America's Ancestry, Explained Through Maps

[@demarcomixon]

Great video. I’m an American descendant of slavery and you did a great job with speaking about our history and the Great Migration. My only complaint is that you lumped Black immigrants with Black Americans who are descendants of American Chattel Slavery. We are a separate ethnic group from Black immigrants that has been in America since the colonial era. We are quintessentially American. Additionally, Black Americans that are descendants of American Chattel Slavery are a mixed race group of people. We are an amalgamation of various African groups, mixed with various European groups primarily British, and many of us have Native American ancestry as well. I strongly believe that fact must be mentioned. You mentioned that Mexicans and Louisiana Creoles are an admixed people but failed to mention that about Black Americans. You would be extremely hard pressed to find a BlackAmerican who descends from American Chattel Slavery who does not have any European heritage.

[@al3xa723]

I would agree with you on most of that aside from being careful about claiming a significant amount of native heritage. Self identification on having "native blood" is incredibly higher all across the US than people that actually do. It is a very common family story, my mother had that story but I can assure you it's false. That is not to say that it didn't happen, but rather it's often blown up.

[@Dhi_Bee]

@@al3xa723Yeah, I see so many people find out they’re -982341760.5% “Cherokee” or whatever in online groups/forums/subreddits. The reality for many white Americans is that they instead find they’re either 100% European ancestry or have a tiny percentage of black ancestry their ancestors hid during the “white-passing” era for better opportunities/lives. And for black Americans it’s usually to hide that their female ancestor was a victim of ræpe during US slavery. It’s easier to say your 4th great grandma had a happy family with a Native man than her being assaulted & impregnated by an enslaver :-/ That’s why a lot of older generations are silent about their past. From holocaust victims to Rwandan genocide to African American enslavement.

[@Worldaffairslover]

You’re probably west African. A lot of black immigrants are from the same country that descendants of slaves were taken from

[@demarcomixon]

@@al3xa723 I completely understand, many people believe they have Native American ancestry but are mistaken. Black Americans who descend from American Chattel Slavery are actually more likely than White Americans to have Native American ancestry. I completed a DNA test as well as my mother and it confirmed that we do in fact have Native American heritage. My boyfriend completed a DNA test as well and discovered that he also has Native American heritage.

[@al3xa723]

@@demarcomixon Yes that is true, I wasn't denying that, rather the fact that half the people I meet claim native heritage and are just wrong. Or they say "0.1% Cherokee!!!" And go buck wild over what can be statistical error. I'm very sure you're legit, just saying many others aren't.

[@patrickdavenport6254]

As an African American, I find this so eye-opening. I identify as black, because that's how most of the world sees me and how I see myself. However, I have French, Irish, and Native American ancestry, as recently as my great grandparents, and probably other non-African ethnicities before that. I never think about their journeys or their lives here in a personal way, but more as some other group of people's history, even though the truth is that they are my people too. This video sparked a change in my way of thinking.

[@bgl9935]

I'm Japanese I love Black Americans in the South.

[@es4408]

This comment is definitely a tearjerker

[@two_squared]

@@es4408It’s a jerker of something else, too

[@pamm8608]

I just heard about a mixed nationality group called, Melungeon. Check it out.

[@Fristpeople]

When the Census ask you what you are and you check all the boxes they white people will only check white. It determines who gets money for their area. If you are A.A. then you will most likely have forced white people in your blood line but I can guarantee they are NOT claiming you as part of their ancestry unless there is a monetary gain from doing so. I have white people on both sides of my family tree great and great, great parents and we know who they are. Guess who is not claiming us on there family tree? 🙄 I have a brother in-law who's father is full blooded Native American which makes him half but he look black, guess who is not including him on the family tree? 🤔 Yeah A.A. are mixed and we include all our ancestry but for all practical purposes you are BLACK. Welcome to the cookout.

[@meflowers6633]

So, I just randomly found and was watching this video and at 13:22, you show a picture of a WWII ship. That ship was the USS Harry Taylor, and my dad served on that ship during WWII. I’ve studied that picture a lot, and found my dad among the many servicemen. The story of that ship was it had picked up thousands of soldiers from Europe and was going to take them to the Pacific arena via the Panama Canal to fight Japan. While still in the Atlantic, they received word that Japan surrendered, so they reversed course and headed to the NY harbor. It was the first ship to reach the harbor after VJ Day. Thanks for sharing, it brought back memories of my dad and his service!

[@melodycherry8870]

I wondered if anyone would reconize this ship or it's soldiers aboard. Thank you for sharing!

[@naynay3710]

Wow!! How exciting! I can only imagine the emotion you might have felt seeing that photo and finding your dad in it. Very cool story!

[@MultiKswift]

Unfortunately, my family has firsthand experience with the anti-German sentiment following World War II. My maternal grandmother’s grandparents were all from Germany. Her grandparents and parents all spoke German, but absolutely refused to speak it around the kids/grandkids. They got harassed a lot, so much so that even today my mother refuses to tell people that she has German ancestry. Even I have gotten some negative reactions, although not many. Edit: If you look at some of the replies, you'll see what I meant when I saw that many of us get negative reactions about our German ancestry.

[@ndie8075]

Not in this days....anti german sentiments are long time over....the opposite..

[@libertybell7145]

My experience too. I never say what the background is. People generally guess Italian, Greek, or Jewish.

[@geoffreyshubert2263]

Much of the Germanic emigration to the US seems to be those who were known as the Pennsylvanian Dutch. A very religious group with Celtic roots (similar to the Irish and Welsh and some Scots) who came from the area around the Rhineland and were very hard working, but who fled because of religious persecution or war. Yes, they are German in the sense of a specific geographical area we now know as Germany, but Germany was not a unified country until fairly recently, but rather a collection of different states. They share similar traits to the Scots Irish because of their ethnicity and devout protestant beliefs. So I think the word "German" is a very broad term in some senses (much like American is) when talking about ethnicity.

[@marchauchler1622]

​@geoffreyshubert2263 most Germans have partially Celtic roots together with Slavic (approx. 25%) and of course Germanic

[@katesleuth1156]

@@marchauchler1622 skavic or Slavic?

[@JXY2019]

One thing to remember is ancestry is self reported and most people are incredibly ignorant. So many people are German or Irish or Cherokee until they take a dna test and find out they are 75 % English

[@marcsamuelson1011]

I agree, if your family traces their roots in America back to the colonial period, it is almost certain they have some degree of British ancestry.

[@Claude_van]

I‘m from Germany and all my ancestors for centuries were German. But even my DNA Ancestry test says 50% English 👍 OK, the Angles and Saxons settled in Germany, too.

