general clan advice... Help

[CelticSire]

Another point to remember when doing genealogical research is to not get dissuaded by minor variations in spelling of names. When our ancestors came ashore at Ellis Island, Baltimore, or any other point of entry, many of them did not speak, read or write in English. Consequently, when they pronounced their surname in whatever language or accent they spoke, the person who was wrtiting the entry into the register spelled it how it sounded. The same holds true for many early census records. I have census records with my great-grandfather's last name spelled three different ways, and all in the same small town in Kentucky.

[Burly Brute]

Another point to remember when doing genealogical research is to not get dissuaded by minor variations in spelling of names. When our ancestors came ashore at Ellis Island, Baltimore, or any other point of entry, many of them did not speak, read or write in English. Consequently, when they pronounced their surname in whatever language or accent they spoke, the person who was wrtiting the entry into the register spelled it how it sounded. The same holds true for many early census records. I have census records with my great-grandfather's last name spelled three different ways, and all in the same small town in Kentucky.

Haha tell me about it, my mother's maiden name is SWEAT which is apparently a variation of SWEET, but obviously they bring to mind totally different attributes...

[Cygnus]

Another point to remember when doing genealogical research is to not get dissuaded by minor variations in spelling of names. When our ancestors came ashore at Ellis Island, Baltimore, or any other point of entry, many of them did not speak, read or write in English. Consequently, when they pronounced their surname in whatever language or accent they spoke, the person who was wrtiting the entry into the register spelled it how it sounded. The same holds true for many early census records. I have census records with my great-grandfather's last name spelled three different ways, and all in the same small town in Kentucky.

There are other difficulties as well. Take, for example, my third-great grandmother. Apparently her brother, who was a military officer stationed in Canada at the time, had threatened that if she married my grandfather, he would kill the both of them with his own sword! My ancestors were so concerned that he'd make good on this threat that they traveled under assumed names and didn't begin using their real names again until they had made their way West.

[ctbuchanan]

When our ancestors came ashore at Ellis Island, Baltimore, or any other point of entry, many of them did not speak, read or write in English. Consequently, when they pronounced their surname in whatever language or accent they spoke, the person who was writting the entry into the register spelled it how it sounded.

This was not only true here, but back in Scotland as well. Consistent spellings of surnames is a very modern thing. The parish clerks were almost illiterate themselves and entered names of baptisms, marriages and deaths very phonetically which is the source for many of the "sept" or family names. Variations of the name Buchanan, for example, often don't resemble the word as we know it at all.

[cryerelizabeth]

It's easy to track down your ancestry on these websites. My mom went to Ancestry.com and tracked our line down to the times just before William the Conqueror. It was very interestng. We found that my great-great-grandfather was a Cunningham, and I've been obsessed with my family's Scots-Irish heritage ever since.

[Chas]

It's easy to track down your ancestry on these websites. My mom went to Ancestry.com and tracked our line down to the times just before William the Conqueror. It was very interestng. We found that my great-great-grandfather was a Cunningham, and I've been obsessed with my family's Scots-Irish heritage ever since.

As a general rule of thumb, it is not easy to trace ones ancestry - on line or anywhere else. In the UK, the professionals charge upwards of £25 per hour. If a man did not have a title he would soon be forgotten soon after his death. There are not many 'John the Serf' or 'James the Peasant Farmer' recorded in history. If you can get back 400 years, you are doing very well. 945 years is almost a miracle!

Regards

Chas