I think the customs vary from place to place in the South as well. I'm not actually sure if it's because of regional differences or urban/rural differences in custom. For instance, my husband's family from rural Mississippi is more likely to question someone's familial background, especially if they think there may be a chance for a connection, whether an actual relationship or just a recognition of a shared experience. They are also more likely to live near most of their relatives and of course, know all the names and connections.
My family though, is from New Orleans, traditionally (and still today), a city of immigrants. While folks may know their families for two or three generations back, further than that often gets fuzzy due to lack of records and so many names and circumstances being changed in the process. I have great-grandparents who swore they were Swiss, though recent research suggests they were actually German and didn't want to draw attention to that fact during and just after WWI.
Most of the people I know will start the questioning in a subtle manner, perhaps only one or two questions per meeting. The ultimate focus tends to be on personal experience, such as where someone grew up, rather than where their parents or grandparents were from. I wonder if that may have something to do with the fact that one or two generations back, people were more likely to have lived in one place most of their lives so the question would be more relevant.
As for me, I say I am from New Orleans even though I didn't live there until I was 10 years old and haven't lived there in 30 years. My parents were both born and raised there. My mother's family had been there for about 3 generations, my father's parents were Cajun transplants who had gone to the big city for work. My father was in the Air Force so I lived in six different states before my parents moved back to their home city. I've recently been pondering why I still think of New Orleans as home though I've only spent 1/5 of my life there and nearly all my relatives have moved away.
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Date: 4 Apr 2011 12:24 am (UTC)My family though, is from New Orleans, traditionally (and still today), a city of immigrants. While folks may know their families for two or three generations back, further than that often gets fuzzy due to lack of records and so many names and circumstances being changed in the process. I have great-grandparents who swore they were Swiss, though recent research suggests they were actually German and didn't want to draw attention to that fact during and just after WWI.
Most of the people I know will start the questioning in a subtle manner, perhaps only one or two questions per meeting. The ultimate focus tends to be on personal experience, such as where someone grew up, rather than where their parents or grandparents were from. I wonder if that may have something to do with the fact that one or two generations back, people were more likely to have lived in one place most of their lives so the question would be more relevant.
As for me, I say I am from New Orleans even though I didn't live there until I was 10 years old and haven't lived there in 30 years. My parents were both born and raised there. My mother's family had been there for about 3 generations, my father's parents were Cajun transplants who had gone to the big city for work. My father was in the Air Force so I lived in six different states before my parents moved back to their home city. I've recently been pondering why I still think of New Orleans as home though I've only spent 1/5 of my life there and nearly all my relatives have moved away.