Doing meaningful genealogy requires forethought and planning. Without a plan, the purposes you have set out to accomplish may not be achieved. What is it you specifically hope to find? In genealogy research, the majority of goals focus upon:
Finding the parent's names
Finding an individual's birth date or place
Finding a marriage date or place
Finding a death date or place
Finding a spouse's name, or maiden name
Finding the names of siblings
Finding background information on the family
Analyze What You Already Know
One of the easiest ways to determine which goals to pursue is to look at your existing family pedigree or ancestral chart, family group records, or individual data fields on your computer program. Is anything missing or questionable? Could those missing items fall under one of the goal categories mentioned above?
Techniques to Keep in Mind
Now a word of caution! As you begin to select a goal, the following research techniques should be adhered to in order to prevent researching the wrong family line:
Go from known information to unknown information. You cannot set a goal if you have not separated fact from tradition, hypothesis from actuality. If someone on the Internet or in a published genealogy has extended your family line three generations, don't just accept it as fact and start going backward at the end of the proposed new third generation. First, verify the relationships between your known ancestors and the additional information, then move into the "unknown" once again.
You cannot comprehend what you know about an individual until you have somehow, systematically, organized your facts, as well. For example, ask yourself certain questions.
"What do you really know about this person?"
"I was told he was born in Virginia."
"But how did I come to know that information?"
"Oh, I remember, I found that on the 1880 census record."
"Since records are kept on a county level in Virginia, what county was the person living in?"
"I don't know! Wait! Yes, it was written on that 1880 census. It was Franklin county. But this only tells me where he was living in 1880 and that he was born in Virginia. I will need to go back in time starting with 1880 and see if he remains in this same county."
"Correct! So what will your goal be?"
"My goal is to find the birth place of this person."
"You've got the idea."
"But I really want to find out who this person's parent are too."
"That is another goal. There are now two goals for this person."
Don't skip generations or sources. In the above example, it is very tempting to skip the present generation where you know a person's name, year of birth and state, and just jump back to the person's parent's names. Resist that temptation. Don't skip generations or sources. By finding the birth place of the individual, you may also find his parent's names.
In the above example, you might already have the individual's marriage date and place, as well. You may be tempted not to look it up because you think you already "know" it. You do not, however, have a primary source for the information. You only have "hearsay" evidence from a published family history. So you select as another goal to find the marriage record or marriage application for the person. (For more information on finding vital records, go to the free online beginning genealogy lessons.)
As you find the original marriage place, you may find in the marriage application the names of the parents. Had you not sought the sources, the information would have been lost to you. Therefore your third goal would be to find documentation for the marriage date for an individual because it might contain information on the person's parents.
WITHIN REASON, get them all. You need to record all individuals of the same surname in the same locality (even the common surnames such as Smith, if in a small town or township), neighbors who may travel with them for several generations, and relatives who appear on one record or another. You obviously wouldn't want to get all the Smiths in New York City, however, but would want to get all Smith individuals in the same block or building. You are doing this because even though your 3rd great grandfather may not have stated on his marriage record the name of his parents, his sister, who lived in the same county, may have stated the name of her parents, which was just what you were looking for.
Find the county jurisdiction today. Look at a current atlas or map and determine where the location would be today. Make a copy of that area in case you will want to contact genealogy societies, historical societies, or local libraries in the present location to see if they have recorded information on the individual for whom you are searching.
Locality analysis. Now you must determine the name of the location at the time of the event. The reason for this is that records are catalogued and retained in their original jurisdiction. Use gazetteers of the time period, geographical dictionaries, maps, and books to guide you to the name of the county in which a town might have existed during the years your relatives lived there. Counties were constantly changing in the United States.
List all sources searched, both negative and positive. Because we must list our negative searches (so we don't repeat them), as well as our positive searches, it is a good idea to put all of this information onto a research planner (see #8 below). That way we can just indicate whether we found something or not.
Determine what others have already discovered. Avoid duplication of effort by a preliminary survey. This involves searching major biographical databases, the Ancestral File, the International Genealogical Index, the Library of Congress database, Internet sources, etc. Often this information is secondary, but it can help you find locations for primary sources. (The beginning genealogy lessons guide you through the Preliminary Survey.)
