Well... I'm not Scottish at all, after all...

[Really a McQueen]

When researching the family, don't forget that the way a name was spelled was sometimes changed by some clerk processing the paperwork. (The clerk being the one who could write and spell in English).

A friend advised that in her family, a few generations back, two brothers came through Ellis Island and were processed by seperate clerks. One brother's last name was recorded as Norene, while the other's was recorded as Noreen. However the Swedish spelling was altogether different. But all three versions sounded the same.

In my own family, the ancestor from Scotland came over as a 'Mac', but was recorded in Canada somewhere along the line as a 'Mc'.

[CelticSire]

And I'll second that opinion. I have census records with my great-grandfather's last name spelled three different ways. Many times it all depended on who was writing it down. And when our ancestors came thru Ellis Island, or Baltimore, or whatever port of entry, the clerks had to decipher last names pronounced in many different foreign accents, often spoken by people who had little to no idea how their surname should be spelled in English anyway.

[Joshua]

Well, the spelling differences were quite common -

My father was adopted by his maternal uncle, which is why we have the surname Davis, instead of Trott which is his biological last name.

I've seen trott, trot, tratt, and trout but they all link up (same family member names/counties in census records).

The record stops with a Charles Francis "Frank" Trott born in Maryland. However, as I just discovered from a distant cousin who publicized his lifes-work of research on "Frank", my ancestor was actually adopted by Frank in or before 1850, and the actual father is James Trott, who is most likely Charles Francis' brother.

Frank's wife, Maria Urquhart, was disowned by her slave-owning family for running off with him, a Yankee. Once they eloped, they took a carriage to Buffalo Township Ohio, and built furniture until Charles built his (very respectable) fortune as a hotel and wool-mill owner.

As far as my real surname goes, if Adoption counts... then I'm a Welshie... Even though I'm ready for the "inbred Appalachian" jokes - My dad's grandparents had the same last name of Davis, even though they were of no relation whatsoever... I've tracked both lines, and they both started in Wales, moved to London (or Marlborough) England, then to Holland, then aboard the 2nd and 3rd Plymouth voyages (I found the names on the "Mayflower" manifests, but not on the original manifests which leads me to believe they came over on one of the "followup" trips to Plymouth).




Here are the things that amaze me most, as I grew up thinking (assuming) the following...
1. My ancestors would have fought for the Confederacy during the Civil war. (Not true - 3 ancestors fought in the Ohio militia, no one fought for the South).
2. I would have at least a few post-colonial immigrants in my bloodline. (So far, not true...)

[Silent Raven]

I actually just started looking into my genealogy as well. i started on Thursday on ancestry.com and got fairly far over the past four days. i was able to trace my dads side back to Scotland, coming to Massachusetts in 1888. I am getting married soon and am going to be wearing a kilt in celebration of my heritage, so i figured i would 'check and make sure' that i come from Scottish back ground. i still have not found out if i am actually of the MacPherson clan as i was always told but i am definitely of Scottish decent, so for know that's good with me! although i will keep diggin as much as i can. turns out im Scottish/Canadian on my dads side and Irish/English on my moms side.

[Joshua]

This thread... BACK FROM THE DEAD!

My mom unearthed a whole trove of information. I've now unearthed a definite link to the Bruce surname... but I've hit all new walls.

So if anyone could assist with info on a Mr. Benjamin P. Bruce, born approx 1852 in South Carolina, married to a Molly (or Polly) in or around 1870, I would be quite appreciative. I'm very apprehensive about following other people's family trees at this point, it's made too much additional legwork in the way of fixing other folk's screwups on Ancestry.com...

[Joshua]

This thread... BACK FROM THE DEAD!

My mom unearthed a whole trove of information. I've now unearthed a definite link to the Bruce surname... but I've hit all new walls.

So if anyone could assist with info on a Mr. Benjamin P. Bruce, born approx 1852 in South Carolina, married to a Molly (or Polly) in or around 1870, I would be quite appreciative. I'm very apprehensive about following other people's family trees at this point, it's made too much additional legwork in the way of fixing other folk's screwups on Ancestry.com...

Case in point - I chased a couple rabbits on Ancestry for this particular descendant - Ben P. Bruce, and they all lead to yes, the Robert De Bruys.

I find that pretty unlikely*, but if it is true... cool!

*(Realizing that Bruce diaspora in America were all too eager to find they were descended from the Braveheart hero...)

[Inchessi]

It really isn't that unlikely that you could share some of the same DNA as Robert De Bruys. My mother is a decedent, and can also claim (Descendant) of Knights of the Garter.

To help complicate matters, The Mormons keep detail ancestry documents. While there is no indication that any of my heritage was Mormon, my grandmother sought information in Salt Lake. I asked her about the religion, and none of the names she found were Mormon. They just keep notes, and were apparently very helpful.

[gilmore]

This thread... BACK FROM THE DEAD!

My mom unearthed a whole trove of information. I've now unearthed a definite link to the Bruce surname... but I've hit all new walls.

So if anyone could assist with info on a Mr. Benjamin P. Bruce, born approx 1852 in South Carolina, married to a Molly (or Polly) in or around 1870, I would be quite appreciative. I'm very apprehensive about following other people's family trees at this point, it's made too much additional legwork in the way of fixing other folk's screwups on Ancestry.com...

Yes, relying on the pedigrees at ancestry.com and the LDS information is often a waste of time. No quality control, GIGO. I am so glad that my family researched and documented its more recent ancestry before the internet was invented.

[Nick the DSM]

Glad to see you, Gilmore!

I have never had any luck with online Genealogical services. Most of the time, they lead to no where.