[@impalaman9707]

@@Claude_van Yes, the Saxons were/are a German tribe, so that makes perfect sense to find that in your DNA

[@pedrocardiel1026]

​@impalaman9707 been simp to the queen and king pretty bitch made😂

[@Claude_van]

@@impalaman9707 Yes, and part of the Angles also settled in the Middle of Germany, in Thuringia. At the same time half of Germany originally was Celtic and even Roman like England. And because of the Hanseatic League, Danish border and Swedish occupation Scandinavian influx in the north like in Western England. Must be difficult to genetically distinguish.

[@Marylandbrony]

My dad’s family is from the first wave of colonists to Maryland who are Catholics and more or less stayed in Southern Maryland around Potomac river until my grandfather moved north to Baltimore as a part of the post-war migration from rural areas to city’s/suburbs. I think the post-war migration of people away from rural areas would be an interesting topic. America was still a rural nation until basically the 1920s and only after WW2 did America really became a urban country.

[@evolve991]

Hi former neighbor! My Catholic side of the family, my mothers side were Italian and Irish and lived along the Susquehanna. I have not had much luck in tracing that side of my families. Surprisingly I have found my fathers side have been here since the late 1600s, settling in the York and Lancaster county areas,being Penn Dutch.

[@christineperez7562]

It wasn't until 1900s that anyone came over to the US on their own freewill. European countries used America as a jail to house mentality ill, or their poor.

[@willowtdog6449]

I graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland, so I'm somewhat familiar with that history. I think this is all fascinating, and I really appreciated the sociological framework of this video that helped add so much context!

[@ForeverHisforever]

You need not even mention your catholic, most people know when you say MARY LAND, WE KNOW YOU ARE CATHOLIC, AND WHY IT WAS NAME THAT AND BY WHO

[@jfredq]

I trace my Irish ancestry to 1790s North Carolina, but I think that the family must have moved there from Maryland's Eastern Shore during the Revolution. It's a rare Irish name that shows up in Colonial land deeds around Dorchester MD. They had been landed Irish gentry until Cromwell seized their lands. I assume that they left for Colonial Maryland to start over.

[@larsedik]

I didn't know I had English ancestors until I discovered online some research that cousins of mine had done. As it turned out, our English ancestors arrived in Rhode Island (primarily) and a few in Massachusetts in the 1630s, but none later than 1650. Eventually they made their way through Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana to Texas and left all memories of England behind, but they were always fairly large landowners and were always wealthy. According to 23&Me, I am 25% English and 50% German. My German ancestors immigrated to Texas in the 19th Century and are easily traceable back to Europe. Some of these were also large landowners (on my father's side), but on my mother's side, they were poor farmers or tradespeople. The other 25% of me is French, Scandinavian, Dutch, Scots-Irish, and Irish, but I cannot trace any of their heritage back to Europe. However, my cousins did trace some of our English heritage back to Scandinavia.

[@kevinkelly1586]

I can understand tracing English ancestry to Scandinavia, since the English (and Welsh, Scots , and Irish) are partly descended from Vikings, as well as the Normans.

[@JesusGonzalezzz]

It must have been hard for you to discover you have English ancestors since you look super African 🙄

[@BillGreenAZ]

You and I are a lot alike in our ancestor makeup. The only difference is that I have Swiss ancestry but not Dutch. My English ancestors arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630s and moved to Rhode Island with Roger Williams. Were your ancestors a part of that group also?

[@lindasmith9834]

My DNA revealed 12% Scotish, 4% Wales, 14% Irish, 5% Swedish/Danish, 1% Norway, and Ivory Coast of Africa, including Ghana, Congo, Nigeria, Mali, etc. My great grandparents on dad's side are descendants from early African slaves in Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, who were sold in Port of New Orleans to plantation owners in Alabama, Western Mississippi, Central and South Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. My Maternal side revealed descendants in Nova Scotia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and moved/sold in port of New Orleans to plantations in Alabama, western Mississippi, eastern Louisiana, and Texas. My grandparents and great grandparents were traced to Louisiana. Maternal 4th great grandmother was found on a ship manifest to America from Wales. ​@@kevinkelly1586

[@BillGreenAZ]

@AemondBlackKiller the country started out that way but now German-Americans are the biggest group by ancestry.

[@g0d5m15t4k3]

Great job discussing the specific locations immigrants came from and went to. I like that you were more specific than just "from this country to USA". Including what part of the originating country, why they were leaving, what state they landed in, and why they chose that location, is amazingly detailed. Very well done. I also appreciate you actually trying to pronounce names correctly. Lots of videos brush it off like "I am no good at pronunciation" then don't even try. You gave no excuses and gave a firm attempt. I didn't notice any mispronunciations. But I'm sure someone super keen probably noticed something.

[@lynnhettrick7588]

I agree! I was very interested in learning the different points of entry for different immigrant groups. Then tying that in to where they settled. I was also impressed at the educated attempt to pronounce the names correctly. I don't know if there were many mistakes or not, but the effort was noticed.

[@christineperez7562]

Mexicans are not immigrants they are Native to this land. Just because states don't belong to Mexico anymore doesn't make them not Natives. They speak Spanish because of Spain.

[@andeeq666]

@@christineperez7562 Spain? Exactly. Spain is in Europe = Spanish immigrants. If Mexicans are “native,” most are only partially “native.”

[@arthurlara4282]

​@@christineperez7562he covered this, separating Mexican-Americans from more recent Mexican migrations. Was glad he pointed this out, being from ancestry that was already here before it was part of the United States

[@Sienna-s5p]

The Aztecs that invaded for Decades are not Native American.

[@pathfinderstravelmagazine2903]

I really enjoyed this video. I especially liked your mention of the Gullah, Creole, and Cajun cultures. Well done.

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

The Irish identifying as American reminds me of Tolkien, "They have been there so long they have forgotten where they came from". Also, they probably forgot those horrible circumstances on purpose. I have Irish ancestors who settled in Wisconsin. How did they get there? Nobody knows, but they probably arrived as indentured miners and promptly never said another word about it. By the time family history starts, they're typical Irish civil servants.

[@derlingerardclair6252]

Civil Servants such as Pollicemen,and Firemen.

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

and postal and military, yes@@derlingerardclair6252

[@billnye7323]

Most of the people identifying as "American" are in the South. A lot of those people are of mainly British Colonial stock background (English and Scottish ancestry).

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

@@billnye7323 they were Scots-Irish, Presbyterian Protestants in the upland South. British stock was in the lowlands. The slavers.

[@McNastyxx95]

To be fair, Americans who claim to be anything other than American get knots laughed at. Like Irish Americans and African Americans. German American. An American saying they’re German or English or French is stupid to those in Germany and England and France. Because we’re not, We’re AMERICAN. Even many native Americans find it weird how we call them native Americans because they say we are all Native Americans. They prefer a different name.