Plan your research process with the help of a Research Planner. Do not confuse a Research Planner with a Log. The latter only records what was found. The former records not only what was found, but also what was not found; when an item was searched, and what records SHOULD eventually be searched. Using a Research Planner is a very important step to set goals. A Research Planner helps to focus you on what you are doing and reminds you to apply the other 7 basic rules stated above.
How To Effectively Use a Research Planner
Use a Separate Research Planner for Each Goal
To summarize, goals are arrived at through an analysis of existing family records. While it is the task of your computer genealogy program to organize the family records and allow the initial analysis to take place, it is the task of a Research Planner to focus the researcher.
Certain information will be found lacking in family records which become a "goal." List each one of these goals on a separate Research Planner.
Goals Often Involve Smaller Objectives
Separate planners are used because most goals need to be broken down into smaller objectives. For example, your goal may be to locate the father of Johan Hains, born 1847. Write the goal at the top of your research calendar. Smaller objectives can be written in the space labeled "object of search," in the example which follows.
An example In our above sample, a will which mentions a John Hains as the son of a Mr. Hains could be proof if the person was found in the correct location, at the same time. Also a census with a child of the correct age as Johan/John listed with his parents would provide evidence to solve the problem. So your research calendar would then look like the sample below. (The abbreviation "Ind" stands for "Is this item indexed?" and "Con" stands for "Condition of item.")
Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.
Repository Date Description of Source Ind Object of Search Time Period, Search Note Ext. #
Call # Con
1850 Census Index of Virginia X Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 Might be spelled Haynes
Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846 ditto
You do not have a repository (a place) where this might be found as yet. Neither do you know an exact book or film number or a full description. That can be filled in later once you see the card catalog for the repository. In essence, you are "planning" work to be done later.
Once you learn the whereabouts of a Federal Archives center near you which has census films, you will be able to proceed. You may also learn that a local Family History Center has the probate records you are searching available on microfilm. You are now able to fill in the other boxes labeled "Repository" and "Call #."
Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.
Repository Date Description of Source Ind Object of Search Time Period, Search Note Ext. #
Call # Con
San Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index of Virginia X Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 Might be spelled Haynes
T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846 ditto
0854245
When a visit is made to the FHC and the Archives, you will be able to actually look at a copy of the original documents on film. You can then locate your families and make photocopies of the film. At the top of the photocopy for the will, you write "H-1" indicating "Hains family extract item 1" and also record that number under "Ext #" (Extract Document Number). Your research planner then looks like the document below.
Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.
Repository Date Description of Source Ind Object of Search Time Period, Search Note Ext. #
Call # Con
San Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index of Virginia X Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 Might be spelled Haynes
T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846 ditto H-1 other Haines
0854245
The census may indicate you were in the wrong county for the probate and sure enough, you find nothing in the census index for Franklin county but there was a Hains family in the neighboring county of Henry. You make changes to your research planner as shown below.
Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.
Repository Date Description of Source Ind Object of Search Time Period, Search Note Ext. #
Call # Con
San Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index of Virginia NOT in Franklin, in Henry Co., instead X Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 Might be spelled Haynes
0 — Not there.
T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846 ditto
H-1 other Haines
0854245
Knowing that you found nothing in Franklin county, but now need to look for information in Henry county, your calendar now looks like the example below. You have two lines already completely filled out, and then you add two more lines for the new census and will searches that you need to do in Henry county.
Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.
Repository Date Description of Source Ind Object of Search Time Period , Search Note Ext. #
Call # Con
San Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index of Virginia NOT in Franklin, in Henry Co., instead X Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 Might be spelled Haynes 0 — Not there.
T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846 ditto 0 — Not there.
0854245
San Bruno Archives 8 Aug 1997 1850 VA, Henry County census page 34 Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 H-2
T1245 Roll 143
Will index, VA, Henry Co Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846
When you go to look up the census and will microfilm for Henry county, you can fill out more information in your research calendar, as shown below. When looking at a roll of film, a book, files, or any other, materials, indicate if there is a problem with the film or index so you don't have to spend valuable time on it again. As the * in the "Con" field below indicates, the Henry county will index had an error. The Hs were placed in the index after the "Is" thus causing a problem for the researchers. You can also turn the planner over and write your notations on the back if you need more space for making notes about errors.
Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.
Repository Date Description of Source Ind Object of Search Time Period , Search Note Ext. #
Call # Con
San Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index of Virginia NOT in Franklin, in Henry Co., instead X Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 Might be spelled Haynes 0 — Not there.
