Hi to all my lists . . . This came today from a CHASE research list. It doesn't apply to our ancestry, but may be of interest to many genealogy students. It certainly does sound logical! Hope all is well for you and your families. We're doing fine here in Northern California but realize there is genuine grief and misery in other parts of the US. God bless us every one. Jean Edwards > Hello everyone---- > > I have been beside myself trying to understand why some family members > back in the early census days put "German" in the nationality of origin > column...and recently I came across someone who put "Dutch"... > > I just found a piece in the Resident, a Lisbon Portugal newspaper that may > clear up half the mystery... > > http://portugalresident.com/portugalresident/showstory.asp?s=ISITME > > Here's just the interesting bit : > > " If you are a smoker, you are more likely than not to have heard of Peter > Stuyvesant, the founder and Governor of New Amsterdam (today's New York) > in 1626. The name change that followed 38 years later was indicative of > the growing British dominance in the New World. Over the next 300 years, > English speaking immigrants far outnumbered other national minorities, > although among these there were a fair number of Stuyvesant's compatriots. > But these settlers from Holland were not, in fact, those referred to as > being 'Dutch' by their English, Irish and Scottish predecessors - 'Dutch', > a mispronunciation of 'Deutsch'! > > Hoards of oppressed or politically persecuted Germans also flooded across > the Atlantic, but their declaration of being 'Deutsch' proved too much of > a tongue twister for the linguistically less than gifted Anglo-Saxons, so > they became 'Dutch'. So you see, the 'Dutch' really are a fictitious > race - as was that notorious gangster 'Dutch Schutz1'. This is just one > example of the treasures that the constantly changing English language has > to offer, which for me, is a fascinating area of study. " > > > ==== CHASE Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the list send a request here > Chase-L-request@rootsweb.com and put the word unsubscribe ONLY in the > subject and message boxes. > >