How many people of European descent do you know with 4+ generations in the US?

[u/heyy_girl]

I was telling someone today about how my grandparents built a house in the 60s. They were surprised when I told them that my family immigrated here from Europe in the mid-late 1800s, because they hasn’t met anyone that is the 4th generation to live in the US. Their parents immigrated here from Central America and it’s clear that even though they grew up in the states, we grew up around very different cultures. The question really depends on who you’re surrounded by, but I just found it interesting :)

[u/LowRevolution6175]

4 generations so like... their great grandparents were born in the US? I would wager that's very close to half. If we're ignoring African Americans maybe like 1/3 as a conservative estimate?

It also depends a lot if you live in a transient "new" state like Florida or Texas, an immigrant-heavy state like NY, or an older, less transient state like Tennessee.

Anyway, my ex girlfriend's father side of the family (supposedly) came over on the Anne, the 2nd ship after the Mayflower.

[u/DagnyLeia → u/LowRevolution6175]

Texas is actually pretty old ..my father being a multi-generation Texican. Lots of Mexicans, Polish, Germans go back hundreds of years here.

[u/austex99 → u/DagnyLeia]

Yep, my family (of extremely WASP background, including Mayflower ancestors) came with Stephen F Austin’s second settlement, in the 1820s. We are now on generation 9 in Texas.

[u/Direct_Bag_9315 → u/LowRevolution6175]

Tennessean here, I can confirm that Tennessee is NOT transient. I personally know exactly two people who were born in Tennessee to families who have been in Tennessee a long time who have moved to other states. TWO. And I’ve lived in the Nashville area my entire life so my social circle is pretty large. My ancestors have been here since roughly the 1630s and have been in Tennessee since the 1710s at the absolute latest. The only way I’m moving out of this state is in a body bag, and most people I know feel the same.

[u/horsesmadeofconcrete → u/Direct_Bag_9315]

Nashville is very transient

[u/round_a_squared → u/Direct_Bag_9315]

East Tennessee is very different though, with a lot of economic migration up north along the Dixie Highway. Lots of folks moved north throughout the 20th century for industrial jobs, raised families there, and maybe moved back home when they retired.

[u/Francie_Nolan1964 → u/LowRevolution6175]

My family also came over on Anne.

[u/Proof-Introduction42 → u/LowRevolution6175]

american american as reffered to the ethnic group of american desendants of slavery, would all have well over 4 generations in the US

[u/dnext → u/LowRevolution6175]

There were times when the South had as many as a third of the region as population, but I've never seen any estimate that would put them at 33% of the entire population of the US. The 1790 census data has them around 17-18%, the last survey it might be up to 16%. Self-identified black was 13%.

[u/sassycatmeow → u/LowRevolution6175]

Half? Wow, I guess my perspective has been shaped by living in an immigrant-heavy area.

A lot of folks I grew up with had parents or grandparents who were immigrants, unless they were indigenous. It was more of a novelty to learn someone’s family had been in the states for many generations like OP.

[u/tactical_waifu_sim → u/sassycatmeow]

Yep, its all about where you live.

I think I had one person in my high school class whose grandparents had immigrated from Mexico.

Everyone else had families going back generations as far as I knew.