For many years, I associated with the German side of my family (my mother
was more than 3/4 German). We talk about our German stubbornness and of
course, we thrived on German meals... We also spent more time with them.
Then, my father's sister traced his family back to their original home in
Scotland, visited it, and brought back pictures of the cottage and soil
from the land. She told stories of how she walked into a pub nearby and
the locals exclaimed "You're a Mitchell from America, aren't you?" Since I
look just like her, I began to feel that Scottish heritage, even though I
am only 1/8 Scot. So, although I always associated with being German, I
now proudly proclaim that I am also Scottish (another stubborn breed, I've
been told...) The two together only form a little more than 1/2 of my gene
pool. The rest I consider "American" (similar to Cuyler's definition): an
uneven mix of French, Dutch, Irish, and English.
I agree that it may be the strength of the genes: My German genes are
extremely strong -- there are so many of them.
It's also the family ties: I was very close to my mother and her family,
so I feel a need to hold on to my German-ness tightly now that she and so
many of them are gone.
It's also a matter of understanding the heritage and having a physical
connection to it: although I am only 1/8 Scot, I know more about that part
of my heritage and I easily identify with it because I look like a
"Mitchell" and have seen photos of our land, our house, et cetera.
Of course, it's also our need to hide a few skeletons: we don't get along
with the predominantly French, Dutch, Irish, or English sides of the family
(strange stories of murders, affairs, and other sundry tales emerge there),
so it's much better to say that we're "American" than associate with "them"...
--a German-Scot-American churchmouse
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