So, my maternal grandparents immigrated from the Ukraine

[Control-Z]

and my paternal grandparents immigrated from Sicily.

Both my father and mother were first generation born American citizens. (That, in itself, I find mind-numbing.)

So what about the rest of you? US citizens? Or those hoping to become US citizens? Or native Americans who are not immigrants at all?

I would love to know about your beginnings!

[libdem4life]

1. Germany...both sides. Every non-native American family was from immigrants at one time.

[Control-Z]

3. Exactly!

"Every non-native American family was from immigrants at one time."

It kind of blows my mind that my parents could have possibly been "anchor babies". Well, really only my dad. My mother was the 13th or 14th of 16 children born on American soil. My father was the oldest son, so who knows?

[aquart]

23. Uh, so were they.

Contrary to certain myths based on a language flaw, humans didn't rise up from beneath the soil on this continent.

And the "natives" arrived in at least four waves.

We're all immigrants here.

[frazzled]

2. Also the child of immigrant grandparents, first-generation parents

Maternal grandparents from Hungary, paternal grandparents from Russia-Poland (borders were constantly changing).

They came to the US with the proverbial clothes on their backs; spoke broken English; and became proud American citizens. Their children all went to college.

[Control-Z]

5. That is why I said Ukraine:

"paternal grandparents from Russia-Poland (borders were constantly changing)"

There were quite a few Pollock jokes I remember from childhood but my grandparents were Russian at some point I guess. Lol.

[frazzled]

7. I could possibly have said Belarus or Lithuania

My father (now 96) claims they came from Brest-Litovsk, though I'm not so sure that is correct.

At any rate, countries were being tossed back and forth in those days like pizza pies. My grandparents of course spoke Yiddish. (And my other grandparents Hungarian.) All I have left are the culinary relics ... the Ashkenazic cuisine for the Jewish holidays on the one side; the wonderful goulashes and paprikashes, dobos torte and strudel on the other side. And cabbage noodles. I don't cook this food very often anymore, but when I do, I always think fondly of my grandmother.

[virgogal]

4. Mother from Canada,father Irish but family here for 3 generations when I was born.

[Control-Z]

18. So are you (very) young?

Or did your ancestors arrive some time during the 19th century? My children are 3rd generation so it's hard to tell. Crazy, isn't it?

[virgogal]

30. I'm ancient. My mother came in the 20s and my father's family were Irish famine immigrants.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. Small quibble....

It's technically just "Ukraine", not "the Ukraine."

I'm sorry, bad habit, but my Ukrainian mother would disown me if I didn't always point that out.

That's awesome though. Dobre den!

Between both sets of grandparents, we're talking some great dinners. :wave:

Ukrainian-Polish mutt here. Kind of an odd combination, given some historical tensions between the countries. But somehow my grandmother accepted my father as worthy!

[Control-Z]

8. I will remember that!!

Thanks!

I lost my mom at 7 and then my father at 17, so I have little real information. Big distant family. Many faded memories - the best pierogies ever, not to mention cannoli to die for. And father calling mother's family a bunch of commies!! lol.

[lynne]

11. LOL! I was thinking the same thing -

- my son spent 2 weeks in Ukraine and he said he learned very early not to say "The Ukraine" and always corrected me if I did so. Since then I always notice if someone refers to Ukraine in that manner.

He fell in love with the country and the people and brought back some wonderful stories and recipes. I would have never imagined how wonderful green borscht is! He has remained in contact with his Ukrainian friends and hopes to return one day.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. My paternal grandparents came from Norway

but they met each other in the U.S.

My maternal grandfather came from Latvia and met my grandmother, who was born two weeks after her parents arrived from Germany.

None of my ancestors were in the U.S. till 1899.

[OldDem2012]

10. US Citizen: ancestors include....

* an Italian branch which arrived in 1773 and went to work for Thomas Jefferson at Monticello as indentured servants starting his vineyards. This branch produced two 4th-great-grandfathers who arrived on the same ship;

* a German branch which arrived in 1717 and settled in the area of the Germanna Foundation in Virginia...also indentured servants;

* Scots-Irish branch arrived in Philadelphia in 1730 as...you guessed it! Indentured servants!...., traveled down the Great Wagon Road in Virginia, and settled in Kentucky before 1800.

All three branches produced Revolutionary War vets, with the Scots-Irish branch also producing French and Indian War vets.

[AnnieBW]

12. Father's family from Romania in 1920

My grandfather and grandmother on my Dad's side came over here in 1920 from western Romania (Transylvania). They got tired of being vampire victims. No, seriously, there was a whole lot of changes in that area following WWI, and my grandfather married his girlfriend and got the hell out.

My mother's side came from Croatia. My great-grandmother came over around 1910, but others were over here in the 1880's.

The upshot is that I knew two of my ancestors that came over from the Old Country, so I respect those who come here to make a better life for themselves and their kids. Legally or otherwise, because it was a lot easier to move here and work back then.

[Control-Z]

13. "came over from the Old Country"

Oh my. I have not heard that expression since I was a kid.

And yes, that is my point. I had relatives from the Old Country. What if they had been turned away?