T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846 ditto 0 — Not there.
0854245
San Bruno Archives 8 Aug 1997 1850 VA, Henry County census page 34 Hains family with son John age abt 3 John born 1847 H-2
T1245 Roll 143
Will index, VA, Henry Co
(*all H's in index after I)
Hains w/ John d. Bef 1846
*
Conclusion
Basically, goal setting involves asking questions, recording questions, and listing sources. Greater success involves applying good research techniques. But the foundation of our success, depends upon focusing on appropriate goals from the very beginning.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
American Surnames by Elsdon C. Smith
In general, the development of surnames and their universal use throughout the world followed commerce. The countries and parts of countries where many were engaged in trade were the first to use surnames. Agricultural districts, where man was tied to the soil to make his living, had a smaller population where the need for more exact identification was not so pressing, and were consequently, the last places to acquire universal family names....
American surnames comprise the surnames found in every country throughout the world, many with differences in spelling not seen in the old country due to the inability of clerks and government officials to record correctly the names given them by unschooled immigrants not familiar with the English, French, German, or Spanish languages currently used in the port of entry or the part of the country where they settled. When an immigrant arriving in America with little knowledge of English gave his name verbally to the officials to whom it sounded odd or unusual, it was written down by them as they heard it, and being thereby "official," it was often accepted by the immigrant himself as a correct American rendering of his name. To say that there are not American names would be wrong; one might on the contrary affirm that there are no unAmerican surnames. All family names in the United States can be and should be classified as "American" names.
But it is not enough to declare that American surnames now embody all the surnames of all the world. Immigrants to America from European countries have also consciously altered their names to relate them partially to the English language, especially as to English pronunciation, so that many names have a form and spelling, as have been mentioned, which is different from that found anywhere else. Some familiar examples might be noted. Dutch VAN ROSEVELT "of the rose field" becomes ROOSEVELT, German BLUM "flower" becomes BLOOM, GELBFISCH "yellow fish" becomes GOLDWYN, HUBER "tenant of hide of land" becomes HOOVER, KUNTZ "Conrad" becomes COONS, ROGGENFELDER "rye field" becomes ROCKEFELLER, PROERSCHING "peach tree" becomes PERSHING, SCHWAB "from Swabia (freeman)" becomes SWOPE, THALMANN "valley man" becomes TALLMAN, French GUIZOT "little Guy" becomes GOSSETT, Swedish SJÖSSTRAND "sea shore" becomes SEASHORE, Irish QUIDDHY "descendant of CUIDIGHTHIGH (helper)" becomes CUDAHY, Italian TAGLIAFERRO "iron worker" becomes TOLLIVER, and AMICI "friend" becomes AMECHE. General CUSTER of "Last Stand" fame had a Hessian soldier grandfather named KÜSTER, "minor church official in charge of the sacristy." Dutch VANDERPLOEG becomes VANDERPLOW, Finnish TERHUNEN becomes TERHUNE, and KIRKKOMÄKI becomes CHURCHILL. The list is endless....
...almost all family names may be classified on the basis of their derivation in one or more of the four following groups:
From the Father's Name or other Relationships (Patronymics)
From Occupation or Office (Occupational Names)
From Description of Action (Nicknames)
From Village Names or Landscape Features (Place Names)
In a careful check of seven thousand of the most common surnames in the United States it was found that the proportions in each class are as follows:
Percentage
Patronymics 32.23
Occupational Names 15.16
Nicknames 9.48
Place Names 43.13
Any particular surname may originate in more than one way — in several ways, in different places and countries, and at different times. Even the ubiquitous SMITH derives from words designating other than the worker in metals. SMITH sometimes comes from smethe "smooth" as in Smithfield "the smooth field" in London. Although no recorded proof has been found, it cannot be doubted that some with that name had an ancestor living by the Smite "dirty stream" from Old English smitan "to pollute." Several others will be here discussed, not to confuse the reader, but to emphasize the point that oftentimes a family name arose in different places with different antecedents all coalescing into the same form to make just one common family name. To add to these confusions, when such a name arrived in America, there was a powerful tendency to equate an old, unfamiliar spelling of a word or place name with a more familiar, easily spelled and pronounced word or name not alien to American-English ears....
