Judi Langer-Surnamer Caplan wrote: Could it be possible that someone who came here when he was a baby might have thought he was born in NY like his younger siblings, and not across the ocean like his older siblings?
Hi Judy:
I would say emphatically yes to the question if someone could have been mistaken on where they were born or said they were born in the USA and not the old country.
Depends on circumstances but remember the perception was you were "better" if you were born in the USA and not an immigrant even if you parents had stepped off the boat 15 minutes before you were born.
My own grandfather always said he was born in the USA and told stories about how his parents had one family in the old country and another here. Only when I started the research did I confirm they were all born in the old country but the youngest sons came as small children and were of course raised in the USA. My grandmother is born here and she always said her husband was born here too. I started to find some papers even before the passenger list that showed that was a story but even when I talked to my aunt she said her father was born in the USA. In fact he immigrated at about age 4.
With your situation I would discount those facts and guess based on the paper trail.
