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Just an interesting question: why do Americans differentiate between Welsh, English, Scots, Scots-Irish ancestries? From my conversations with native British born friends, they (most NZers are from Britain in ancestry) consider themselves simply British in heritage.

NZerFromHK wrote: "Just an interesting question: why do Americans differentiate between Welsh, English, Scots, Scots-Irish ancestries? From my conversations with native British born friends, they (most NZers are from Britain in ancestry) consider themselves simply British in heritage."

NZerFromHK one might look to an individual's personal history to find the answer as to why New Zealand citizens with British ancestry consider themselves to be All British descendants with no differentiation of the individual countries of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Also if most of New Zealand is inhabited by people with ancestry traced to the British Isles, the difference might be that the United States is more of a cultural melting pot.

While researching Welsh ancestry, I came across records of many Welsh who emigrated from Wales to Australia and New Zealand beginning around 1840-1860. There were also prisoner ships which transported incarcerated British subjects to Australia.

If one's closest ancestor from Great Britain arrived in New Zealand in 1840-1860, it would be surprising if they had much information at all.

One idea: The Brits were from Wales. Those living east of Wales were Saxon, i.e., invaders from the Continent.

Just an interesting question: why do Americans differentiate between Welsh, English, Scots, Scots-Irish ancestries? From my conversations with native British born friends, they (most NZers are from Britain in ancestry) consider themselves simply British in heritage.

How many of them were booted from Britain to the penal colony? It may be that they have lost the details of their heritage, thus are left with just a general notion of their own history. My wife's paternal grandmother was a Cherokee indian. She lost her parents in the Trail of Tears march. That line of research is pretty limited.

My paternal grandmother was a very diligent researcher. Her side of the family arrived on the Mayflower. My paternal grandfather traces his family through his father's arrival in 1865 from Wales. My maternal grandfather traces his roots back to Jamestown. John Alden and Priscilla Mullins are in his direct lineage. At one point his family held title to what is now Norfolk. The grant from the King titled the area 'Fanshaw's bottom'. There are still streets with the family name in Norfolk.