Perhaps the most prominent feature of onomastics in America, one emphasized by H.L. Mencken in his The American Language, is the tendency by ethnic groups to change the family name to adapt to American ears and tongues attuned to the English language. The stimulus is especially strong when surrounded by neighbors of English descent, weaker when they congregate in cities and districts with little contact with outsiders. Those from countries with alphabets other than the Latin had to transliterate them and different systems of transliteration produced many variant names. Foreign names are assimilated into words and names familiar to speakers of English. The most usual change of surname was by translation practiced in some degree by every foreign group....
The principal, albeit overlapping and vague, types of changes of name favored by immigrants in America, are eight in number. They are:
By respelling, as when English COCKBOURNE is spelled COBURN, French NOEL becomes NOWELL, and German ALBRECHT changes to ALBRIGHT.
By translation, as when Irish BREHONY becomes JUDGE, and German RUEBSAMEN translates to TURNIPSEED.
By transliteration, as when a Russian name spelled in the Cyrillic alphabet is changed to the Latin alphabet, or a Chinese name written in ideographs is expressed in the alphabet used in America.
By abbreviation, as when Welsh DAVIES contracts to DAVIS and German GOLDBERGER shortens to GOLDBERG.
By extension, as when JOHNSON increases to JOHNSTONE and RUSSEL becomes RUSSELL.
By conversion, as when the German MUELLER changes to MILLER and the Swedish JONSSON becomes JOHNSON.
By dropping diacritical marks, as when the Swedish SJÖGREN "sea, branch" unveils to SJOGREN.
By substitution, as when SMITH becomes JONES and BLACK becomes FIELDS.
It may be helpful to note a few of the most common elements in American names which provide hints in recognizing the national antecedents of the bearer from inspection of his family name. Surnames terminating in -ley, -ton, -ham, -ford, -field, and -brook are usually from English village names. Some German locality endings are -au, -bach, -baum, -berg, -bruck, -dorf, -heim, -hof, -horst, -reut, -stadt, -stein, -thal, and -wald. The ending -er is found in English and German names and the ending -mann (often contracted to the English -man) connotes a German name; both indicate occupational names or denote that the original bearer came from the place or town indicated. Von may be observed in German names hinting at nobility while the van, vander, and vanden stamp the bearer as Dutch and merely mean "at" and "at the."
The patronymical terminations are very helpful in assessing the nationality of the bearer's paternal parent. The ending -son is found in English, Scottish, Swedish and Norwegian names. When spelled -sen, it is Danish or Norwegian. The prefix O' indicates an Irish name while Mac and Mc is either Irish or Scottish. Most Armenian names terminate in -ian, sometimes changed to -yan. The ending -nen usually indicates Finnish ancestry. The Spanish patronymical form is -ez and -es, and the Portuguese form is -es and -az. Russian -ovich, Polish -wicz, Rumanian -escu, Ukrainian -enko, and Turkish -oglu are telltale patronymical elements. Ibn or ben is found in Arabian names. Common masculine names with the -s ending are often of Welsh derivation....
Most Russian surnames end in -ov, -in, or -ev. If the ending is -sky, the man is probably Russian; if it is -ski, he is likely to be of Polish descent. A common Portuguese suffix is -eira. The Frisian -stra indicates place or location while the ending -sma is used with occupational names. Common Swedish nature terminations are -blad, -blom, -dahl, -ek, -gren, -holm, -lind, -lof, -lund, -kvist, -sjo, -strand, and -strom. Many Belgian occupations names are preceded by the definite article De, but the same term in French names is the preposition "of" or "from." The French also use the article Le and the preposition or contraction Du. Arabs employ the definite articles, Al or El. The simple endings -is and -os often indicate transliterated Greek names. The diminutives -eau, -el, -iau, -on, -ot and various combinations of these or double diminutives are frequently noted in French names. Common Italian diminutive endings are vowels enclosing double consonants, as -ello, -etti, -illo, -ucco, -ucci, and -uzzo....
To arrive at the exact derivation or meaning of a surname is not easy. Many are not what they appear to be. BARKER did not bay like a dog but devoted his working time to preparing leather from Old English bark "to tan." POINTER did not direct people where to go by the use of an extended forefinger, but was one who made laces and cords for fastening hose and doublet together. USHER did not show people to their theatre seats but was a doorkeeper, one who kept watch at the door to the king's apartment. SPITTLE does not mean that; it designates one who dwelt or worked at the hospital, a place of shelter or entertainment for travelers in the Middle Ages. But SPEAKER and SPEAKMAN did act as advocates or spokesmen for others. In contrast to European names, the correct interpretation of English surnames can be given with greater confidence because of the many early documents containing them still extant.
