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Luxembourgish Ancestors: United States
Updated: January 9th, 2024
Written by: Daniel Atz with Lauren Lowell
From 1841-1890, approximately 45,000 Luxembourgers left the Grand Duchy for the United States. Now, over 13,000 of their descendants have obtained dual citizenship in Luxembourg.
Who were these Luxembourgers and how did they end up in the United States? We explore.
Luxembourgish Ancestors: United States
To turn on the subtitles, please press the play button, followed by the CC icon. To change languages, click the gear icon and “Subtitles/CC”.
Updated: January 9th, 2024
Written by: Daniel Atz with Lauren Lowell
From 1841-1890, approximately 45,000 Luxembourgers left the Grand Duchy for the United States. Now, over 13,000 of their descendants have obtained dual citizenship in Luxembourg.
Who were these Luxembourgers and how did they end up in the United States? We explore.
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Background
Our research study on the American-Luxembourgers is based on 416 dual citizens. This includes LuxCitizenship clients as well as non-clients who participated in an open survey of confirmed dual citizens through ancestry.
This study is based on their 225 ancestors. In this first section of our study, we dive into the story of Luxembourgish immigration to the USA to explain who our dual citizens’ ancestors are and how these ancestors’ stories affect the new citizens reconnecting with Luxembourg today.
Why Did So Many Luxembourgers Migrate?
Once upon a time, in 1815 specifically, Luxembourg regained its independence from France. The downside? It became a personal possession of the new Dutch king and was occupied by Prussian troops.
Image: The first homestead in the United States, U.S.A – Library of Congress
The Napoleonic Code, a leftover from France, didn’t help much because it forced landowners to divide their properties equally among all their children for inheritance purposes.
By the 1840s, advances in medicine drastically reduced infant mortality. Families grew larger and larger, while their farming plots grew so small that many couldn’t feed themselves, let alone make a living.
Due to suffering from poverty and famine, huge numbers would decide to leave the Grand Duchy for good.
Humble Beginnings: The 1st 🇱🇺🇺🇸 Migratory Wave (1830-40s)
Following shortly after the first wave of Luxembourgish migrants to Brazil in 1828, different groups of Luxembourgers left for new opportunities the United States in the 1830s.
The first wave of Luxembourgish migration to the USA was by far the smallest, but was larger than the numbers that arrived in Brazil. This first wave of Luxembourgers came to the USA from 1830 to the mid-1840s.
The Luxembourgers would generally arrive through Louisiana, New York, and Maryland. Many settled in Western New York state and another large group settled in Ohio. As railroads developed, some of the Luxembourgers continued their migration inland.
By comparison to the other two waves, very few of the ancestors we studied belong to this early migratory wave to the US.
- Port of Entry
- States of Settlement
- Cities of Settlement
Picking Up Steam: The 2nd 🇱🇺🇺🇸 Migratory Wave (1846-60)
Up until the early 19th century, it took as long to travel from Luxembourg to Paris as from Luxembourg to the United States. Exactly at the same time as faster transport arrived, the news of free ground in the United States began to spread.
Video: American-Luxembourger Dual Citizen Jeff eloquently explains about his ancestry from Luxembourg and the connections to his family in Luxembourg. This was part of a 2020 video campaign at the outbreak of Covid-19.
Large numbers of Luxembourgers set out for the US and very many of them would know the name Derulle-Wigreux. According to the Library of Congress, most of the Luxembourgish migrants in the second wave came through this Luxembourg City-based travel agent.
Coming from land-starved Luxembourg, the promise of free ground in the Midwest drew the Luxembourgers in droves. Communities set up in Chicago and Aurora, Illinois, Wisconsin’s Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and LaCrosse Counties, Minnesota’s Winona and Wabasha Counties, and in Iowa’s Dubuque and Jackson Counties.
30.6% of our dual citizens’ ancestors settled in the counties above. 13.3% of all their ancestors settling in the counties of Aurora and Cook, Illinois alone.
Lux-Explosion: The 3rd 🇱🇺🇺🇸 Migratory Wave (1865-1900)
A little thing called the American Civil War (1861-1865) made immigration to the US slow down for a while. All the same, some Luxembourgish ancestors would arrive and enlist in the war shortly after.
Immigration never stopped during the American Civil War, and it really took off after. This is also due to the Homestead Act of 1862, which made land available to the average person instead of only rich landowners.
Many of these migrants also made their homes in the Midwest, notably settling in the Dakota, Stearns, Ramsey, and Houston Counties in Minnesota as well as Kossuth and Black Hawk Counties in Iowa. Smaller Communities also set up in the states of Nebraska and South Dakota.
- State of Settlement
- Port of Entry
- City of Settlement
7.6% of our dual citizens’ ancestors lived in these counties, but many more lived in other locations within these states. So, it seems our citizens’ ancestors tended to spread out; possibly due to more free land.
Immigration never stopped during the American Civil War, and it really took off after. This is also due to the Homestead Act of 1862, which made land available to the average person instead of only rich landowners.
Many of these migrants also made their homes in the Midwest, notably settling in the Dakota, Stearns, Ramsey, and Houston Counties in Minnesota as well as Kossuth and Black Hawk Counties in Iowa. Smaller Communities also set up in the states of Nebraska and South Dakota.
7.6% of our dual citizens’ ancestors lived in these counties, but many more lived in other locations within these states. So, it seems our citizens’ ancestors tended to spread out; possibly due to more free land.
