Serbian Americans

Serbian Americans
Амерички Срби
Američki Srbi
Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Manhattan, New York City
Total population
176,643 (2024)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona
Languages
English (American English) · Serbian
Religion
Predominately Eastern Orthodoxy (Serbian Orthodox Church), minority Protestantism and Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Serbian Canadians, Montenegrin Americans, Croatian Americans, Bosnian Americans, Macedonian Americans, Yugoslav Americans

Serbian Americans or American Serbs,[a] are Americans of ethnic Serb ancestry. As of 2024, there were over 176,000 American citizens who identified as having Serb ancestry, though broader estimates include many of those with Yugoslav ancestry.[1] Serbian Americans represent one of the largest groups within the global Serb diaspora.

History

Members of the Serbian Association in Juneau, Alaska in costume for the production of a theatrical play, 1928

One of the first Serb immigrants to the United States was the settler George Fisher, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1815, fought in the Texan Revolution, and became a judge in California. Another notable early Serb in America was Basil Rosevic, who founded a shipping company, the Trans-Oceanic Ship Lines, around the year 1800.[2] In the early 1800s, many Serbs immigrated to New Orleans seeking employment. In 1841, Serbs founded the Greek Orthodox parish with Greek immigrants in New Orleans, further solidifying their presence in the region.[3]

Serbian Americans fought in the American Civil War, primarily on the side of the Confederacy, as most Serbs living in America at the time were in Louisiana and Mississippi. Several Confederate military units were formed by Serbian and Croatian immigrants in Louisiana, such as the Cognevich Company (named for Stjepan Konjeviç, who immigrated to Louisiana in the 1830s), and the First and Second Slavonian Rifles. At least 400 Serbs fought in these three units during the Civil War.[4] Several other known Serb soldiers in the Civil War came from Alabama and Florida, specifically from Pensacola.

Serb immigrants first came in significant numbers to the United States in the late 19th century from the Lika, Dalmatia, and Bay of Kotor regions.[5] During this time, most Serb immigrants to the United States settled in mid-western industrial cities.[6]

Other Serbs often found employment in mines, and numerous Serb families moved to mining towns in California, mostly in the Sierra Nevada.[7][5] Amador County, in particular, had a large Serb population in the late 1880s and 1890s due to the California Gold Rush. The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson, built in 1894, was the first Serbian Orthodox church in America.

Serbian miners, especially from Montenegro, and their families also settled in great numbers in Alaska, during the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s with the primary areas of settlement being Juneau, Douglas, Fairbanks, and Sitka. By World War I there were two Serbian societies established, one in Juneau and other in Douglas (around Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Sava) for the preservation of Serbian customs heritage in Alaska.[8] In 1905 a newspaper called "The Serbian Montenegrin" was founded in Douglas.[9] Serbs also made up a large number of the miners at the Treadwell gold mine until its collapse in 1917 and subsequent closure in 1922. In 1910, there was a massive explosion on the 1,100 foot level of the Mexican mine at Treadwell. 39 men were killed, 17 of whom were Serbian.[10]

Serbian-Americans volunteered in the First Balkan War.[11] During World War I, as many as 15,000 Serbian-American volunteers returned to the Balkans to fight for the Allied cause in their homeland, especially from Alaska and California.[12] Serbs in the United States who did not volunteer to fight marched for the creation of Yugoslavia, sent aid to the Balkans through the Red Cross, formed a Serbian Relief Committee, and urged notable Americans to support the Serbian cause. Distinguished Serbian American scientist Mihajlo Pupin, a friend of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, led the Serbian National Defence, a Serbian-American organization which collected money and attempted to influence American public opinion with regard to the Balkans.[13] During World War I, Pupin's Consulate in New York served as a center of Serbian-American diplomacy and volunteering of Serbian Americans to the Serbian front.[14]

Inside the Serbian Club in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, 1941

Following World War II, a significant wave of Serb immigration to the United States began, including members of the royalist Chetnik movement, after the country came under the authoritarian rule of Communist leader Josip Broz Tito.[15] These waves primarily settled in industrial midwestern cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh, as well as coastal areas such as Los Angeles and New York City, building on earlier Serbian communities. Many Serbian American cultural and religious organizations have been formed at that time.