[@jijitters]

Amazing video! As a Norwegian+Finnish-American in Minnesota, I never had any idea that was rare until I got older. A lot of my classmates had Swedish names too. I almost thought we were going to be skipped entirely, so this was an interesting lesson in how small that ethnic population is in the country overall, compared to my state specifically.

[@chrisS19019]

Yep, same with growing up in Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin area I thought Danish Swedish etc was pretty common throughout the states. Pretty cool. More German here than anything though

[@joesmith9216]

@@chrisS19019 Yeah, GERMANIC, learn the tribe. NORDIC IS GERMANIC.

[@chrisS19019]

@@joesmith9216 You okay? You seem extremely on edge. Im talking about people from specific countries. People from Germany, people from Denmark and people from Sweden. It might seem weird but those are actually different countries

[@joesmith9216]

@@chrisS19019 Yeah, I am aware those are different countries, not different race though. Wisconsin is like 90 percent Germanic race it seems.

[@djjohntab]

@@joesmith9216 there is no "germanic race". And many Scandinavians were victims of Nazi Germany (Norway and Denmark in particular). They see the terms "germanic race" and want nothing to do with that racist nonsense, in fact becoming the least religious, most educated and most progressive nations on this planet.

[@andrewadcock6435]

As a Cajun, That was a pretty good analysis. I can’t speak French but my brother and grandmother can speak it and I’d like to learn one day as it feels important to me. Many people in Louisiana are very prideful in there heritage

[@bradjbourgeois73]

Most of my ancestry is Cajun French (St. James Parish) and German (St. John the Baptist Parish), but my Paw Paw's mom was English, coming through Virginia to Kentucky and finally to Louisiana. She died when my Paw Paw was four in 1918 at 35 years old from the flu epidemic. And my maternal Maw Maw's family came from the Thibodaux area.

[@stoveboltlvr3798]

As close to French as I'll ever get is fries and toast!

[@louisinese]

I'm Cajun Creole with Evangeline parish and SE Louisiana heritage. I want to learn Kouri-Vini, I only know a few words do to it skipping a generation but mostly dedicate my time to Spanish.

[@BenitoCBlanco]

From Louisiana as well jefferson parish

[@bretcantwell4921]

I have no Cajun, but my dad's recent family is from Houston and I've always felt an appreciation for Cajun culture. Used to watch Justin Wilson on PBS when I was young and love Cajun food. In 1990, my brother and I were driving to FL for spring break and I was thrilled to find a Zydeco radio station where the DJs spoke French.

[@Noel_13]

Great job Carter! I think a lot of people from the Americas (myself included) have this hunger for knowing our heritage. It's a time consuming and beautiful task to revive our ancestors' stories and their journeys. Anyway, I'll keep posted for the next video! 🔔

[@battlefocused5748]

North America was one of the most violent continents long before Columbus came to its shores. Native Americans warred against each other and took captives and slaves. Actually the slave trade was extremely active among the many First Nations people.

[@Semper_]

French is dying, much of the older population just didn't pass it on and after they die, the language in the family dies too. (Especially the ones who emigrated to others states like Texas. Like my ancestors did) but you can't blame em when they lived in a time where they weren't allowed to speak French at school and were discriminated against by Anglos. They just didn't want their children to have to go through the same so you'll only really find it in very isolated rural areas in Acadiana and the city of Lafayette. A lotta people know many French n' Native words and interchange em with English words, but don't speak the full language though

[@YukonGhibli]

French is growing fairly quickly in South Louisiana. The government of France even gives good amounts of money to subsidize it. French immersion schools have quintupled in the last 20 years and keep growing (both public and private). The French radio Acadie has expanded and the local public broadcaster does a daily show in French along with specials. Fluent speakers have grown to well over 200,000 in LA with targets of up to 350k by ~2027. I cannot speak to the pop in Northern Maine and how they are doing.

[@Semper_]

@@YukonGhibli That's amazing! I didn't even know. I just know it died in my family

[@YukonGhibli]

@@Semper_ It was really dying, you are spot on. The push to grow it again started getting steam about 25 years ago, but started in earnest 18-20 years ago when the legislature started giving more funding and getting the money from France too. It is not what it was but is making a comeback. Acadiana area, of course, is the biggest area but even New Orleans and Baton Rouge have some of the new immersion schools.

[@Pfuhler455]

Thank you this is so fascinating. Im an American from Appalachia and most of my ancestors have been here for centuries. Im from Southeastern ohio and my last name is German. They came here in 1820 only 17 years after our state was created, My great grandpas ancestors stayed in Germany for centuries in one town. Other side is Italian and Nordic, along with Scot-Irish and Polish/Ukrainian. Americans find this fascinating because like i said, doing my family tree in Germany and Italy they stayed in one town for centuries. They knew their history and ancestry but we're all descendants of the adventurous who came here and you can still see the effect of all our ancestors culture they brought here 100s of years later. Also im learning German because im going to be going there and love the language and culture. Didnt know only 1% here spoke it, thats so low. Wonderful video.

[@marifromky]

howdy!

[@elliephil]

I was able to trace my ancestry back to the Palatinate (Pfalz Germany). My ancestors settled in Johnstown, New York (that little strip of orange 6:39) before the revolutionary war. Interestingly, they took the side of the British and sent their families to go live in Cornwall, Upper Canada. I wish more Canadians would look into their ancestry because it's most likely that if your grandparents were born in Canada, their grandparents may have came through America at some point!

[@birbluv9595]

My aunt did an intensive geneological investigation of our family. Her mother, 100% English, immigrated to Canada on the Empress of Ireland in about 1915 and married a Canadian of mostly English heritage, with a touch of Dutch. His family had gone back and forth across the St. Lawrence River for generations. During the American Revolution, a bunch of them in central New York were Loyalists and moved to Canada after the American victory. Through her research linking her to a Loyalist fighter, she was inducted into into a Canadian society of Loyalists, and i guess i could be too, since she was my father’s sister.

[@elliephil]

@@birbluv9595 One of my cousins runs a chapter for the Loyalists in London, Ontario!

[@birbluv9595]

@@elliephil wow, cool! I’m not sure where my aunt was inducted, but it was in Ontario near the shore, maybe London!

[@starkusmc1981]

My family immigrated from Prussia into the Wisconsin area and later moved into the NE Nebraska area. After the great depression, they settled in Omaha, Ne. My Great-Grandfather was a master carpenter and helped with the Union Pacific Railroad headquarters in Omaha.

[@L-Anded]

I think you did a pretty good job describing 400 years of change in the Americas in 45 minutes. Some generalizations were made due to time restriction. I am an oddball Amercan because my ethnic heritage is 100% nordic. Not too many of us around anymore. Please note that Finnish peoples are not Scandinavian. This misnomer came from Sweden having 300 years of control over them. Most Finns did not travel back and forth from other countries and the population was quite ethnically homogeneous for a very long time.

