>>Both my grandmothers were born in England but paternal came over as a baby. Maternal - who was the biggest influence on me - came over in her 20s ( in 1909 ) and considered herself 'more English than the Queen ... the Queen, you know, is German' <g> Her family came from Malmesbury since before the Normans came.
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>>Grandfathers had the distinction of being from families that had been here since the early 18th century and never really accomplished much <s> Not sure the hard-work ethic was part of the family tradition. You would think one of them would have been smart enough somewhere along the way to buy land in Boston or Manhattan for a couple pennies an acre and just not gamble or drink or whore it away but I have a feeling there is some kind of genetic flaw ...
>
>Last week I read in the newspaper that Holland bought what's now called Manhattan from the indians for ... 60 guilders. That's less than 30 euros now.


Yes, and if they had invested the money at compound interest it would now be worth more than Manhattan.