...As we attempt to drag the meaning of our surnames from the dark, cloudy murky past, it must be remembered that many names of diverse origins with only slightly varied spellings tended to freeze into the usual common, generally modern, English spellings familiar to most people. Any simple-looking name with an apparently obvious meaning can thus have become the end result of the cohesion of a half dozen or more completely different names several of which are from diverse languages. Ordinary vagaries of spelling and sound differences found even in adjacent communities are responsible in many instances.
Learning about the origins of surnames can be interesting, and also practical. Now that you know something about the surnames of different nationalities and how they may have changed over the years, you may be better-equipped to locate some of your family records. If you can't find older family records under the current spellings of your family surnames, think about the likely ways in which those names may have changed, and then look for records under those spellings. You may be pleasantly surprised.
About the Author
Elsdon C. Smith has authored several name books, including The Story of Our Names, Dictionary of American Family Names, and Naming Your Baby. In addition, he co-founded the American Name Society in 1951.
American surnames comprise the surnames found in every country throughout the world, many with differences in spelling not seen in the old country due to the inability of clerks and government officials to record correctly the names given them by unschooled immigrants not familiar with the English, French, German, or Spanish languages currently used in the port of entry or the part of the country where they settled. When an immigrant arriving in America with little knowledge of English gave his name verbally to the officials to whom it sounded odd or unusual, it was written down by them as they heard it, and being thereby "official," it was often accepted by the immigrant himself as a correct American rendering of his name. To say that there are not American names would be wrong; one might on the contrary affirm that there are no unAmerican surnames. All family names in the United States can be and should be classified as "American" names.
But it is not enough to declare that American surnames now embody all the surnames of all the world. Immigrants to America from European countries have also consciously altered their names to relate them partially to the English language, especially as to English pronunciation, so that many names have a form and spelling, as have been mentioned, which is different from that found anywhere else. Some familiar examples might be noted. Dutch VAN ROSEVELT "of the rose field" becomes ROOSEVELT, German BLUM "flower" becomes BLOOM, GELBFISCH "yellow fish" becomes GOLDWYN, HUBER "tenant of hide of land" becomes HOOVER, KUNTZ "Conrad" becomes COONS, ROGGENFELDER "rye field" becomes ROCKEFELLER, PROERSCHING "peach tree" becomes PERSHING, SCHWAB "from Swabia (freeman)" becomes SWOPE, THALMANN "valley man" becomes TALLMAN, French GUIZOT "little Guy" becomes GOSSETT, Swedish SJÖSSTRAND "sea shore" becomes SEASHORE, Irish QUIDDHY "descendant of CUIDIGHTHIGH (helper)" becomes CUDAHY, Italian TAGLIAFERRO "iron worker" becomes TOLLIVER, and AMICI "friend" becomes AMECHE. General CUSTER of "Last Stand" fame had a Hessian soldier grandfather named KÜSTER, "minor church official in charge of the sacristy." Dutch VANDERPLOEG becomes VANDERPLOW, Finnish TERHUNEN becomes TERHUNE, and KIRKKOMÄKI becomes CHURCHILL. The list is endless....
...almost all family names may be classified on the basis of their derivation in one or more of the four following groups:
From the Father's Name or other Relationships (Patronymics)
From Occupation or Office (Occupational Names)
From Description of Action (Nicknames)
From Village Names or Landscape Features (Place Names)
In a careful check of seven thousand of the most common surnames in the United States it was found that the proportions in each class are as follows:
Percentage
Patronymics 32.23
Occupational Names 15.16
Nicknames 9.48
Place Names 43.13
Any particular surname may originate in more than one way — in several ways, in different places and countries, and at different times. Even the ubiquitous SMITH derives from words designating other than the worker in metals. SMITH sometimes comes from smethe "smooth" as in Smithfield "the smooth field" in London. Although no recorded proof has been found, it cannot be doubted that some with that name had an ancestor living by the Smite "dirty stream" from Old English smitan "to pollute." Several others will be here discussed, not to confuse the reader, but to emphasize the point that oftentimes a family name arose in different places with different antecedents all coalescing into the same form to make just one common family name. To add to these confusions, when such a name arrived in America, there was a powerful tendency to equate an old, unfamiliar spelling of a word or place name with a more familiar, easily spelled and pronounced word or name not alien to American-English ears....