[@suzanneparker1799]

Thanks for pointing this out. I’m of Finnish heritage too with only one grandparent being a non Finn.

[@MarvelousMarvin-nd4sr]

Am 74% Norwegian

[@andeeq666]

Being “nordic” makes you an oddball American? I didn’t know such oddball rules existed here.

[@L-Anded]

@@andeeq666100%. Most people have mixed ancestry.

[@suzanneparker1799]

I think he said he was an oddball for being 100% of a certain area (Nordic in this case).

[@jorgiebdeandrade]

Hey man i one of 8 kids from boston Massachusetts. I have the most mixed family ever, my mom is irish,scottish an welsh my father is from cape verde. My father is creole- portoguese an Senegalese african, my ancestors were slaves. An slavers. I have 2 sisters who are half dominican. Another sister who is half african american. 1 more sister an 3 brothers who are half Puerto rican. I have 23 nieces an nephews, all our kids even more mixed. We all have the same mother are all different shades of color. My family is america, you did this video justice. Love how you didnt gloss over slavey an discrimination too,thank you!

[@alwas8916]

Its' funny you mention all those ethnicities, family came to MA in 1920's during the Bolshevik Revolution and DNA tells me I am EU/Russian /Baltic, as well as my kids, yet my grandkids have picked up other regions from the maternal side that I do not have nor my daughter.????????? How accurate is DNA really?

[@adeleennis2255]

My ancestors settled both New Amsterdam and Plymouth (Yes, we were on the Mayflower). I have Dutch, Irish, English, Welsh, Scots, French, Scandinavian, and Iberian ancestry. Interestingly enough, even though most of my “American” lineage has been in the US since the 1600s, my paternal grandfather was from The Netherlands. My Danish ancestors took the long way to the colonies. They first went to England, then Ireland, and, finally, New Sweden, which was Delaware tribal territory prior to European invasion.

[@patbrewer4205]

My Fathers paternal side also came here in the 1640’s and were Dutch and as yours helped settle anew Netherlands and New Amsterdam

[@shaunalea823]

Your ancestry sounds very similar to mine. I am also descended from Mayflower passengers 4 to be exact Brewster and his wife, Bradford, and Warren.

[@DehydratedHumor]

Something to keep in mind about Mexican americans in states that border Mexico is that not all of them immigrated to the US by leaving their home country. A lot of border states were part of Mexico at some point in their history and the natives living there just didn't leave when the state joined the US.

[@joestocker7639]

Why did you leave out the fact that most Irish were brought here as slaves?

[@maram.2899]

because they were brought over through indentured servitude, not slavery. they consensually agreed to work for a certain number of years in return for their transportation to be paid.

[@azdru62]

They were indentured servants, who were able to buy their freedom and blended easily into the white culture.

[@azdru62]

You didn't watch the whole video, did you?

[@jjbud3124]

People around the world who claim the people of the US are all the same should watch this video. I've tried to explain to a couple of people how culturally different the areas of the US are, but they will not believe it. It seems they believe that one country equals sameness from border to border.

[@scygnius]

Fun coincidence I see you post this today, as I made some major discoveries about my family ancestry in the Tidewater. Always glad to see another one of your videos show up on my feed.

[@wildemthefem5773]

I’ve never heard Kentucky described as being in the north lol. There are, however, a lot of Germans here. My family is German (Bohemian) and catholic. I was shocked when I moved to Louisville and found that group makes up the bulk of the population.

[@douglasemerson9017]

Also lots of Germans in Cincinnati.

[@enjoystraveling]

@@douglasemerson9017 Me too

[@enjoystraveling]

Bohemian is really the western part of Czech Republic although, possibly some German speaking, people live there also. One of my grandmothers mothers was from Bohemia and her mother was czech speaking.

[@danashaffner2913]

It's the Ohio Valley communities. Outside of Louisville and Covington, Kentuckians are English/Welsh and Scot Irish. I'm from Louisville and am descended from German immigrants from the 1840s and Virginians from old colonial stock.

[@zackbrand9311]

@@enjoystravelingBohemia (Sudetenland) had a very large German population and were the majority in many areas before ww2.

[@UpperDeckerCards]

NORWEGIAN AMERICANS STAND UP! Minnesota Nice

[@edw8889]

❤

[@daveh893]

Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to make such an informative video.

[@davidjnichisti1108]

Wow, you have put together such a comprehensive package of nationalities. I am Italian and Polish American, all of my grandparents came over in 1900-1920 from Italy and Lithuania.

[@trillz31]

Having German ancestry myself and not knowing exactly why they came over but it was in the mid 1800s during the political strife that happened in Europe. So I wouldn't be surprised if it was for that reason that they came to the US for a new life.

[@meredithinserra4670]

I really enjoyed this! I am curious why you lumped the Irish and Scottish together. Not all Scots were "Scots-Irish" going to Ireland before moving to the US. I have several Scottish ancestors that came directly from Scotland and were known to have disembarked in Wilmington, NC. You did show one map that noted a pocket of Scots about 150 miles west of Wilmington, NC around the NC-SC border. My Scottish ancestors are buried in cemetaries in that geographic area. One of my great grand aunts told me that one only spoke Scottish Gaelic all his life. In fact, there is a county in NC, bordering SC, called "Scotland County."

[@donnaclemmons3721]

I m from Wilmington NC and my heritage is scot Irish and English Cherokee.

[@bmeiji]

Isn’t true that Scottish Gaelic originated from the Irish language?

[@bmeiji]

I’ve noticed that most southern states, such as Alabama have a very strong Scottish influence. Also, aren’t the Scottish an offshoot of Irish or very closely related? If I remember correctly, there’s a lot of Welsh and Cornish folks that settled down south, too.

[@michelewood925]

@@bmeiji most Scottish people here liked isolation and settled into Appalachia. Mine settled into Kentucky and Tennessee.

[@meredithinserra4670]

@@bmeiji both are Celtic languages originating from the early languages of the Celts who lived all over that geographic area since pre-Roman times.

[@mikemeal]

My great-great-grandfather left for Michigan from Finland in the (I think early?) 1800s. He settled into Houghton, in the Upper Peninsula. The town still has a significant Finnish population. He worked in logging and mining, doing all kinds of odd jobs. He actually married an American wife and had three kids. In his older age he came back to Finland with the family, and told my grandfather, who then was a boy, some great stories about his adventures on the "other side of the sea". Of course I have heard these stories as well, but I take them with a little grain of salt. My dream for long now has been to visit Houghton and visit the places he has mentioned, even if there is nothing standing anymore.