A select group of seven pioneering Serbian American engineers, affectionately dubbed the "Serbo 7", played pivotal roles in NASA's Apollo program during the 1960s, leveraging their expertise in systems engineering, avionics, and project management to help propel humanity's first lunar landing in 1969. Their contributions spanned critical phases of spacecraft design, testing, and mission coordination, including troubleshooting during the dramatic Apollo 13 crisis.[16][17][18]

The 1990s saw another surge due to the Yugoslav Wars, as Serb immigrants escaped ethnic conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia as well as economic collapse in Serbia.[19] Demographically, the Serbian American population grew steadily during this period; census data shows 100,941 people declaring Serbian descent in 1980, rising to 140,337 by 2000.

Demographics

According to data from the 2023 American Community Survey, 181,469 people stated that they had Serb ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), out of which 42,968 were Serbia-born.[1][20] Serbian Americans comprise 0.05% of total U.S. population. Some 210,935 declared Yugoslav as their ancestry in 2023 with estimates that many of those were of ethnic Serb origin.[21]

The Serbian American community is concentrated (over one-third of the total) in Great Lakes region, with major hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee metro areas.

Map of U.S. states by Serbian American population.
  >20,000
  10,000 to 20,000
  5,000 to 10,000
  1,000 to 5,000
  <1,000
Year Population
1980[22] 100,941
1990[23] 116,975
2000[24] 140,337
2010[25] 187,739
2014 181,171
2016 181,607
2018 199,632
2020 193,844
2022 191,538
2023 181,469
2024 176,643
State Population (2024)[1]
Illinois 21,719
Ohio 17,395
Pennsylvania 16,156
California 14,898
Florida 11,424
Michigan 8,222
New York 7,320
Wisconsin 7,021
Texas 6,992
Indiana 6,599
Arizona 5,588

Serbian Americans predominantly belong to the Eastern Orthodoxy with the Serbian Orthodox Church as the traditional church. There are three Serbian Orthodox dioceses (Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Eastern America, Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of New Gračanica and Midwestern America, and Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Western America) encompassing 122 parishes across the United States, with 68,800 adherents, of which some 15,400 regularly attended services.[26]: 84 

Significant portion of Serbian Americans also adhere to Protestantism or various Christian denominations, as well as Catholicism, while the rest are mainly irreligious.

Heritage

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery and Seminary in Libertyville, Illinois

There are 139 Serbian Orthodox churches in 34 states across the country, many of which stand as representations of Serbo-Byzantine architecture that include unique characteristic elements from the Middle Ages.[27][26] Consecrated in 1894, the Saint Sava Church in Jackson, California, is the oldest Serbian Orthodox church in the United States. The New Gračanica Monastery in Third Lake, Illinois, is an impressive architectural replica of the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Gračanica in Kosovo, the famous church that was continually destroyed and rebuilt in the course of the history.

The United States has at least seven places named Belgrade, making it one of the most duplicated foreign city names in the country. All are tributes to the Serbian capital of Belgrade, largest of which is Belgrade in Montana with population of 12,509 and named after the Serbian capital, as an expression of appreciation to the Serbian investors who helped finance a portion of the Northern Pacific Railway.[28]

Media

Serbian Americans have historically published and continue to publish a number of newspapers in both the Serbian and English languages. The oldest Serbian American newspaper currently in publication is the Pittsburgh-based bilingual American Srbobran, which has been in circulation since 1906.[29]

There are Serbian-language radio programs available in the United States, not as full-time dedicated FM/AM stations but as brokered-time shows on multilingual outlets, most prominent of which is Serbian Radio Chicago, a daily one-hour program on WNWI Chicago-area radio station.[30]

Serbian Television USA is a Chicago-based media production company focused on producing content that promotes Serbian culture, values, language, and customs while covering Serbian-American community events. Its flagship show, Serb View, airs weekly on Xfinity cable channel 19 in the Chicago area.

Organizations

The Serbian American community has developed a rich network of organizations focused on cultural preservation, mutual aid, religious life, political advocacy, and humanitarian efforts.

The Serbian American organization Serbian National Defense Council, founded in 1914, is a Serb diaspora community organization whose goal is promoting interest of Serbs and Serbia abroad as well as the interests of the Serbian Orthodox Church.[31] It is based in Chicago, and also has chapters in Hamilton (Canada) and Sydney (Australia).

The Serb National Federation is the oldest Serbian American community organization, founded 1901. It publishes American Srbobran newspaper.

Notable people

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Serbian Americans.

