Why did your ancestors come to America?

[Excel]

At the Statue of Liberty there is a plaque with a poem, The New Colossus, engraved upon it. You may be familiar with one of it's more popular bits:

 

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 

This quote seems to embody what many of us think about those immigrants, that they were really the tired, poor and huddled masses, the wretched refuse the old world. That they came here to escape religious or ethnic persecution, hard economic times or war. But how much of this is true? Why did your family actually come here? What was their version of the "American Dream"?

 

My Grandfather was more than 100 years old when he passed a few months ago and his death and the things that came out of it shook me up pretty bad. I dealt with that but also the idea of losing the oldest member of my family and an important link to the past. It got me digging in to my family's history and pondering that question - why did they come here? What drove them to emigrate?

 

Here's what I found on mine and the reasons I think they left, much of it I can only speculate on based on where they came from, bits about them and events at the time:

 

Mother's side (Swedish/English/Scottish)

 

Great Grandfather 1 (GGF1) - Baptist family from Stockholm. The state church was Lutheran so that may have played a part. Sweden was also overcrowded and a lot of people left for better opportunties here. His parents emigrated to Wisconsin in the 1870's. I'm guessing that it was for Religious Freedom/Economic Opportunity.

 

Great Grandmother 1 (GGM1) - Lutheran family from Stockholm. No idea exactly why they left but they also settled in Wisconsin around the same time, probably got swept up in the wave of Swedes that left so I'll say Economic Opportunity.

 

GGF2 - Scottish family that emigrated to Nova Scotia but I have no idea when or why. He went to college in Toronto and became a doctor. Moved to New York and then Wisconsin in the 1920's. Economic Opportunity.

 

GGM2 - English family that emigrated to Toronto and I have no idea when or why. Met my great grandfather and moved with him to the states in the 1920's. Economic Opportunity.

 

Father's side (German)

 

GGF1 - German family from Wissembourg in what is now France. Emigrated around 1795 and settled in New York and then Indiana where the family started a large furniture making company. Wissembourg was a battleground during the wars of the French Revolution and so either that or the prospect of making money probably drove the move. War/Economic Opportunity.

 

GGM1 - Also from Alsace Lorraine and probably ethnic German judging from the maiden name. Married in Europe and emmigrated at the same time. War/Economic Opportunity.

 

GGF2 - German family from Silesia, emigrated in 1920 to Ohio with his wife and my Grandmother probably due to the shakeup from the Silesian Uprisings after World War One. Started a factory in Ohio and lost it during World War Two. War/Economic Opportunity.

 

GGM2 - Came with my great grandfather. War/Economic Opportunity.

 

I just found it interesting because of eight of those families I think only one really falls into the "huddled masses" or "refuse" category. Everybody else was pretty average and just decided to make the jump...in fact they may have been slightly better off than their countrymen if they were able to afford to move and do what some of them did in the states. Is that true for you? Did your ancestors really get the boot?

[JJ Husker]

All of my ancestors came for the hookers and blow. What category is that?

[BigRedBuster]

My mother's side of the family immigrated here just before WWI from Germany. I'm sure it was to leave a bad economic situation and try to find something better. I think they also weren't liking how the politics in Germany were headed so they wanted out. My grandmother and grand father were just old enough that they knew German fluently. They settled south of Hastings. During WWII there was a prisoner of war camp just west of Hastings. My grandmother would bake food and my grandfather would take it to the prisoners and sit around and talk about Germany.

 

On my father's side, they were Danish and the young couple left literally the day after they were married and boarded a ship for the US. They first settled in Illinois then headed west to Nebraska for better opportunity in farming and ranching. I am pretty dang sure this couple would have been considered illegal immigrants today.

[Excel]

All of my ancestors came for the hookers and blow. What category is that?

 

Economic opportunity obvs.

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Valentinos...duh!

[TonyStalloni]

My mother's side of the family immigrated here just before WWI from Germany. I'm sure it was to leave a bad economic situation and try to find something better. I think they also weren't liking how the politics in Germany were headed so they wanted out. My grandmother and grand father were just old enough that they knew German fluently. They settled south of Hastings. During WWII there was a prisoner of war camp just west of Hastings. My grandmother would bake food and my grandfather would take it to the prisoners and sit around and talk about Germany.