[@alexwest2573]

Houghton is still there

[@mikemeal]

Yeah I know, I meant the mines and logging sites and stuff haha@@alexwest2573

[@chiefofk2]

houghton is beautiful, definitely one of the bigger towns in the UP

[@jamesgeorge4874]

All of Michigan is worth seeing, the UP is special though.

[@alexwest2573]

@@jamesgeorge4874 Michigan is a beautiful state, every time I’m there I wish Illinois looked more like Michigan

[@Yallquietendown]

Many who identify as Irish in the south are Scotch Irish from Ulster. Still Irish but a specific subset. Many of us don’t know much about our history. Most southern whites have a mix of English and scotch Irish

[@Steveofthejungle8]

*sees that as interesting uploaded* *sets aside all responsibilities for 45 minutes*

[@hand-jobs]

*that is interesting

[@Steveofthejungle8]

@@hand-jobshaha oops fixed it

[@devwatts9280]

Sadly the Welsh ancestry group almost always gets totally forgotten, primarily because Wales was completely ruled by England for centuries and so many migrants would have been just classified as English. Williams, Davies, Owens, Peters, and Jones are some of the most common surnames in the English-speaking world and they are all Welsh surnames!

[@juliakaislo1007]

Yes, this is interesting! Considering time constraints, you managed an admirably deep dive into the subject. A good overview, thoughtful and provoked my interest in the regional videos.

[@Composedblackness]

FYI: Creole essentially people who were in Louisiana before it became part of the United States Creole isn’t limited to AAs.

[@bethanyjohnson5598]

I grew up in south Louisiana. I was taught that the Creole people were a combination of Spanish, French, and African American. Cajuns were French from Acadian.

[@heidimeigs5192]

Native Southerner..DNA predominantly English/Scottish/Irish with small percentages of Nordic and Western Europe. I think I might be the only person down here that doesn’t have a Cherokee princess great grandmother…..😄😄. I don’t consider myself to be anything but American, although I primarily identify as a Southerner. I am a huge history buff..amateur…and knowledge of my ancestors is interesting to me because of this. I am interested in genealogy but have not done any serious searches. I have absolutely no knowledge of any possible relatives alive today in the UK or Europe. My primary interest in my families’ history is more centered on how people lived in past centuries. I have zero knowledge of any monied or titled ancestors, so I read a lot about how lower class people lived their everyday lives. I am devoutly thankful that I am American, and that my people got here and had at least the opportunity to better their circumstances. I may not know their names but I carry their genes as my sons do.

[@noahtylerpritchett2682]

I despise that Cherokee princess grandmother crap. I'm *just* European descended. My ancestors are English and I'm proud of that. Not some raped native grandmother who gets sick to every disease ever do to weak native American immune system.

[@Lcngopher]

My church actually held services in german until the 1920s. Of course they were using english for most services by the time they stopped offering them in german

[@douglasemerson9017]

This is the best ancestry video I have ever seen. Well done.

[@flyingsquirrelproductions2373]

27:30 if you look carefully you'll see the unique Bristol county listed as Portuguese. Home to Fall River and New Bedford, The most and 2nd most Portuguese American cities in the US. Portuguese is common enough you often hear it in common vernacular in the area.

[@Ned88Man]

yes, also many parts of providence county RI

[@jeffhampton2767]

I lived in United States for 63 years and only ever met one person who said they were Portuguese

[@Ned88Man]

@@jeffhampton2767 well, you obviously don't live in New England. Every 4 people around here are portuguese.

[@jeffhampton2767]

@@Ned88Man I live in Pennsylvania where there is like no Portuguese. Most people here are German, polish, Irish or Italian

[@Ned88Man]

yes, I've always thought PA was very German as well, of course, lots of Old Stock English and Scots Irish@@jeffhampton2767

[@steve19811]

English is the founding stock of this country and many people who think they have german ancestry are somewhat english too.

[@scottanno8861]

Especially in states like Colorado or Idaho.

[@billnye7323]

A lot of the South is mainly English as well.

[@coralovesnature]

Probably, also depends where you are from. I live in Wisconsin, which has a lot of more “recent” immigrants (1800’s), when a large amount of Germans came. On both my mom and my dad’s side my parents know by name their first ancestors who came here from Germany in the late 1800’s. My dad’s dad still had a broken German accent even though he never visited Germany in his life. Yes, there were also a few “miscellaneous” ancestors somewhere in the line who were most likely of some combination of English/ UK decent, so I’m not saying there is no English in there, but it’s also pretty irrelevant. To the extent that I recognize or “claim” European origins, it would be German, but even that has had almost no impact on my life. Culturally, I am American. I don’t celebrate any German (or English, for that matter) traditions or have German or English cultural practices. Yes, I know that we speak the English language , the original government was designed similarly to English government, blah blah, but we broke off from them for a reason.

[@scottanno8861]

@@billnye7323 I always find it funny how English ancestry in the south always counts themselves as "American" ethnicity in the censuses lol

[@anitapeludat256]

I have to strongly disagree. Do simple exploration before the first most taught history of pilgrims and puritans arriving in what is Cape Cod then crossed the bay to what is named Plymouth. Hundreds of Indigenous nations were across the land of what is now called North America, which, of course includes Canada above the United States, the Republic of Mexico, Central America and South America. Many other travelers were here long before the English, French explorers before the English and at the same time. The Dutch had lived in what is now New York and East through Connecticut and Rhode Island. Before all of this the basis of our languages is indigenous nations. Then interpreted by the French and remains to this day or the French interpretation was then translated to the British English at the time. There wasn't only British folks on the Mayflower, it also included some Dutch and Germans. The British may have colonized some of the colonies of that era, but only for a time. British was never the official language here, although we are criticized by some as we should only speak that version. The gentry Brits way of living made its way to our deep south by way of the plantation life across the southern Atlantic. The gentleman farmers, with house servants and black and brown slaves was the British plantation owners way. My French ancestors were gifted land by King Louis the 14th in What would become Detroit around Ft Detroit at that time and settled into their own plantations with house servants and (sickeningly), black and Indigenous natives as slaves. The Chene family. That way of living was forced out eventually, though they kept the land . My father raised in Alabama, dirt poor, of Scottish ancestry eventually moved to Detroit post WWII after years in recovery from injuries. Connecticut where I live now has relied on it's native history for all of our roads, which were all native trails. And gifted lands by the Mashantucket Pequots. The violence of the many wars, even if you only go back to the 1300's over what is now, Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada, Ohio, Indiana and East has direct implications to 1776, with many, many wars prior and after including the War of 1812. I'm not even including what was happening on our Western shores, Mexican wars, the Louisiana region and the purchase, the The Trail of Tears and so on. We all had a hand in stealing land from Indigenous tribes.

