Your most recent immigrant ancestor

My paternal grandparents, both of whom were French-Canadian and moved to Kansas around 1903. On the maternal line it goes back to 1616 or thereabouts, when some of them got tired of Ulster and headed for the Carolinas.

My Mother’s Father was born in Italy. He came over as a young child around 1916.
My Father’s Italian Grandparents came over just before that, but that Grandfather was born in NYC. Little Italy in fact.

My great-grandmother came from Sicily in 1890. Otherwise, we have lots of Revolutionary and Civil War types in our family tree, mostly of German and English ancestory.

The more interesting story is my husband’s. My husband’s father came from Italy where his parents had returned, having made good money in the US. They got stuck there during WWII, except for FIL’s dad, who had gone home to the US for a visit and got drafted into the US army. (BTW, my ILs are such morons that they weren’t sure if FIL’s oldest brother fought for or against Mussolini in the underground.) His mother’s family is also from Italy, but she is something like 3rd or 4th generation on her mom’s side, which is sort of unusual among Italians of her age. Her father came from Sicily as a young boy after his mother was killed by the Black Hand. No, his name was not Vito Andolini and he never had the chance to go back and get his revenge since he was busy driving a bread truck.

My paternal grandfather, Percy Stephens, who came to Canada from England in the early 40s to be a fur trapper.

My maternal Great-Grandfather, James* Alexopoulous from Kalamata Greece some time in the early 1900s.

*James wasn’t his given name. He changed it when he got to Ellis Island. Can’t remember what his real name was.

My father Seymour who, with his parents, came to the USA from Poland some time in late July or early August of 1939. Hows that for good timing? We’re Jewish :slight_smile:

Mr. Stuff is the historian in the family and knows my ancestry better than I do, but I know I have to go back five or six generations to get someone not born in the Pennsylvania/Ohio/Indiana/West Virginia area.

The ancestors who immigrated were from Switzerland, and the story goes that the hills of Southern Ohio looked more like Switzerland than anything they’d seen yet, so they stayed there. And stayed there and stayed there and stayed there.

We’re not a people who like change, no sirree.

My mother, who immigrated from the wrong side of the Berlin Wall around about 1949. Actually, I think they started immigrating to the US in early 1946 - but it was a longish trip back then.

On my father’s side, I think the most recent US immigrant was in approximately 1790 - from Ireland.

My paternal great-grandfater came over from the Netherlands (Amsterdam, I think) with my Great-Great-grandparents when he was a kid. This was ~1890. My Great Grandfather’s name was Jens Jensen, but was changed to John Johnson at Ellis Island.

On my paternal side, my grandfather used to say that our ancestors moved from Ireland to Wales in the 17th or 18th century.

My maternal ancestors are mostly Scottish going back as far as anyone has traced, with one lone Englishman who married into the family in the late 19th century.

Before I came along, I guess you could say that my parents both left their native countries and met in England. :slight_smile:

My Dad. He came to the US from Germany when he was about 20, which would have been 43 years ago.

My parents moved from Australia to Canada in 1956, then to the US in 1960.

That would be my great grandfather on my father’s side, who emmigrated in 1842 from Alten Schwerin, Mecklenburg, West Pomerania, Germany and settled in Lock Berlin, NY.

Me. (I’ve migrated 3 times, at ages 2, 9 and 54).
Then my father (migrated twice, at ages 34 and 42) and my mother (migrated three times, at ages 20 – on her own --, 33 and 40).

AFAIK some irish back sometime in the 1800s.
Which makes it all the more amusing that my kids are stuck with a monniker ending in “ski”, causing them to be spoken to in strange tongues by babushka clad crones.

My mother, who emigrated from Argentina with her parents in 1962, when she was 16.

If I look to my father’s side, I have several sets of Irish immigrants straight to California around the potato famine years four or five generations back.

Both of my grandfathers, and my maternal great-grandparents. My paternal grandmother’s family has been in the US since the Civil War, and possibly the Revolutionary War.

My dad’s mom, born in The Netherlands. Arrived here circa 1905.

Earliest arrival I’ve found so far was one of the early settlers of Boston Mass. There by 1630.

If we’re talking about my adoptive family, my grandmother. From Sweden in the 20’s. If you’re talking about my natural parents, both of 'em. In the 60’s.

Thus getting a one-year jump on my dad.