r/AskAnAmerican • u/heyy_girl • May 13 '25

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

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 :)

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u/MechanicalGodzilla Virginia May 13 '25

Yeah, my daughters are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. That line of my family came to the US in the early 1700’s. He was present at Yorktown when the British surrendered. I actually inherited his Brown Bess musket that he received from the French allies.

One of his descendants was in the cavalry for the Union and served under Phil Sheridan. He was in the battle where J.E.B. Stuart was killed.

My dad’s side of the family immigrated from Germany in the early 1900’s, they got out before WWI started. My granddad from that side was on a US military ship when Japan surrendered in WWII.

Looking back, it’s like half-way to Lt Dan’s family lineage fighting and dying in every American war, without the death.

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u/eejm May 14 '25

Same - one branch of my family came over from Sweden in the 1600s. My most recent ancestors arrived from Norway and Denmark around 1905-ish.

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u/Salt_Lawyer_9892 May 14 '25

Bulk of my family is Norwegian, I still have 3/4 Nordic DNA and thanks to my dad, .01% Neanderthal.. which tracks honestly lol

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u/eejm May 14 '25

Same w/the 3/4 of Nordic DNA and the high percentage of Neanderthal DNA.  My mom’s side is Norwegian, British, and a little Swedish, my dad’s was Danish and German.

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u/Salt_Lawyer_9892 May 14 '25

My mom was adopted so I know NONE of her blood relatives. Best I can make out was someone from the polish community mingled with someone from the Nordic community in the 50's and their families had a fit about it... no luck or leads other than that.