[@conan007gd6]

Awesome video. The part about the number of English-Americans being undercounted is pretty interesting, my paternal grandfather's side immigrated from Germany in the early 1900s, so I have a German surname and my grandfather especially still identifies with his German heritage since he knew his grandparents on both sides who were the ones who immigrated. But my paternal grandmothers side and maternal grandmothers side both had English surnames (and had family who presumably had been the US since very early on), while my maternal grandfather had a Scottish surname name (no idea if he was of Scottish or Scotch-Irish descent). But when people ask "what kind of white" I am, I always just say German since my grandfather talks about it while none of my other grandparents strongly identify with their English/Scottish/Scotch-Irish ancestry. Genetically spoeaking though I'm more English than German. Edit: but as you mentioned, surname alone isn't the best metric to determine if one is of English descent or not. I'm actually currently waiting for 23andme results to see what I am lol.

[@arthurmosel808]

In areas of the Midwest, lynching of Germans took place. My grandmother and grandfather moved South during WWI because my Great great Grandmother only spoke German and was at risk since the area in the Midwest weren't of German ancestry. My grandfather was Christened Wilhelm Herrman August Mosel, somehow it became William Hetman Mosel during WWI. The church they attended had at least one service in German until the mid-1930's. So, I can understand much of this.

[@johnlafontaine4003]

Great job. Maybe too small to be included: The NY/VT/Quebec border region is quite french, for obvious reasons.

[@coolslimedude0859]

Great video, but I think you are underestimating white people's English ancestry. Many Americans that are plurality or majority English ancestry choose to identify as German, Irish, or Italian, because as you said, the other immigrants are closer in time, but I think it's mainly because identifying as English American can be seen as not as interesting or the default.

[@ryangerrard4048]

He has disappointed me with this video, all he had to do was look through previous censuses, even in the late 18th century, the English were one of the largest immigrant groups

[@marifromky]

​@@ryangerrard4048I was listening until he said Appalachia wrong. then I turned it off.

[@marshsundeen]

​@@marifromkythere are several pronunciations of Appalachia. I am from Ohio with Kentucky roots. We say it the Northern way (ap-pah-lay-shia). I live in NC now. There it is called Ap-pah-latch-ah. I have heard other pronunciations too.

[@pleiades.puppets]

@@marshsundeen Same. Grew up in WV and pronounce it "lay." There are definitely regional differences even in Appalachia.

[@billnye7323]

Also it could been seen as "un-American" to identify as English when those are the people we gained independence from. That's why Americans of colonial british ancestry choose to identify as "American" instead of English.

[@miaperezarroyo1939]

Exceptionally well researched, analyzed, and presented. 👏🏽

[@cherylcampbell9369]

Thank you for this great video. And this also may be my favorite comment section ever.

[@ArturoStojanoff]

This video was great. I'd love it if you'd also do this for other countries in the Americas, or in other countries whose populations aren't just the people that have lived there for thousands of years, like most of (but not all!) Afro-Eurasia. I'm from Argentina, for example, and as far as I know, my paternal grandfather was a Bulgarian man from Sofia, my maternal grandfather was the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, my paternal grandmother was born in a German speaking community in Paraguay and had a Swiss father and an Austrian mother, and my maternal grandmother had a Sicilian father and a mother whose ancestry went all the way back to Spanish colonization (I know she had Basque and Catalan ancestry, and that she was related to one of the founding fathers).

[@WretchedHobbit]

Fascinating topic. Thank you!

[@ForeverFalling153]

I'm a carded Native American and I too appreciated how you presented this information. I'm now a fan! Thanks!

[@GreoGreo]

You don't look like a Natvie American tho

[@Leon-ym9qm]

We all immigrants. Even the native Americans are immigrants. They walked across the Bering straight after humans walked out of Africa. Yet they were hear first. So it’s truly theirs.

[@kevinbyrne4538]

According to Thomas Sowell's book "Conquests and Cultures", England itself was a product of immigration (from Continental Europe): Italians from northern Italy brought knowledge of finance, Belgians brought knowledge of weaving, Germans brought knowledge of mining, French Huguenots were skilled artisans, etc.

[@NathanMN]

The German language didn't fade from use in America. From the mid-19th century, it was the 2nd most commonly spoken language in the country. However, during World War I, it's use was heavily persecuted, and stopped being published or spoken in public, and it never recovered. It went from 2nd most common to barely used in public in just a few short years.

[@sgrant9814]

Amish and mennonites were anabaptists who settled in germany but were , mostly, austrian and swiss. As well, in tour presentation of those of french descent you omitted that🎉 the vast majority of northern nys, northern Vermont snd new hampshire and maine are of french descent . From malone, ny, south to lake george (fort carillion) ny and eastward into northern maine to this day the majority of surnames are of french origin and french is the second language after english and catholicism is more numerous than protestantism.

[@AlexanderLittlebears]

The Austrians and most of the Swiss are German too

[@hectorsmommy1717]

I self identify as a "Wisconsin Hybrid" which is a mix of all kinds of things as long as there is some German mixed in. My ancestors were all in Wisconsin before 1870 (the first arrived in 1833). They were Yankees from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. They also were direct immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, England, and Germany. Within the bunch I have 5 of the founders of Hartford, CT in 1650, the niece of John Winthrop (the first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), and early Dutch Settlers of the Hudson River in the 1600's. As a history teacher (retired) I found it fascinating to trace my family history and see how it mirrors so many larger historical events. Irish Potato Famine, Highland Clearances, Palatine Immigration, etc. as well as smaller events. My first Wisconsin settler came here from Ohio as part of the US Army fighting the Black Hawk War. When Chief Black Hawk surrendered on the banks of the Mississippi in Wisconsin, my ancestor was there. He saw how beautiful the river valley was and stayed. So many stories like that.

[@The-First-Casualty]

Its interesting how such a large portion of the American population doesn't realize that British ancestry makes up the largest gene pool for white Americans. Mostly has to do with the fact that many people are dubious about their own ancestry once you get 3-4 generations back. You cant really blame them as by that point you're dealing with 16, 32, 64 ect direct ancestors and it just gets hard to keep track. What happens is a lot of people select what ancestry they are just based on their knowledge of 1 or 2 direct descendants. For instance they know they had a great grandfather from Germany so by that logic they are German. The problem is you have 7 other great grandparents many of whom likely have roots back to colonial America (IE they are mostly British) This is why many people take these ancestry tests expecting to be 75% or more percent German or Italian. But as it turns out they are only 13 percent German and 60 percent British. I would be willing to guess that a huge portion of Americans have significant ancestry back to pre-revolution colonial America and they are not even aware.