Perhaps the most prominent feature of onomastics in America, one emphasized by H.L. Mencken in his The American Language, is the tendency by ethnic groups to change the family name to adapt to American ears and tongues attuned to the English language. The stimulus is especially strong when surrounded by neighbors of English descent, weaker when they congregate in cities and districts with little contact with outsiders. Those from countries with alphabets other than the Latin had to transliterate them and different systems of transliteration produced many variant names. Foreign names are assimilated into words and names familiar to speakers of English. The most usual change of surname was by translation practiced in some degree by every foreign group....
The principal, albeit overlapping and vague, types of changes of name favored by immigrants in America, are eight in number. They are:
By respelling, as when English COCKBOURNE is spelled COBURN, French NOEL becomes NOWELL, and German ALBRECHT changes to ALBRIGHT.
By translation, as when Irish BREHONY becomes JUDGE, and German RUEBSAMEN translates to TURNIPSEED.
By transliteration, as when a Russian name spelled in the Cyrillic alphabet is changed to the Latin alphabet, or a Chinese name written in ideographs is expressed in the alphabet used in America.
By abbreviation, as when Welsh DAVIES contracts to DAVIS and German GOLDBERGER shortens to GOLDBERG.
By extension, as when JOHNSON increases to JOHNSTONE and RUSSEL becomes RUSSELL.
By conversion, as when the German MUELLER changes to MILLER and the Swedish JONSSON becomes JOHNSON.
By dropping diacritical marks, as when the Swedish SJÖGREN "sea, branch" unveils to SJOGREN.
By substitution, as when SMITH becomes JONES and BLACK becomes FIELDS.
It may be helpful to note a few of the most common elements in American names which provide hints in recognizing the national antecedents of the bearer from inspection of his family name. Surnames terminating in -ley, -ton, -ham, -ford, -field, and -brook are usually from English village names. Some German locality endings are -au, -bach, -baum, -berg, -bruck, -dorf, -heim, -hof, -horst, -reut, -stadt, -stein, -thal, and -wald. The ending -er is found in English and German names and the ending -mann (often contracted to the English -man) connotes a German name; both indicate occupational names or denote that the original bearer came from the place or town indicated. Von may be observed in German names hinting at nobility while the van, vander, and vanden stamp the bearer as Dutch and merely mean "at" and "at the."
The patronymical terminations are very helpful in assessing the nationality of the bearer's paternal parent. The ending -son is found in English, Scottish, Swedish and Norwegian names. When spelled -sen, it is Danish or Norwegian. The prefix O' indicates an Irish name while Mac and Mc is either Irish or Scottish. Most Armenian names terminate in -ian, sometimes changed to -yan. The ending -nen usually indicates Finnish ancestry. The Spanish patronymical form is -ez and -es, and the Portuguese form is -es and -az. Russian -ovich, Polish -wicz, Rumanian -escu, Ukrainian -enko, and Turkish -oglu are telltale patronymical elements. Ibn or ben is found in Arabian names. Common masculine names with the -s ending are often of Welsh derivation....
Most Russian surnames end in -ov, -in, or -ev. If the ending is -sky, the man is probably Russian; if it is -ski, he is likely to be of Polish descent. A common Portuguese suffix is -eira. The Frisian -stra indicates place or location while the ending -sma is used with occupational names. Common Swedish nature terminations are -blad, -blom, -dahl, -ek, -gren, -holm, -lind, -lof, -lund, -kvist, -sjo, -strand, and -strom. Many Belgian occupations names are preceded by the definite article De, but the same term in French names is the preposition "of" or "from." The French also use the article Le and the preposition or contraction Du. Arabs employ the definite articles, Al or El. The simple endings -is and -os often indicate transliterated Greek names. The diminutives -eau, -el, -iau, -on, -ot and various combinations of these or double diminutives are frequently noted in French names. Common Italian diminutive endings are vowels enclosing double consonants, as -ello, -etti, -illo, -ucco, -ucci, and -uzzo....