 

On my father's side, they were Danish and the young couple left literally the day after they were married and border a ship for the US. They first settled in Illinois then headed west to Nebraska for better opportunity in farming and ranching. I am pretty dang sure this couple would have been considered illegal immigrants today.

 

Did you or do you still have any connection to Hastings? Family in the area? Thats where I live.

[BigRedBuster]

 

My mother's side of the family immigrated here just before WWI from Germany. I'm sure it was to leave a bad economic situation and try to find something better. I think they also weren't liking how the politics in Germany were headed so they wanted out. My grandmother and grand father were just old enough that they knew German fluently. They settled south of Hastings. During WWII there was a prisoner of war camp just west of Hastings. My grandmother would bake food and my grandfather would take it to the prisoners and sit around and talk about Germany.

 

On my father's side, they were Danish and the young couple left literally the day after they were married and border a ship for the US. They first settled in Illinois then headed west to Nebraska for better opportunity in farming and ranching. I am pretty dang sure this couple would have been considered illegal immigrants today.

 

 

Did you or do you still have any connection to Hastings? Family in the area? Thats where I live.

Not really. Just a few cousins that live in small towns south of Hastings.

[QMany]

Father's side: A good portion of my last name French. I believe my family is from Northern France-Belgium-Eastern Germany area. I've heard stories of adding a letter or two to the root last name to "German it up" during the war. I believe they were able to flee the area to avoid persecution. My grandmother had 14 children in Omaha/Council Bluffs. My last name is rare and most in the United States are still in that area.

 

Mother's side: "Stidham." I have no idea, but I believe it is of English origin and they came over earlier in America's existence. My grandfather is an abusive alcoholic and I've never spoken to him regarding anything, including his family tree.

[Decked]

Father's side: From Germany. Came here for economic opportunities. Moved here in the early 1900's to Louisiana. Then moved to Illinois.

 

Mom's side: Native American. Cherokee tribe.

[Hooked on Huskers]

My mother's roots: Liechtenstein; tiny country yet the richest by measure of GDP per capita. Both my grandparents was born in Liechtenstein. Emigrated in c.1900 to Mina South Dakota .... I'm not sure why. Strict Catholic. Could be Hitler's distant relative because my grandmother cousin-in-law maiden name was Margarette Hitlar according to family tree. Liechtenstein border was less than 100 miles away from Adolf Hitler birth place . You never know ......

 

My father's roots: Germany. Both my grandparents was born in Munich area. Emigrated in c.1895 to Yankton South Dakota ...... probably due to economic opportunity. Catholic. My dad was a hardcore racist. Not black bigotry but Jewish and Japanese people. Could be dad's twin brothers who was killed in Pearl Harbor attack and Japanese march (tortured) .

[JJ Husker]

 

All of my ancestors came for the hookers and blow. What category is that?

 

Economic opportunity obvs.

 

Of course I keed. But you have given me something to investigate. I;ve got some pretty good whens and where froms but I have never delved into the whys.

[Excel]

 

 

All of my ancestors came for the hookers and blow. What category is that?

 

Economic opportunity obvs.

 

Of course I keed. But you have given me something to investigate. I;ve got some pretty good whens and where froms but I have never delved into the whys.

 

 

The why's are difficult because they get lost. I would figure that would be a pretty important thing to remember and pass down but I guess it doesn't happen, at least it didn't in my family and I'm speculating on much of it if it's before 1900.

[EbylHusker]

I'm pretty sure mine came over to trade blankets to the Native Americans...

[huKSer]

Father's side came from England pre-revolutionary war - looked it up - 1635 to Virgiinia and 1645 to Mass. Beat that?

 

Well, yes, I can, some of my mother's side came from Asia because the Bering Sea dried up. Better mammoth hunting? (Well, Walksalone might tie me) The other part came to Murica from Scotland pre-revolutionary war.

 

Judging from the timing, religious freedom and/or economic opportunity.

[The Dude]

Mother's side immigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1632 - wasn't around to ask him why.

 

Father's side; haven't a clue.