[@BORN-to-Run]

INTERSTING, indeed. I've never seen anyone on KZbin tackle this topic, maybe you could do something on what's called "African American" in the USA. Because there are people, who are 90% Caucasian, calling themselves Black American. I would like to see an accurate break-down of what African Americans truly are now. We know for the first 200 years of America's history, the Blacks were still 100% African, and during that time, there was also a sizeable Mixed-race population of slaves (and Freedmen) who were half Caucasian (or more) and half African. But after slavery released, these two groups (for the most part) mixed together producing a NEW GENERATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS who now have Anglo ancestry in varying degrees. It would be interesting to see a well-done presentation on that topic. Thanks

[@pastyman001]

It is often not appreciated as to how many people left Britain and other countries for North America, only to return. I had a grandfather and great Uncle who left Industrial Lancashire NWEngland to do light engineering jobs in East coast USA, mainly around Boston and within New England in the late 20's and 30's, with the idea of getting established there and then bring families over. But the depression started to hit, they kept moving for work, until it dried up altogether, when they were told they needed to keep what work there was for Americans.

[@cherylcampbell9369]

Hi. It would be an interesting video to show the present-day reservations, and why/how they were where they were. Many rezzes are not on traditional lands, many have several nations (aka 'tribes') occupying the same rez, etc. Some fell prey to the Termination Act, and fought hard for ANY land base. Perhaps do by region.

[@juliannaboldt7152]

I’m fascinated by the Anglicized surnames you mentioned a few times in the video and would like more information on that in a future video!

[@emerald523]

First time finding your channel. Absolutely fascinating. Awesome job!

[@jacksorlie5460]

This shit gas. Good job on the really high quality vids

[@tamarakonczal6350]

This is FASCINATING!!

[@spacecardinal]

Very well done. Thank you. Maps are wonderful!

[@robertshelton9881]

Thanks for the video. I traced my roots back to the generations that crossed the Atlantic, which turned out to be a mighty long time ago. The most recent arrival was an Irish ditchdigger from Dublin in about 1820 who had the good sense to marry a prosperous widow. Others arrived much earlier. When you go back that many generations, your family tree has a lot of branches: English, Germans, French Huguenots, Welsh, Scots. in my case.

[@valeriellauke2179]

in 1696 in Phil area my ancestors fought against owning slaves. made me proud!

[@jeffherringa4709]

My mom's side of the family is mainly Bohemian Czech Germans who ended up in Fond du Lac (Fond du Lac County, WI). They are devout Catholics (most of them). My father's side of the family is mainly Friesian Dutch from the Netherlands who became farmers in Friesland (Columbia County, WI). The Friesians were mainly Dutch Protestants. Both families came to the U.S. between 1870-1930 approximately. Leitner is a German name which means "Leader of the Light". Herringa (Heeringa) can have several meanings in Dutch which include Farmer, Horse Farmer (They love their horses), and Soldier. Many members of both families served in the U.S. Military.

[@maureenkelly-thompson7101]

My heritage on both my mother’s side and father’s side is almost 100% Irish. My mother’s side has verifiable family history dating back to the 1770’s!

[@tylercooper1551]

We here in states are all typically mutts. But then again i imagine most people in the world have multiple ancestry

[@michellekegel5453]

My German grandpa came to the US, WI as a 9 yr old in the late 1800s with his mother n siblings. They were smart enough to know English was the way to success so they spoke German in the home and English outside the home. 4 of his sons fought in WWII. All of his children were born in the town of whiteriver on the settlements.

[@lisarakic9285]

I have 3rd cousins 4-6 times removed who came over from England and traveled to Utah as Mormons. I have a lot of German, English and Irish ancestry and many branches of my family have been in the US for more than 200 years. What you describe sounds pretty accurate from what I've learned about my own family history.

[@marthaanderson2656]

really quite excellent. Several HUH! moments that taught me something new. I have subscribed and look forward to making my way through the state by state series.

[@Earthlybeing396]

Ethnicity is a social construct which changes over time making white Americans the largest ethnic group.

[@ahoraya1047]

As Alexis de Tocqueviille said, Americans are an English ethnicity, no matter what is the individual ancestry, same way as Argentines are an Soanish ethnicuty even if the ancestry of Argentines us as diverse as the ancestry of Americans

[@diane9247]

Bravo, sir! This was a fantastic presentation, thank you for all the wonderful research. My Dad's English family was here in Revolutionary War days, having arrived in early Colonial times. Gen. Israel Putnam was an an ancestor (1718-1790). Mom's ancestors were English, Scots and later Irish. Her English ones also arrived in Colonial times. Because they were all here so early, I don't think we have ever had a fervent feeling of identification with any of those groups. We're among those, I think, who are "just American." I've often wished we were a little spicier - Italian, for instance.😃

[@Drxxyt]

this guy made the best school project of all time

[@MADHIKER777]

An impressive and massive undertaking! WOW!

[@Jliske2]

thank you. yeah, like many an American mine has a vast mix of stories; although half were Volga German and another quarter were Scots-Irish, meanwhile my great grandmother was a descendant of slavery.

[@michaelnewell6385]

It is important to note that Chavez was very outspoken against illegal immigration.

[@jeanneblondewomanstamping9788]

Very informative and well done.

[@annxiao7721]

wow the amount of research you have done!!

[@thumbstruck]

Don't forget that many Native Americans were assimilated into the white and black populations.

[@Bloodless1986]

British is significantly underrepresented in the US statistics. Which makes sense when you think about it. English Americans were simply viewed as Americans. While for example, the Germans, Irish and Italians were viewed as being different, the minority. So many of the today's Americans who might have the highest concentration of British/English DNA are often not even aware of it and even those who are aware of it often identify themselves with one of their other ethnicity's.

[@zeged]

English Americans are definitely the leading white ancestry in the south eastern US

[@moniqueprem]

Thanks for this! I’m from the Midwest and my ancestry is Norwegian, Arabic and Polish. Watching this explained soooo much about my great grandparents lives in Michigan and Missouri. More than I could understand before. ❤

[@gmoney5947]

75% of my ancestors have been in America since the 1700s. Hell the Ison’s have lived in Letcher county Kentucky for 8 generations going back 12 generations to the first Ison (isom, isham) who cam from England.

[@floydwhatchacallit6823]

I'm one of those people who put American on the census. My first ancestors came to America at the beginning of the 1600s. The rest slowly immigrated here over time, from 9 different countries. And as long as my family has been around Southern Appalachia, we're probably a little African and/or native too. I don't see myself as British, English or European in any real meaningful way. Half my family has been in Kentucky for over 200 years and 8 generations, this is the land of my ancestors at this point.

[@ItalianCountryball11]

I really like the Creole and the Acadian peoples of Louisiana.

[@WolfMage888]

Newest subscriber- brilliant content, very informative, and yes extremely interesting.