[AnnieBW]

15. That's where I picked it up

Probably from my parents or grandparents.

[lynne]

14. All my lines were early immigrants -

Father's family arrived from England in the late 1600's as an indentured servant.
Grandmother's family from Wales mid 1700's as indentured servants.
Great-grandmother of German descent, in the US late 1700's.
Mother's family from England, they're in Philly in the 1700's.
Have an ancestral grandfather from Scotland that arrived in the US during the revolution, fighting for the British. He was in a POW camp after Yorktown and stayed in the US after being released.

Have had great fun researching the family history over the past 20 years.

[OldDem2012]

25. Agree 100%....great fun!! nt.

[Raksha]

16. My maternal grandparents were also from Ukraine,

and my father was born in Poland. Jewish on both sides, which is a big part of the reason they immigrated, if not the main reason.

[Control-Z]

40. I have so many questions

that I will probably never have answers to. My mother's (Ukraine) family never gave me any reason to believe they were Jewish. But it is something I have wondered about - for a number of reasons. One of her sisters married a man who practiced the Jewish faith.

It is all confusing to me now that I'm old enough to want to know.

[Brother Buzz]

17. Heinz 57 mongrel

Swiss
Scottish
Welch
English
German
Spanish
Scotch-Irish


Most of my roots were well established in America before the revolution and were grandfathered in on that citizen stuff. My Grandmother had the only immigration story to tell: Her father, the remittance man, was born in England, raised in Northern Ireland, then wanderlust struck and he took off for Australia, then western Canada, then Oregon, then California; Grandma said he was a well read drunk.

[Control-Z]

41. You sound like what my children are.

I believe they are Scottish, Welsh, English, German, and American Indian (from their father's side, though I don't think he really knows for sure) along with my Italian - Russian half thrown into the mix.

[Control-Z]

42. You sound like what my children are.

I believe they are Scottish, Welsh, English, German, and American Indian (from their father's side, though I don't think he really knows for sure) along with my Italian - Russian half thrown into the mix.

[octoberlib]

19. I'm a US citizen.

Maternal great- grandparents were from the Ukraine. Paternal greatgrands were from Holland.

[Spider Jerusalem]

20. Most of my ancestors arrived in America before the Revolution; 13 generations on both sides.

The earliest of them was at Jamestown a few years before those Pilgrims showed up in New England. My most recent immigrant ancestor (and one of three who arrived after the Revolution) was a great-great-grandfather who came over from Ireland during the famine. My ancestry is mostly English, Irish, Scots and Welsh(about 85% of my ancestors were from the British Isles), and also French Huguenot, Dutch, and Palatine German.

[erinlough]

21. My father was a German Lutheran living somewhere in Russia

which had been Prussia and was then given to Russia. He came here in 1928. My mother's father came from Vienna in 1915 or so with his two brothers, and my Grandmother's parents came from Ireland during the Potato Famine. According to my aunt, my grandfather who was the German Lutheran was sent to Siberia for a time and then returned to his home, that is when he left the country.

[Lugnut]

22. My maternal grandmother was from the Ukraine.

The other three grandparents were from Slovakia. My parents were first generation Americans. Both of my grandfathers were coal miners.

My maternal grandmother and her two sisters left their families and came to America. Because of name changes and poor record keeping we have no idea when they came.

All of my husband's grandparents came from the same region - Caserta - in Italy North of Naples. Italian record keeping was very good. My daughter was able to locate the ship manifest from the sailing that her paternal great-grandfather used to come here.

[okaawhatever]

24. My fathers side (step father, all I know) came over from England end of 1600's early 1700's.

He was high sheriff for some county over there. They said he was high sheriff to the king, but I think it's just one county. We can't really get past him because he went by Sheriff for his first name. They originally were farmers in Louden Co Maryland and then moved to Ohio. The relatives did fight n the revolutionary war. My grandmother was college roommates with Agnes Moorehead, Endora on Bewitched. LOL.
My mom's side of the family is from Camden TN, the same place nut job James Yeager the internet gun nazi is from. I don't really know any of my relatives there. My grandmother remarried a man who was first generation from Italy. His older sister, I think she was 2 yrs older was born in Italy but he was born in New York so they hadn't been here long.

[pugetres]

26. Eligible for DAR

on my dad's side, first generation American on my mom's side. I still can't find it in me to say that I'm proud to be an American. I'm just lucky

[hfojvt]

27. my most recent immigrant was in 1864

dad's maternal grandfather who was 4 years old.
next would be my paternal grandmother's maternal grandparents in about 1855
next would be my maternal grandmother's maternal grandfather in 1852
next would be my maternal grandmother's paternal grandfather in 1849
next would be my maternal grandfather's paternal grandfather in 1832
next would be my maternal grandfather's maternal grandmother in 1825
her husband was born about 1800 in Connecticut and it is not known when that line immigrated.
next would be my maternal grandfather's paternal grandmother in 1820
before that it gets even more complicated

my paternal line immigrated in 1739, nine generations back
many other lines are unknown dates. I have two revolutionary war ancestors born in America in 1753 and 1760, but their parents and their spouses parents are unknown. Other lines came over in the 1630s and 1640s, 11 or 12 generations back on my paternal grandfather's mother's side.

