Who is your closest immigrant ancestor? How many generations?

49 comments

1. Great grandparents on my dad’s side came over from Japan around 1900-1910.

2. Paternal grandfather. He was in elementary school when he came over from Austria Hungary Empire.

3. My grandfather was born in Romania.

4. Maternal grandfather left Taishan in 1941 and settled in Pittsburgh, worked in a factory making shells or something and later moved to New York. Did the Chinese restaurant thing until he retired. Brought over my grandmother and her kids from Hong Kong. I don’t speak the language and have never been to the old country, and frankly, I would probably not be welcome. Paternal end of the family is mostly still in HK with my father being here since the 1970s.

5. Great great grandparents. Irish, German and Swiss. Galway, Dublin, Armagh, Steinbach an der Holzecke, Wurzburg, Trub, Zurich.

6. At this point, it’s at least four generations back. Probably five. At least of the family history I know.

7. I have 4 great- great grandparents from Ireland, 4 great- great grandparents from Norway, and 1 great- great grandmother who was born on the ocean en route from Germany. All in the 1850s & 1860s.

   Several of the above were children who came with parents and a few with grandparents. Most of my 3rd great grandparents were immigrants.

8. Both parents

9. *If* I read the correct documents, my paternal great-great—great-grandfather (forget how many greats) came through Ellis island from Italy.

10. My grandfather came from Czechoslovakia when he was a boy. The rest of my grandparents and their lineage have been in the country for at least 150 years or more.

11. [deleted]

12. My either great or great great grandparents came from Poland early 1910s

13. My mother and her family all immigrated from Cuba in 1969.

    My father’s side of the family, however, was all born here, except for his grandparents, who I never met. They came from Poland and Russian.

14. My grandfather and grandmother on my dads side. From Mexico. Also technically my oldest unvle too.

15. I could not even tell you how long ago probably about 20 generations ago.

16. My father grew up in Germany.

    On my mother’s side I have a photograph of my great great grandmother that was taken before she moved from Ireland to New York. I don’t know what year she came here but my great grandmother was born in New York in 1898.

17. My parents (Italian and Irish) and my wife’s parents (Italian and Japanese) were all first generation born in the US.

18. My parents

19. Great-great-grandparents came from Ukraine! However, I didn’t actually know that until Russia invaded Ukraine. All of our immigration papers say Kiev, Russian Federation 🥴. Slava Ukraine! I think one of the most beautiful things about America is that some of us trace our history back to countries that don’t exist anymore. Like the Russian Federation/USSR, Prussia, Czechoslovakia, etc.; making Americans, well, American!

20. My grandma’s grandparents and aunt and uncle were Jewish immigrants from Germany and her other grandmother was from Scotland. Her father and other aunts and uncles were born here AFAIK, but the two eldest came over on the ship with their mother. I can’t remember what year it was at the moment, but I have a photocopy of the ship’s manifest with their names on it.

    I have no idea about my father’s side because I’ve never met him and have no particular interest in finding out about it.

21. One of my parents.

22. both of my parents (but they’re Canadian so it barely counts)

23. Both my biological parents were not born in the USA. I am adopted. My father was born in a rural community outside Minsk and my mother was born in Mangaluru.

    I was born in Minsk but raised outside Houston from 18-months on so don’t remember it at all.

    My adoptive parents;

    My Moms mother was born in Spain, her biological father is like…9th generation American. He is related to John Hancock. Her adoptive father was born in Mexico.

    My Dads family goes back too. His mothers family goes back to the 1700s, of British origin. His fathers side is mostly Irish. Some immigrated in the 20s. He has a great great grandparent who is SSA (Angolian).

24. So this is sort of a rough estimate. My paternal grandparents had mostly immigrant grandparents. From what I understand they came to the US in the 1880s. I could not tell you which one came last though. So some of my great great grandparents.

25. I think four of my great grandparents were immigrants (from what’s now part of Poland, Ireland and Wales).

26. My 1000x great grandparents, give or take a few hundred generations.

27. My great grandfather came to the US from Canada in the late 1800s. Family lore has it that he’d “disgraced” his family of doctors & lawyers by wanting to be a businessman instead of something they considered respectable.

28. Dad India, Mom UK

29. Grandmas mom and dad. Late 1800’s early 1900’s

30. Great-grandfather (father’s father’s father), immigrated in 1911 from the Kingdom of Italy.

31. My great-great-great-great-great-grandmother was born in Ireland and came to Boston during the potato famine.

32. Don’t remember off the top of my head. Several back.

33. Some Irishman who preferred taking his chances in America VS starving to death during the potato famine.

34. My grandma came over from Norway as a teenager shortly after World War II. Her dad had actually also immigrated to the US as a teenager in the 1910s, obtained citizenship, then went back to Norway later on. After surviving WW2, in which Norway was invaded and occupied by the Nazis, he decided to bring his family to the US, which was in much better shape than war torn Europe.

35. No idea about my father’s side but on my mother’s side, my great grandparents (both sets) came from Mexico around the 1920s.

36. My grandfather came to the US from Scotland in the 1920’s.

37. Most recent I think was someone who immigrated from Germany in the 1850s. I don’t know how many greats of grandmotherhood she is to me.

38. On one side it’s a parent. In the other it’s too many great-greats to count

39. Both my parents immigrated here in their adulthood.

40. My parents immigrated from the Philippines to America in the late 80’s, and I was born a couple of years later.

41. Grandfather. Born in Italy, came over to the US as a teenager

42. On my mother’s side, my great-grandparents came over as part of the “oh shit, a civil war” Irish. On my father’s side it was the “oh shit, a famine” Irish a couple generations earlier. Not everyone is accounted for though.

43. Parent

44. Both parents. My father served in Vietnam for american military. I don’t know what the deal is but I assume it is a fast track to citizenship if you serve. Most all of my uncles did the same.

45. My great-grandparents on my dad’s side came through Ellis Island and were immigrants from 4 different countries, Ireland, France, Italy, and Lithuania. My mom’s family has been here since the early 1600’s (post Jamestown, pre Mayflower). We have the whole American immigration experience.

46. I had aunts on both sides of my family who were really into genealogy, so I know mine:

    Mom’s side (came from UK and Scandinavia) here by the 1830s.

    Dad’s side: (came from England, Ireland, and the Creek & Cherokee Nations) Europeans here as early as the late 17th century, late as the early 19th century, and of course the Native tribes were already here.

47. Me.

48. My ancestors came to North America in 1640 A.D.

49. My dad emigrated here from the UK in the early 60s as a 17 year old. Britain was a much sadder place then, and although he only came here with plans to stay for a few years and then go back home, after one week in America he wanted to stay permanently.

    On my mom’s side, we go back to the early days of the Jamestown settlement. I’m not sure of my female ancestors on her side – marriage records from colonial times often only put down the woman’s first name, so it’s harder to trace your maternal lineage.