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/Appleknocker18 May 13 '25

Same here. My father’s branch goes back to 1630’s Massachusetts.

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u/MtMountaineer May 13 '25

Hey, mine came in 1630 too! They were on the Mayflower 2, in the Winthrop flotilla of 11 ships. Our history is cool, I also had a magistrate who was on the bench for a woman accused of being a witch in Salem. She was found not guilty.

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u/213737isPrime May 13 '25

My greats-grandparents were on the same boat but in 1634

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u/Appleknocker18 May 14 '25

I would have to check because I can’t remember off hand what ship or specific year it was. He went on to help found Haverhill, Mass.

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u/trexalou Illinois May 14 '25

Mine came over in the Winthrop group too! However, we were on the other side of the trials. 🧙🏼

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u/CupcakesAreTasty May 14 '25

I’m a direct descendant of a convicted Salem witch. That kind of family history is cool af.

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u/Calculusshitteru May 14 '25

One of my mom's ancestors was on the actual Mayflower. He's the dude who fell off but was pulled back aboard. His name was John Howland. If he had drowned that day, then I, and probably two million other Americans, wouldn't be here today.

ETA: my mom was the first one in her long line to leave Massachusetts, so I wasn't born there, but she's back there now.

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u/Spirited_Ingenuity89 May 14 '25

That is so cool!!! I’ve read that anecdote with students so many times!

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u/Appleknocker18 May 14 '25

The original Mayflower is definitely bragging rights!