[@jimgorycki4013]

Interesting you mentioned the Palatinate region of Germany. Now it is popular with wineries. My Paternal Grandmother's Maiden name Schaaf. I can trace her family tree back to 1620 Gieselberg. Her father, brother, and grandfather moved to New York late 19th Century. Also, looking at map of where there is a large concentration of Mexican immigrants, look at Southwest and Central Florida. That's where sugar cane, oranges, strawberries and other produces are grown. When I used to visit my mother, driving US 27 you see the sugar trucks and the oranges trucks.

[@Kiwi_TaylorsVersion]

I actually live right at the foot of a vineyard in this region and it is indeed beautiful here. Your grandmother had a lovely hometown

[@hummingbirdofgumption3263]

I have come to believe English ancestry is EXTREMELY underrepresented, not slightly underrepresented. I think a lot of it is because Americans think of English ancestry as generic. While some people anglicized their names, it's greatly overexaggerated. Most of the names changed from German to English-sounding occurred in the 1700s whereas those name from the 1800s were largely kept intact because they had translators at Castle Gardens & Ellis Island. Thus, those English names we see are mostly from English ancestors. I'm in several Scots-Irish chat groups including those on Facebook, since I'm part Scots -Irish. However, by and large most of the people in the group are significantly English and are always shocked that the people with English names came from Surrey or Dorset, etc England, not Derry. I'm not, because even though a few of my ancestors came from Ulster, many of those people were originally English.

[@philpaine3068]

I remember, many years ago, visiting a fairly large town in Kansas. I was from Toronto, a Canadian city where Italians were a major component of the city (as were the Portuguese). I looked around for spaghetti in a local supermarket. When I couldn't find it, the cashier told me it was in the "ethnic food section"! In 1918, the American critic, humorist and all-round cynic H.L. Mencken published a book called "The American Language; A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States." The last portion of the book described most of the languages spoken in the U.S. at the time, giving a pretty good idea of where they were spoken, their publishing scenes, and how they had influenced American speech and customs. He was particular keen on identifying loan words from other languages that had become American slang It's no surprise that Yiddish was the richest source of loan words. But he carefully sussed out the influences of Arabic [in Toledo] and Armenian [in California]. Mencken, now largely forgotten, was very well known in his day, admired by some but disliked by the many people that he didn't hesitate to offend. He was the guy whose most famous quotation was "If you heave a brick out of a Pullman railway car anywhere in Kansas, it will hit a fundamentalist."

[@suzanneparker1799]

Funny you didn’t mention anything about the UP of Michigan and the rich resources that were there (iron/copper) and needed workers. Finns , cornishmen, French, Italians…

[@momcatx2]

I descend from Colonists, Scots Irish, late 19th century Germans, and indigenous Canadians and French. Ancestry has MANY branches.

[@bjbobbijo5066]

This was a good and interresting video. Thank you for making and posting it. My comment will show my lack of education on this, but that is why I am asking. I enjoy doing family history & genealogy & DNA. Within genealogy groups when describing certain ethnic groups from certain parts of Appalacia, I read the word "melungeons" sometimes. I vaguely remember hearing an elder or two mention that being in our ancestors but has long since been white washed out in our particular line due to our particular ancestors eventually only marrying whites at various generations depending on the line. My parents, myself and my daughter had the DNA test which show up with of course mostly white ancestry but several differant African Nationalities too. We already knew about our Native American heritage. It was a nice surprise to find out about our African and a few other heritages too. I have what I think could be the "the melungeons bump" but I truly don't know for sure. And I found my great Grandpa's civil war military record which said he was brown skinned with black hair and blue eyed which is supposed to be a sign of melungeon ancestry. He died before my dad was born and we don't have any pictures of him. I am curious to learn more about the melungeon ethnicity and if any true melungeon families still exist or did they get white washed out like mine did IF they really were melungeons? DNA is still in its infancy although has come a long way. Just think how much more they might be able to determine in another 10 years and so on and so on. It is as if there is a giant circle being made if I am making the correct assumption. I was thinking how all humans were supposed to have once been a variety of colors all within one family and then spread out and each group became this or that color due to the dominant genes of their territorial group and kept marrying within that same group thus making all these shades of melanin. And then 1000s of years later to today people are once again free to marry people of any melanin shade, at least in my family-area-state they do all the time and it is no big deal. This will continue to happen because love does not know or care about melanin, so because of that it is almost as if we are returning and completing the circle at least in some parts of the world. I realize that there are still a great deal of places that highly shun interracial marrying unfortunately. Like I said, I am not educated on this scientific and historical stuff but I do have a soul, spirit and body and the admixture of many ethnicities & nationalities flowing through my veins as millions and millions of us do in all 3 of the America's it makes me greatful to be mixed. The way in which we were brought together 100s of years ago was the wrong way because no one should be enslaved, and no one should be forced off of their land and no one should be lied to and told to go to a land that is "free" for the taking to arrive and find that that was not true. The horrors that countless people went through. Some people having been selfish greedy tyrants in pursuit of land & money and more of it and some simply in pursuit of a place to call home & peace with neighbors who do the same. Many achieved those goals without downtroddening upon others intentionally while others carelessly used and abused and forced their fellow human beings into achieving those riches for the land owner via very wrong & evil means such as slavery etc. As a human being myself, no matter my ethnicities, and melanin levels, I am sorely sorry for the way in which human beings has treated each other especially over ridiculous things like the melanin levels in a person. While at the same time, as a human being, I am very greatful for the many good things that we have. We often over look them but there are many blessings. It takes time but things can either improve or worsen and in some cases both at the same time. I am 52 and was born and raised in a conservitive quiet family oriented farming community where most folks went to church and we had little crime. It was wonderful. But sadly we were out in the sticks and had little melanin diversity until in the 1990s. These days we now have that diversity, thankfully, and the county is better for it. Sorry for the long post. I'm sick these days and often in bed left to ponder on things. Unconditional Love is still out there thankfully. 💜🙂🌻

[@ChristChickAutistic]

I have that bump too!

[@Holoether]

Thank you for this! I am in middle of course on OG Americans. Great graphic / map selections with excellent explanations.

[@ModLil6520]

Well done! You are correct about the English being under counted. I was not aware of mine as the German surnames survived through the male line. I have a significant amount via my grandmothers's ancestry.

[@clarissagafoor5222]

Lets face it - Americans are for some odd reason obsessed with where their ancestors - often people who moved to the US a very long time ago as these things go - came from. It is odd - Australians for example don`t really do this. And don`t get me started on the `one drop rule` thingy which is beyond odd!

[@prettybrwneyez7757]

Because it’s a country where it’s citizens come from other places unlike inbred Australians. Duh 🙄

[@gilmoremccoy6930]

Great clip, very knowledgeable and need to information about ancestry history in the USA 🇺🇲!