Most Americans do not know that the USA has a culture.

They believe they are neutral, just like most people do not know they have an accent.

One benefit of travel is that if you are observant you discover that indeed your values are different from other people in other lands in very significant ways, along with discovering many things in common.

One example: a friend comes from a very old land-holding family in the Phillipines that used to own most of their province.

I had to teach her to clean up her own trash at a fast food restaurant. In the Phillipines, upper-class people do not pick up after themselves. In the USA, upper class people are just the opposite and always pick up after themselves.

Between 1620 and 1640 there was a large influx of about 40,000 people into New England from England. They were mostly Protestants.

When the English Civil War started, the flow of immigrants ceased until after the revolution, about 140 years later.

In that interval the country grew to about 1.5 million people just from having very large families. What this means is that most people in New England during the revolution were distantly related to each other by blood since coming to America.

If an American can trace one ancestor back to the American Revolution, then he could identify 30 or 40 million living American cousins with the records that are available now. (and if he had enough time to do it)

My cousins include 10 presidents and 9 first ladies. This is very typical of any American who has any family that has been here for more than a few generations.

>If an American can trace one ancestor back to the American Revolution, then he could identify 30 or 40 million living American cousins with the records that are available now. (and if he had enough time to do it) <

wow .. I did trace a great great gr.father back to the Civil War but I just don't have the time or resources to continue back any further .. Very interesting post.

Thanks Michael

If you get a trial subscription to ancestry.com you can probably extend it back.

You can connect with research that other people have done on the same family.

Every time you enter data on your tree, a search automatically takes place to locate related records.

If you give me your ggg gf name, state of birth and year, and perhaps some other family member name, I can probably find him.