Are there any Americans who know & care if they have any English ancestry?

Question

From what ive heard the Americans of British ancestry are distinct and dont even want to know they have English origins, why is that? whereas Irish Americans Italian Americans are proud to fly the flag of their ancestry, is it because being English is nothing to be proud about as they dont have an indenity like Irish who have celts origins, Italians Romans, these people havent been really mixed as English have, Normans, Saxons etc, is this reason why Americans of English heritage dont wanna know?

Answer 1

That is a good question. I don't have English ancestry that I know of so I can only guess. I have Irish and Swedish ancestry, which tells me that I probably have English ancestry as well. The thing is, I am to busy in my everyday life too pay much attention to my ancestry. Most people in the U.S. only pay attention to their ancestry if there is a monetary incentive that depends on their heritage. One more thing, in the U.S. it does not matter whether or not you are Native American, African American, African, Hispanic, Italian American, or Russian American; because everyone in America is Irish on ST Patrick's Day.

Answer 2

Well, I am both English and Norwegian. I can see where you are coming from, too. I think it's because so many Americans are of British ancestry due to the colonizing by the British... People probably just don't think it is as special or something, whereas not as many people are Norwegian or German. I love England, though, so I am a proud English/Norwegian person!

Answer 3

The English immigrants were in the US first, and before the Italians, Germans, etc and it is hard to tell whether you have it or not. People with English ancestry in America have their family trees dating to the 17th or 18th centuries.
My family is from England-- well, more like I am descended from English people. I have English on both sides of my family tree.
My mother's grandma's mother's side was purely English and they've been here since the 17th century. The other family came in the 18th century.
I traced my family to the 18th century living in America.
My grandma's father's family is from England, Scotland, and Germany. The English ones came a long time ago too.

On my father's side I have some English people that came in the early 20th century. But mainly I am German or Irish on his side.

There is nothing wrong with having ancestors from England. I like my English heritage.

Answer 4

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I'm of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry. One of my family names, Darling, is English and Scottish, and has also been found in Dublin geneological records.

Another family name, Turner, is English, originally coming from Germany, which was a mix of Anglo, Saxon, Celtic, etc.

Another is Dean, of celtic origin but found in England as well as Ireland many centuries ago.

Another is Stone, geneology websites say came from a small town in England, probably given first to a person who lived by a remarkable stone or something. =) ♪♫

I think many people had to hide their English ancestry during and after the Revolutionary War...just the same as people have been hiding their Germanic ancestry since WW2. We know that over 40 million U.S. citizens trace some ancestry to Ireland, but I bet just as many or more have English roots, since it WAS THE ENGLISH who started America as we know it.

A long time ago I worked in a place which did not require any special education...not even a high school diploma. When I mentioned I was English (I left out Irish and Scottish to see the reaction), I was attacked by people of Irish ancestry...viciously attacked(!) by old windbags who didn't do justice to their friendly Irish ancestral families' names.

It's kind of ridiculous in this day and age. I'm quite proud of my English ancestry as well as my Scottish and Irish roots. (I won't go into the smidgeon of Dutch and Native American, but how could anyone be ashamed of coming from any country is my question?)
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Answer 5

Traced mine back to 15th century England, as far as other ancestry not being mixed read a little more about Italians, did you know they were once blond and blue eyed? I won't tell you anymore, boy are you going to be surprised

Answer 6

Funny you should say that , bud 21 I live in a S Yorkshire ex mining village but every one here turns Irish on ST Patricks day aswell. We must have more in common with Americans than i suspected.

Answer 7

I'm of German - English - Irish - Scottish - Native American ancestry.