To arrive at the exact derivation or meaning of a surname is not easy. Many are not what they appear to be. BARKER did not bay like a dog but devoted his working time to preparing leather from Old English bark "to tan." POINTER did not direct people where to go by the use of an extended forefinger, but was one who made laces and cords for fastening hose and doublet together. USHER did not show people to their theatre seats but was a doorkeeper, one who kept watch at the door to the king's apartment. SPITTLE does not mean that; it designates one who dwelt or worked at the hospital, a place of shelter or entertainment for travelers in the Middle Ages. But SPEAKER and SPEAKMAN did act as advocates or spokesmen for others. In contrast to European names, the correct interpretation of English surnames can be given with greater confidence because of the many early documents containing them still extant.
...As we attempt to drag the meaning of our surnames from the dark, cloudy murky past, it must be remembered that many names of diverse origins with only slightly varied spellings tended to freeze into the usual common, generally modern, English spellings familiar to most people. Any simple-looking name with an apparently obvious meaning can thus have become the end result of the cohesion of a half dozen or more completely different names several of which are from diverse languages. Ordinary vagaries of spelling and sound differences found even in adjacent communities are responsible in many instances.
Learning about the origins of surnames can be interesting, and also practical. Now that you know something about the surnames of different nationalities and how they may have changed over the years, you may be better-equipped to locate some of your family records. If you can't find older family records under the current spellings of your family surnames, think about the likely ways in which those names may have changed, and then look for records under those spellings. You may be pleasantly surprised.
About the Author
Elsdon C. Smith has authored several name books, including The Story of Our Names, Dictionary of American Family Names, and Naming Your Baby. In addition, he co-founded the American Name Society in 1951.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Few Keys to African American Genealogical Research
If you’ve ever wondered why so many professional genealogists seem reluctant to do research for African Americans who are seeking to trace their family history, here are some of the reasons why:
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." While the Proclamation only applied to slaves held in Confederate states not yet under Union control, and it was only the first step on the long road to slavery’s eventual destruction, it is a clear indication that that any African American whose ancestors lived in the United States before the Civil War were almost certainly slaves, and written records for slaves, if they existed at all, were rare.
So how can you go about researching these ancestors? One place to begin is with those who were free. Just as you would with an ancestor of any race or ethnic group, you trace your family history back as far as you can. It is common to run into problems just before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. Before that time, African American civil rights were heavily restricted. Many had received little or no formal education, were unable to read or write, and had a much more difficult time receiving documentation of their records. The further you go backward prior to the Civil Rights movement, the fewer records were kept and the fewer African Americans were able to receive an education or to read or write.
When you find yourself unable to discover written records, you must start to look at oral family history. These are the family stories, legends and even myths. Naturally, these are incomplete, and often exaggerated or partially forgotten stories that have been handed down, but they are still valuable as points to refer to in your search for facts. The rule of thumb is that if you can find the same story, with the same details, in three separate and unrelated places, you can tentatively regard the stories as true. However, it is still important that you continue to be diligent in looking for discrepancies or errors in the stories as you continue your research and uncover other information.
On the other hand, once you have managed to carry your research farther back in time, the records of slave owners and slave-ship captains can become a factor. For example, proceeding backwards, you can find bills of sale which show the dates your ancestors were purchased as slaves, many times following the trail in reverse from owner to owner until you find the earliest bill of sale from a particular ship, then follow the ship’s logs and journals backward to the particular area in Africa where the ship was docked to know where your ancestors came from.
Researching African American ancestors is an extremely challenging task, and it requires a great deal of patience, persistence, intuition, and luck, along with an even greater measure of determination. However, the results can be extremely rewarding.
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." While the Proclamation only applied to slaves held in Confederate states not yet under Union control, and it was only the first step on the long road to slavery’s eventual destruction, it is a clear indication that that any African American whose ancestors lived in the United States before the Civil War were almost certainly slaves, and written records for slaves, if they existed at all, were rare.
So how can you go about researching these ancestors? One place to begin is with those who were free. Just as you would with an ancestor of any race or ethnic group, you trace your family history back as far as you can. It is common to run into problems just before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. Before that time, African American civil rights were heavily restricted. Many had received little or no formal education, were unable to read or write, and had a much more difficult time receiving documentation of their records. The further you go backward prior to the Civil Rights movement, the fewer records were kept and the fewer African Americans were able to receive an education or to read or write.
