I was going to tell him to **** off, but you probably handled that better. 10 people in this thread mentioned some sort of NA ancestry. That doesn't seem outrageous to me.
Not to mention, most of those who said they were Irish, German, whatever probably had grandparents who were born in the United States. Did you get my e-mail?
Standup comedian evidence is irrefutable, for the most part. But for the sake of argument, let's think about this. Despite being the original inhabitants of this country, you very rarely see full-blooded, or even seeming half-blooded native americans in your day to day life. I could probably count on one hand the number I have come in contact with in my lifetime. That adds to the exoticness you alluded to earlier. Also, for this reason, having any of this kind of heritage will typically stick in your mind moreso than others. Most of the country has the typical anglo saxon heritage, but they probably couldn't give the kind of details I imagine your stand up comedian friend asked for either. Doesn't mean it isn't true, just means people don't typically research their heritage so deeply as to get names and dates, just a basic idea of where they come from.
I'm about 50% Italian, and about 50% British. My Italian great-great-grandfather's family settled in western Louisiana in the late 1800's, so they're pretty Americanized by now. My Italian grandmother was born in Italy and came over with my grandfather after the War. The British side of my family came over with Lord Baltimore, so they've been American for a long, long time. Technically, you can trace that line back even further to Germany, but when in doubt I just tell people I'm Italian. Also Chance, funny story about the Native American bit. I was actually under the impression that I was 1/16 Indian until I was about 20 years old, but it turns out that it was all based on an old family joke that my great-grandmother looked like an Indian in an old photograph, and that it was definitely not true. So I can see where you're coming from.
i've traced my dad's direct line back to erlangen in bavaria in 1650. despite the french last name, my old man immigrated from denmark when he was 20, my mom is from red-dirt east texas, and her family's been in this country for ~300 years, maybe more. my dad's ancestors were huguenots, run out of france during the "night of the long knives" and after a brief spell in bavaria, they joined a huguenot colony in fredericia, denmark. on my mom's side, my great, great, grandfather, and jimmy carter's (my middle name is carter) great, great grandfather were brothers, not that i've ever met the man.
What kind of a dumb remark was that? I probably missed an attempted joke between you and Buck in there, but it just sounds strange and somewhat insulting to me.
I've heard that African-Americans who are descended from slaves probably have white blood in them from white masters having sex with slaves. At the same time I've also heard that many whites whose family lineage owned slaves might probably have some African blood in them from lighter skin children of slave master unions who ended up blending into the master's families.
On the subject of native american indians. My girlfriends last name is straight spanish. But according to what she found out she is Native American from whatever tribe populated Colorodo and New Mexico. Her parents told her that her great grandparents took on mexican/spanish last names on account of the better social mobility that demographic was afforded in that area. Apparently this was widespread throught the southwest at the turn of the century. It also kinda explains why she doesnt look mexican indian or meztizo to the trained eye. As for moi mothers side from argentina, fathers from bolivia and we can trace our roots all the way back to spain, italy, and the incan empire.
when your maternal grand and great grands are from OK and Kansas from back when it was a territory, its pretty easy to be sure she wasnt lying about it. but of course, this is just Chance being CHance..
****, sorry, didn't see that post. Hope you or anybody else didn't get the wrong idea. Long story short... My family traditionaly has a big family style gathering at the ranch on Thanksgiving - several "cousins", friends, and hangers-on there every year. My grandad & great-uncle were both WWII vets, didn't talk about it much. One year as we're sitting around the living room, it turns out the old guy standing next to me was a nazi grunt during WWII, Battle of the Bulge, etc.... Uncle Vernon was not pleased that one of the guys that was shooting his ass to pieces while he sat in a foxhole with frostbitten feet, this guy was at our house for Thanksgiving dinner. He made his displeasure known, and that was the closest in my life I've ever been to seeing two 80 year olds get in a fistfight. I can see why his post sounded strange.
WOW. The crap I start... I said in my opening post I didn't want this to be a D&D'able thread but... let's hope it stays that way... Anyway, I can't trace anything back before my gandfather on my dad's side, or on my mom's side, but I do know that there is mostly MEXICAN AZTEC and/or MAYAN heritage as a predominant in my family, and most of that gave me the thin moustache and the patchy beard I can't grow fully, and the high cheek bones and black hair. From this, I could say I am 100% MEXICAN totalling from mixes of Spanish blonde something white complection and Aztec something something. Again, I beg your pardon for leaving some out, and for grouping some countries where they shouldn't have been... like a poster said, you get the idea...
100% Tejano. My family has been in Texas when it belonged to Mexico and have been here since independence.