Die Luxemburger in der Neuen Welt
Starting in 1880, Luxembourgish social life flourished in the United States. More communities were established. The existing ones grew stronger and more connected.
These thriving communities created a strong sense of identity for the immigrants. National Luxembourgish-American social organizations helped expand community networks and facilitate more immigration.
The Luxembourgish-Americans also started their own nationally distributed German language newspapers. It was important to them to have periodicals independent of Prussian influence.
These Luxembourgish Americans achieved great things too. Some well-known names from this time include Hugo Gernsback, Red Faber, Paul O. Husting, Nicholas Muller, and Edward Steichen.
Image: Nicholas Muller was born in Differdange in 1836, migrated to the US, and became a congressman.
Image: Nicholas Muller was born in Differdange in 1836, migrated to the US, and became a congressman.
These thriving communities created a strong sense of identity for the immigrants. National Luxembourgish-American social organizations helped expand community networks and facilitate more immigration.
The Luxembourgish-Americans also started their own nationally distributed German language newspapers. It was important to them to have periodicals independent of Prussian influence.
These Luxembourgish Americans achieved great things too. Some well-known names from this time include Hugo Gernsback, Red Faber, Paul O. Husting, Nicholas Muller, and Edward Steichen.
Luxembourgish-Americans in the 20th Century
Since their first arrival in the United States, many to most Luxembourgers were confused with Germans, Belgians, and Frenchmen. This became a problem in the early 20th century.
At the outbreak of World War I, there was immense social and government pressure to not speak German in the United States. As a result, many Luxembourgers were forbidden to speak their mother tongue. This immense social pressure would last well after the war, leaving an eternal scar on the Luxembourgish-American communities.
Despite this, the Luxembourgish-Americans remained attached to their culture. They would also play an important part in supporting and liberating Luxembourg during World War II.
Influential Luxembourgish-Americans helped Grand Duchess Charlotte on her goodwill tours of the United States. Many contributed funds to support and rebuild Luxembourg after the war. Some Luxembourgish American soldiers were even there during Luxembourg’s liberation.
Image: The Society of the American Friends of Luxembourg was a national war relief fund formed in 1943. Its mission was to raise funds to support Luxembourg during and after the war.
Image: The Society of the American Friends of Luxembourg was a national war relief fund formed in 1943. Its mission was to raise funds to support Luxembourg during and after the war.
At the outbreak of World War I, there was immense social and government pressure to not speak German in the United States. As a result, many Luxembourgers were forbidden to speak their mother tongue. This immense social pressure would last well after the war, leaving an eternal scar on the Luxembourgish-American communities.
Despite this, the Luxembourgish-Americans remained attached to their culture. They would also play an important part in supporting and liberating Luxembourg during World War II.
Influential Luxembourgish-Americans helped Grand Duchess Charlotte on her goodwill tours of the United States. Many contributed funds to support and rebuild Luxembourg after the war. Some Luxembourgish American soldiers were also there for Luxembourg’s liberation.
So, we’ve learned about Luxembourgish immigration to the US, but who were our American-Luxembourger dual citizens’ ancestors?
Ancestors and Their Descendants
For the 416 American-Luxembourgers that participated in our survey, we were able to find 225 Luxembourgish ancestors. All ancestor information included in this study below was provided by our study’s participants, and verified using records on file at the Luxembourg National Archives.
Some of the researched ancestors were siblings. The 225 Luxembourgish ancestors that our American respondents descend from came from 218 families who moved from Luxembourg.
On average, 1.7 participants descended from each of these ancestors. This is the lowest descendant per ancestor rate of the three countries included in our study, with 2.6 times less participants per ancestor than our Argentine participants, and a whopping 4.4 times less than our Brazilian participants.
Luxembourgish Ancestor, Most Respondents
About Our Dual Citizens’ Ancestors
41.3% of the ancestors studied were born in the cantons of Luxembourg, Capellen, and Diekirch alone. Of the three countries included in our study, the United States is the only country that Luxembourgish immigrants immigrated to from all twelve of Luxembourg’s cantons.
The majority of these ancestors were born between 1820 and 1869, and participated in the second wave and third waves of mass Luxembourgish immigration to the United States.
Ancestor Canton of Birth
Ancestor Year of Birth
Luxembourgish – Americans in the 20th Century
Of the ancestors included in our study, the average age at time of passing was 74.5 years old. The national average was 61 years old in 1927 (the average year of death across the group).
Ancestor Gender
*These numbers are distorted in favor of men due to the Article 7 citizenship procedure, which almost exclusively necessitates a male ancestor.
Ancestor Age at End of Life
Where Did Our Ancestors Live in the United States?
By the 1940s, over 100,000 people self-identified as Luxembourgish-Americans on the US Census. Some of these people stayed close to the original Luxembourgish colonies, but many left to other locations to pursue new opportunities.
Ancestor Location of Emigration
While our dual citizens’ ancestors emigrated from all over Luxembourg, 70.6% ended up settling in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa alone.
The other 29.4% of immigrants settled throughout the country, with other groupings in the states of Kansas, Michigan, New York, and California.
The highest concentration of our ancestors by city in the United States could be found in the greater Chicago and Aurora, Illinois area, which accounted for 88.2% of the Luxembourgers who settled in that state.
Are you ready to learn more about the American-Luxembourgers?
Continue on to our American Dual Citizens study to learn more about the respondents themselves.
Are you ready to learn more about the American-Luxembourgers?
Continue on to our American Dual Citizens study to learn more about the respondents themselves.
American Dual Citizens Study
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