When you find yourself unable to discover written records, you must start to look at oral family history. These are the family stories, legends and even myths. Naturally, these are incomplete, and often exaggerated or partially forgotten stories that have been handed down, but they are still valuable as points to refer to in your search for facts. The rule of thumb is that if you can find the same story, with the same details, in three separate and unrelated places, you can tentatively regard the stories as true. However, it is still important that you continue to be diligent in looking for discrepancies or errors in the stories as you continue your research and uncover other information.
On the other hand, once you have managed to carry your research farther back in time, the records of slave owners and slave-ship captains can become a factor. For example, proceeding backwards, you can find bills of sale which show the dates your ancestors were purchased as slaves, many times following the trail in reverse from owner to owner until you find the earliest bill of sale from a particular ship, then follow the ship’s logs and journals backward to the particular area in Africa where the ship was docked to know where your ancestors came from.
Researching African American ancestors is an extremely challenging task, and it requires a great deal of patience, persistence, intuition, and luck, along with an even greater measure of determination. However, the results can be extremely rewarding.
Beginning Your Genealogical Research at the Library
We're part of the Internet generation, so we all tend to do it. Whenever we
are seeking any type of information, we just jump on the computer and
type a phrase into a search engine. But in years past, before nearly everyone
had a personal computer at home, most people doing genealogical research
did most of their work at the local library. And in spite of the fact that
getting on your computer in the comfort of your own home is convenient,
there are important reasons why you might want to consider visiting your
local library, or the library in the town of your family's origin early on when
you begin to research you family tree.
Local libraries contain a great deal of information dealing with family history.
Often, they have entire sections, or even rooms, dedicated solely to the
function of genealogical research. These libraries will usually be staffed
with people who can assist you in beginning your research. If you are
fortunate enough to live in a town where your family has lived for
generations, it is quite possible that the local library may even have books
specifically dealing with your family and aspects of its history. In any case,
they will contain newspapers and indexes that are an ideal place to
begin searching. In addition, nearly all local libraries have computers and
Internet access, which means that all the resources of print and Internet
media are accessible in one location.
In addition, librarians are professionals who can offer assistance in your
research. Although not all of them are family history research experts,
they are thoroughly trained in helping patrons to find information of all
kinds. They can assist you with basic library resources and how to use
them. They will often be able to direct you to specific sources that you
need and advise you of other sources that will contain further information
on the topics you are researching. Many times, librarian will have had
experience in helping others with family research and can offer valuable
suggestions that have proved useful to others.
As many people have found over the years, libraries are an ideal place
to work, providing a quiet atmosphere, computer access, and professional
assistance when needed, without the normal distractions found at home.
So before you confine your initial family research to your computer,
visit your local library and take advantage of the resources available to
you
are seeking any type of information, we just jump on the computer and
type a phrase into a search engine. But in years past, before nearly everyone
had a personal computer at home, most people doing genealogical research
did most of their work at the local library. And in spite of the fact that
getting on your computer in the comfort of your own home is convenient,
there are important reasons why you might want to consider visiting your
local library, or the library in the town of your family's origin early on when
you begin to research you family tree.
Local libraries contain a great deal of information dealing with family history.
Often, they have entire sections, or even rooms, dedicated solely to the
function of genealogical research. These libraries will usually be staffed
with people who can assist you in beginning your research. If you are
fortunate enough to live in a town where your family has lived for
generations, it is quite possible that the local library may even have books
specifically dealing with your family and aspects of its history. In any case,
they will contain newspapers and indexes that are an ideal place to
begin searching. In addition, nearly all local libraries have computers and
Internet access, which means that all the resources of print and Internet
media are accessible in one location.
In addition, librarians are professionals who can offer assistance in your
research. Although not all of them are family history research experts,
they are thoroughly trained in helping patrons to find information of all
kinds. They can assist you with basic library resources and how to use
them. They will often be able to direct you to specific sources that you
need and advise you of other sources that will contain further information
on the topics you are researching. Many times, librarian will have had
experience in helping others with family research and can offer valuable
suggestions that have proved useful to others.
As many people have found over the years, libraries are an ideal place
to work, providing a quiet atmosphere, computer access, and professional
assistance when needed, without the normal distractions found at home.
So before you confine your initial family research to your computer,
visit your local library and take advantage of the resources available to
you
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