# For Americans: How many generations has your family been in the U.S.? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359 "2014-05-13T15:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/1 "2014-05-13T15:57:57Z")
Inspired by the resurrected Irish Americans pit thread, claiming that 10th generation Americans aren’t Irish, I thought it would be interesting to see how long people’s families have been in the _New World._ I won’t be surprised to find most people could sort through there family trees to find pathways pretty far back. Just through my paternal ancestors with my surname, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. I can go back 6 generations to my 4th great grandfather who immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1748 and settled in North Carolina. Two of his sons fought for militias on opposite sides during the Revolutionary war. Fortunately, neither child was killed. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/2 "2014-05-13T16:35:29Z")
At least four generations on both sides; I don’t know about further back. (I guess at some point I should learn more about my genealogy; I’ve never been particularly interested though.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/3 "2014-05-13T16:36:27Z")
I can trace my father’s side to the 18th century. My wife had people here in the 17th. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/4 "2014-05-13T16:45:53Z")
My father’s father’s family came to Massachusetts in 1633. My father’s mother’s family came to the US via Canada in the 1850s. Settled in Sacramento area. My mother’s father’s family came to New England some years before 1770s, as the family was well established as Loyalists well before the Revolutionary War. I am not certain about my mother’s mother’s family, other than she knew her grandparents, which means at least 4 generations. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/5 "2014-05-13T16:50:08Z")
My mom’s side has been here since the 1890s. My dad’s side were slaves, so… ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/6 "2014-05-13T16:52:03Z")
My 12th-great-grandfather was born in Amsterdam in 1599, and was well-established in the New York City area by 1638. Another 12th-great, of about the same vintage, was an “early Connecticut settler”. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/7 "2014-05-13T16:52:07Z")
My mom’s grandparents came over on the boat in the very early 1900s. Then they went back to Slovakia for a minute and came back again hehe So I’m a 3rd generation American on that side? My dad’s GREAT grandparents came over on the boat, I guess in the late 1800s. So I’m 4th generation on dad’s side. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/8 "2014-05-13T16:54:40Z")
My maternal grandmother’s grandparents were the ones who came here from Germany. Not sure what year. Grandma was born in 1926, though, if that gives a rough idea. My dad’s family were here before there was a US, but again I don’t know precisely when. They were French Canadian fur trapers, for the most part. Somehow everyone ended up in Chicago, where my mom’s mom and dad’s dad briefly dated before hooking up with their eventual spouses. How weird is that? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/9 "2014-05-13T17:14:31Z")
My mother was born on the way out of the Old Country and my dad shortly after his side of the equation landed. So I guess I’m like “first and a half” or so. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/10 "2014-05-13T17:14:34Z")
Dad’s side can be traced back to the 1750s when g’g’g’g’g’grandfather was lagged to Virigina for stealing a coat. Mom’s side . . . I don’t know. Her maiden name is an English-ified version of a German name, and her mother’s maiden name is pure Scots. I’m betting early to mid 1800s. Both sides tended to have kids late, so there are fewer generations than you might think. Neither side is up to ten. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/11 "2014-05-13T17:19:53Z")
Six or seven generations (actually the bulk of my family tree), to the 1840’s. I have records of one branch of the family going back to the 1600’s in England. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/12 "2014-05-13T17:27:01Z")
Dad’s side - 3 generations. Grand-dad came down from the wilds of Canada to settle in Kansas right after the turn of the last century. Mom’s side - hard to tell, generation-wise, but the family has been mucking around the Carolinas since the founding of Charlestown. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/13 "2014-05-13T17:29:51Z")
I am second American born generation on my father’s side, and third on my mother’s. My Wife has done some geneology and her legitimate ancestry goes back to the 1630s for her European ancestors. She also has family who were here to greet the Europeans. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/14 "2014-05-13T17:38:17Z")
For both myself and my wife we are the second generation born in the US. All of our grandparents were European immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/15 "2014-05-13T17:52:01Z")
Which side? Paternally, my grandparents emigrated from a tiny farming village at the base of Mount Etna in Sicily in the early 1900s. Maternally, part of my family predates European settlement, part of my family was transported here against their will, and part of my family dates back to at least 1850 and potentially significantly earlier (though records are about non-existent). ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/16 "2014-05-13T17:52:28Z")
I’m first generation. My parents came to the U.S. in 1958 from Europe. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/17 "2014-05-13T18:04:55Z")
Legally, we did not cross the border, the border crossed us. One of my grandfathers was an infant at the time. Socially, in my direct descent line myself and my siblings were the first to reside longterm in culturally anglophone communities. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/18 "2014-05-13T18:20:11Z")
I have to go back 10 generations on both paternal and maternal lines to find an ancestor born outside the US (1615/16 England in both cases). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/19 "2014-05-13T18:21:13Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > At least four generations on both sides; I don’t know about further back. (I guess at some point I should learn more about my genealogy; I’ve never been particularly interested though.) My exact answer, word for word. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359/20 "2014-05-13T18:36:28Z")
My mother and I got here in 1996, so if **suranyi** is first-generation then I’m zeroth-generation. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-americans-how-many-generations-has-your-family-been-in-the-u-s/688359.md?page=2)