[Nay]

28. Mom was an immigrant (Canada), Dad was from a line that's been in the US since

1640 or so. I have 2 on dad's side who fought in the Revolutionary War. On Mom's side, her family immigrated from France to Canada in the 1680's, so we've been on the continent for a while....I'm a citizen of the US and Canada.

[hobbit709]

29. 1st generation American.

Even though I was born in Austria, I am an American citizen by birth.
On my mother's side it's Austrian, Czech, Hungarian and northern Italian from that part that changed hands after every war.
On my dad's side it's mostly English.

[FSogol]

31. 3 of my grandparents were born in Ireland and came here as children.

The other grandparent was born in Scotland and was orphaned on the journey here.

My wife is a naturalized US citizen. My sons have dual citizenship. (US and a SA country)

[Marrah_G]

32. Mostly from England in the 1600s on

Then a great grandmother who was Blackfoot.

That's my biological family.

Adopted family came from Ireland 3-4 generations back.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

33. I'm a U.S. permanent resident (a/k/a 'green card' holder)

I'm from Italy (the city of Bologna in north-central Italy. The one known as the fat - for the cuisine, the learned - the first university in the western world, and the red... for its porticos and politics!!).

My story is somewhat well known on DU, but here it goes again. My dad is a gifted engineer (with a few international patents to his name). He worked for a subsidiary of FIAT, S.p.A. in Bologna for several years. That company bought a small carburetor manufacturer in the U.S. - one plant in Michigan and one plant in rural North Carolina. The company sent my dad to the plant in NC to get the engineering and R&D going. It was supposed to be a two-year assignment and then he'd go to Brazil. This was 1987.

I was 15 at the time and my sister was 13. We and mom tagged along, because we thought it was going to be an incredible opportunity on various levels: becoming fluent in English/Brazilian Portuguese, experiencing different cultures, seeing the world, etc.

Brazil fizzled out, while the NC plant grew and eventually the assignment was expanded in length. We came under an E visa (treaty trader/investor - complicated visa that takes too long to explain). The company hired a business lawyer who dabbled in immigration, but was by no means an expert.

As the green card process got started, I turned 21 years of age. Instead of advising then-INS I was about to age out (age 21 is when you are considered an independent adult for immigration purposes), the attorney either forgot or didn't know. So, while my mom, dad and sister got green cards, I was left out. I was switched to F-1 status, while the company paid for my outrageously high tuition (since I no longer qualified for in-state tuition) and even paid tuition for a very expensive private university after undergrad.

To make a long story short, my dad acquired U.S. citizenship in order to put me on a higher priority list. He still has Italian citizenship. Luckily, I fell in love and married a U.S. citizen and began working as soon as I was granted employment authorization. After 7 years of marriage, we divorced amicably.

By a cruel twist of fate, since the first time I could work, I have worked in immigration law and my experiences with it - good and bad - have helped me become rather successful in this very narrow niche (I specialize in employment-based immigration).

I have not applied for U.S. citizenship primarily due to cost and my laziness. My sister, who is married to a U.S. citizen and has two kids who are dual Italian/US citizens, is in the process of applying, but she will also retain her Italian citizenship.

My mom has no interest in becoming a U.S. citizen. To be honest, she has never liked living in the U.S. and wants to return to Italy as fast as possible - in fact, she's always wanted to return.

Both my mom and dad want to return to Italy, but I doubt they will do that since their grandkids are here. My now-husband and I have often tinkered with the idea of living in Italy, since my husband wouldn't have a problem finding a great job there in his field. We are childless so we do want to retire in Italy some day.

My husband is eligible to apply for Italian citizenship in about 1 year and he wants to go for it.

For many things, I am very Italian - food habits, certain behaviors, etc. For others, I am very American - less formal, not as concerned with external appearances or fashion.

[RebelOne]

34. It is not the Ukraine. It is just Ukraine.

I had next door neighbors, a mother and her son, from Ukraine and when Alex, the son, heard the Ukraine, he would totally break up laughing.

[smirkymonkey]

35. My Grandfather came here from Sicily. My grandmother came

here from Calabria (on my Father's side) On my mother's side, they were here much earlier, Dutch and English. Original New Yorkers.

We are Dutch, English and Italian. A very interesting combination,

[zellie]

36. Both grandparents came from Russia.

Now third generation.

Always wanted to go back.

[NoPasaran]

37. Grandparents on both sides came from Ukraine before the Great War

Although it was part of Austria when they left and their villages flew quite a number of different flags over the century past. Three of the four sat in that great hall on Ellis Island waiting for their names to be called. The fourth apparently arrived via Canada.

[mia]

38. My mother's ancestors arrived from Germany and Ireland in the mid 1800's, via Baltimore, MD.

My father's ancestors arrived in the mid 1600's from England and France (via Holland). They settled in Maryland and New York (Huguenots).

[kiranon]

39. Maternal grandparents from Finland, paternal from the Ukraine.

Finnish spoken at home by my mom. So I am a 2nd generation American. Husband's family were originals here from the beginning.