Are you all enjoying the 2024 Olympics as much as we are? Paris is such a beautiful city, jampacked full of art, music, food, wine, fashion, and colorful people!
Some of the original explorers and colonizers of North America were French, like Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain. It occurs to me I don't know much about French who emigrated to the USA other than these pioneers. Let's talk!
The first mass exodus from France to the USA was in 1685 (!) when Louis XIV revoked the Treaty of Nantes making Protestantism (practiced by Huguenots) a no-no. Then there were several wars wherein France gained and lost territories to the Spanish or the English (i.e. Canada and Acadia in 1763), add in slave revolts in the Caribbean (including Haiti), and there were quite a few people who came over. About half of the 500,000 who escaped the French Revolution of 1789 to the USA and other countries returned to France when they felt safe. When France lost Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in 1870, emigration increased, mostly by Jews who did not wish to live under German rule.
Where did they go when they got here? According to FamilySearch, "...some Franco-Americans arrived prior to the founding of the United States, settling in places like the Midwest, Louisiana or Northern New England. Twenty-three of the Contiguous United States were colonized in part by French pioneers or French Canadians, including settlements such as Iowa (Des Moines), Missouri (St. Louis), Kentucky (Louisville) and Michigan (Detroit), among others." The Creoles in Louisiana are descendants of Acadians that fled newly British Canada rather than swear a loyalty oath.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, French-born U.S. residents increased from 54,069 in 1850, to 109,870 in 1860, and 116,402 in 1870; essentially doubling the number of French-born residents in twenty years, and this in spite of returns to France. They estimate a total of 245,812 came from France between 1820 and 1870, which is a very small percentage of the total (e.g. Irish 2,700,493; German 2,368,483).
As of 2020, there are about 9.4 million U.S. residents who declare French ancestry or French Canadian descent, and about 1.32 million per the 2010 census, spoke French at home. An additional 750,000 U.S. residents speak a French-based creole language, according to the 2011 American Community Survey of the Census Bureau. Most of these are in Maine and the rest of the Northeast.
French is the second most studied language in the USA, right after Spanish. Some say French is predicted to surpass German as the most widely spoken language in Europe by 2025, and to become the world’s most widely spoken language by 2050.
The French have influenced the world. We can't not talk about FOOD! who among us has not enjoyed a croissant, macaron, omelet, souffle, beignet, or crepes with perhaps a glass of Champagne ordered a la carte? Are you a fan of great art? You gotta see the French. Here's a link: https://www.singulart.com/en/blog/2023/10/11/12-famous-french-artists/?srsltid=AfmBOoqoYPWGBiJzCKuTGKJXvNKQ6fFZ3zR4bVNPc3g3vUZk9xy_b3A_
As we go to commercial breaks during the Olympic events, enjoy the eye candy that is Paris! While we may not feel patriotic shouting "Vive la France!" we could toss in a "Viva le Difference!" to celebrate the wonderful differences between our countries that make us better all around after a few "USA USA USA's!"
Are you descended from the French? Do you have mystery French DNA Ancestry? Maybe you are Norman! Who do you come from? Let's find out together! Free quote/estimate on your tree, just send me an email.
Santé!
Leslie Ryan
“World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.” ― Dalai Lama XIV
PS Happy Lughnasa! Only 146 days till Christmas and Hanukka! Order that DNA test soon!
No compensation is received for any links or referrals.
No copyright infringement is intended.
Further reading: