and dates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top