See also

Annotations

  1. ^ The community is commonly referred to as Serbian Americans in English and more rarely as Serb Americans. In Serbian, the community is known as American Serbs (Амерички Срби, Američki Srbi), and more rarely as Serbs in America (Срби у Америци, Srbi u Americi).

References

  1. ^ a b c d "2024: ACS 1-Year Estimates Detailed Tables". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  2. ^ Dorich, William. "Who Are the Serbs?" World Affairs Council of Orange County. California, Irvine. 1995. Speech.
  3. ^ Durniak, Gregory, Constance Tarasar, and John H. Erickson. Orthodox America: 1794-1976: Development of the Orthodox Church in America. New York: Orthodox Church in America. Department of History and Archives, 1975. Print.
  4. ^ Vujnovich, Milos M. Yugoslavs in Louisiana. Gretna: Pelican, 1974. Print.
  5. ^ a b Alter 2013, p. 1257.
  6. ^ Powell 2005, p. 267.
  7. ^ Henderson & Olasiji 1995, p. 124.
  8. ^ Arnold, Kathleen R. "The Mining Frontier and Other Migrations." Contemporary Immigration in America a State-by-state Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015. 28-29. Print.
  9. ^ Nicolson, Mary C.; Slemmons, Mary Anne (1998). Alaska Newspapers On Microfilm, 1866-1998. Fairbanks/Juneau: University of Alaska Fairbanks/Alaska State Library. pp. 63–64.
  10. ^ Kelly, Sheila. "Tough Grind of the Hard-Rock Miner." Treadwell Gold: An Alaska Saga of Riches and Ruin. Fairbanks: U of Alaska, 2010. 110. Print.
  11. ^ Rodney P. Carlisle; Joe H. Kirchberger (January 1, 2009). World War I. Infobase Publishing. pp. 11–. ISBN 978-1-4381-0889-6.
  12. ^ Serb World. Vol. 5–6. Neven Publishing Corporation. 1988. p. 40.
  13. ^ Bock-Luna 2005, p. 25.
  14. ^ Serbian Studies. Vol. 4–5. North American Society for Serbian Studies. 1986. p. 19.
  15. ^ Powell 2005, pp. 267–268.
  16. ^ "Srbi "poslali" Amerikance na Mesec!". www.novosti.rs (in Serbian (Latin script)). Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  17. ^ Vladimir. "To Christ and the Church". Serbica Americana. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  18. ^ "Serbs of the Apollo Space Program Honored | Serbian Orthodox Church [Official web site]". www.spc.rs. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  19. ^ Paul 2002, p. 94.
  20. ^ https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B05012?q=B05012
  21. ^ Powell 2005, pp. 266–267.
  22. ^ "Rank of States for Selected Ancestry Groups with 100,00 or more persons: 1980" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  23. ^ "1990 Census of Population Detailed Ancestry Groups for States" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. September 18, 1992. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  24. ^ "Ancestry: 2000". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 30, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  25. ^ "Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 30, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  26. ^ a b Krindatch, Alexei, ed. (2011). "American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese". Atlas of American Orthodox Christian churches (PDF). Orthodox Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-935317-23-4. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 2, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  27. ^ "Alphabetical". Serbian Orthodox Church in North, Central, & South America.
  28. ^ F, B. (March 12, 2025). "Belgrade Montana History".
  29. ^ "Newspapers Published in Serbia and the Diaspora". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  30. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ Dragnich, Alex N. (Spring 1988). "American Serbs and Old World Politics". Serbian Studies. 4: 17.

Sources

  • Alter, Peter T. (2013). "Serbs and Serbian Americans, 1940-present". In Barkan, Elliott Robert (ed.). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, LLC. pp. 1, 257–1, 263. ISBN 978-1-59884-220-3.
  • Bock-Luna, Birgit (2005). The Past in Exile: Serbian Long-distance Nationalism and Identity in the Wake of the Third Balkan War. Berlin, Germany: LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-9752-9.
  • Henderson, George; Olasiji, Thompson Dele (1995). Migrants, Immigrants, and Slaves: Racial and Ethnic Groups in America. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-9738-6.
  • Paul, Rachel (2002). "Serbian-American Mobilization and Lobbying: The Relevance of Jasenovac and Kosovo to Contemporary Grassroots Efforts in the United States". In Ambrosio, Thomas (ed.). Ethnic Identity Groups and United States Foreign Policy. Westport, CT.: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-97532-0.
  • Powell, John (2005). Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9781438110127.

Further reading

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs_in_the_United_States