Earlier today, I read somewhere that Whitney Houston's ancestry wasn't part Native American and Dutch as was speculated but only African American with Scottish descent. I began to look up where certain surnames come from and I got that the names "Houston" and "Drinkard" are both Scottish. I wonder if your surname tells you where some of your ancestors come from...

i'ld have to know my last name FIRST

KingBAD said:

i'ld have to know my last name FIRST

Timmy84 said:

Earlier today, I read somewhere that Whitney Houston's ancestry wasn't part Native American and Dutch as was speculated but only African American with Scottish descent. I began to look up where certain surnames come from and I got that the names "Houston" and "Drinkard" are both Scottish. I wonder if your surname tells you where some of your ancestors come from...

It depends. On, like, not just your own family's history and record-keeping, but incorrect enumeration during census-taking and, of course, slavery can make it difficult.

Spinlight said:

Timmy84 said:

Earlier today, I read somewhere that Whitney Houston's ancestry wasn't part Native American and Dutch as was speculated but only African American with Scottish descent. I began to look up where certain surnames come from and I got that the names "Houston" and "Drinkard" are both Scottish. I wonder if your surname tells you where some of your ancestors come from...

It depends. On, like, not just your own family's history and record-keeping, but incorrect enumeration during census-taking and, of course, slavery can make it difficult.

I agree. It's much more difficult for black families because lot of the information had been swiped away for the most part for centuries.

Timmy84 said:

Spinlight said:

It depends. On, like, not just your own family's history and record-keeping, but incorrect enumeration during census-taking and, of course, slavery can make it difficult.

I agree. It's much more difficult for black families because lot of the information had been swiped away for the most part for centuries.

Yup. Compounding that is the 70 year hush on census documents. So most recent we can get is 1930. In I think either 1890 or 1900, the census was destroyed in a fire and had to be reconstructed.

I did some ancestry.com stuff a few months ago. Its crazy some of the things you can find if you're lucky enough to be "on the books"...

Spinlight said:

Timmy84 said:

I agree. It's much more difficult for black families because lot of the information had been swiped away for the most part for centuries.

Yup. Compounding that is the 70 year hush on census documents. So most recent we can get is 1930. In I think either 1890 or 1900, the census was destroyed in a fire and had to be reconstructed.

I did some ancestry.com stuff a few months ago. Its crazy some of the things you can find if you're lucky enough to be "on the books"...

Yeah... I wished I could look into my ancestry right now but anything involving either money or a credit card is not in the cards for me right now. I hope I could be "lucky enough" one day but I doubt it...

I'm really into researching my ancestry. Last summer I discovered that my 5 times Great grandfather, a William McGhee who must have been born very early 1800's, lived exactly around the corner only a minute walk from my house at present. It's funny cuz my family comes from a town about 20 miles north of here & we never knew of any relations coming from this town. His daughter, my 4 times great grandmother, sadly died at the age of 25 just around the corner too. It does tickle me a little to know that almost every day I walk the very same paths, tracing & walking on their 150 year old footsteps! It's fascinating finding your roots, getting to know the people who passed on some of their knowledge, talents, stories, and ultimately their love to you. I hope someone 150 years down my family line keeps me in their mind... now wouldn't that be nice?

[Edited 4/16/12 14:42pm]

My last name would bring up too many results. I would like to do some research, but every time I start it's the same thing--It's either German or English. My mother's maiden name is French. Then I start thinking, what if my last name is supposed to be something else? Like, Williams is the name my great-great-great (probably not enough of those greats in there...)grandfather picked when he registered the family after the Civil War. We might be Williams now, but what were we before? Things like that bother me all the time.

But then again, overthinking it would only drive me nuts. If I were able to get a straight shot from both the paternal and maternal side, it WOULD be great to study the history of my name.

My last name screams Scottish but that's only but a small sampling of what my ancestry is....and most people I know have no idea just how diverse it all is.

Spinlight said:

Timmy84 said:

I agree. It's much more difficult for black families because lot of the information had been swiped away for the most part for centuries.

Yup. Compounding that is the 70 year hush on census documents. So most recent we can get is 1930. In I think either 1890 or 1900, the census was destroyed in a fire and had to be reconstructed.

I did some ancestry.com stuff a few months ago. Its crazy some of the things you can find if you're lucky enough to be "on the books"...

The 1940 census was actually just released earlier this week. http://1940census.archives.gov/

You can't search by name, but if you know where your family was you can scroll through the results by census dsitrict. I found my great-grandfather!

Unfortunately, all my surname tells me about is the French family in Dominica that owned my father's ancestors so really not interested in learning more about them.

Also given the now very diverse mix of my family, the surname doesn't really tell the whole story.

I could care less where my ancestors came from. I never knew them so that makes them complete strangers and if I did find out about them, I probably wouldn't like them anyway so why bother. Hell, I have no interest in some of my present relatives, let alone past ones. I'm my own person and none of them have anything to do with the person I am. My only interest is moving forward with my own life.

My surname is of Finnish origin, but I don't believe there are any people in Finland with my last name. It's likely it was shortened when my ancetsors first arrived in America. I haven't done a lot of research, though, so I'm not entirely sure. I do know my last name is extremely uncommon.

My family on both sides don't go all that far back in this country. While they grew up speaking Enlgish, my dad's parents still spoke Finnish and my mom's parents still spoke German.

I can sing a song or two in both languges as well.

vainandy said:

I could care less where my ancestors came from. I never knew them so that makes them complete strangers and if I did find out about them, I probably wouldn't like them anyway so why bother. Hell, I have no interest in some of my present relatives, let alone past ones. I'm my own person and none of them have anything to do with the person I am. My only interest is moving forward with my own life.

Ouch. Man...that sounds like family is a touchy subject.

But I disagree with the bolded part.

We are an accumulation of DNA from all of our ancestors. All of your quirks, your nuances, even the way you sit or walk are traits passed down from parents, grandparents, great-uncles, etc.

So that's why there's such a fascination in most people to find out "where they came from".

Not that anyone necessarily wants to develop a bond with great-great-great-uncles & aunts...but just to know where the blood in your veins originated from.

My last name is Basque in origin.

But it's a common name in Honduras, and probably just means that some Spaniard appropriated a large tract of land and whatever indigenous peoples lived there were given that name.

Of course, my mother's last name also paints a picture for half of my bloodline. That side of the family is exclusively Spanish and I could probably trace that line all the way back to Spain, and possibly France.

But I would have to travel to Honduras and Nicaragua, seek distant relatives, and spend an undue amount of time & money that I don't have. I am also at a point in my life where moving FORWARD is more important than looking back...BUT I guess the whole point of this long-winded reply is to just say, "As you move forward, don't ignore the past".

KingBAD said:

i'ld have to know my last name FIRST

Exactly

Spinlight said:

Timmy84 said:

Earlier today, I read somewhere that Whitney Houston's ancestry wasn't part Native American and Dutch as was speculated but only African American with Scottish descent. I began to look up where certain surnames come from and I got that the names "Houston" and "Drinkard" are both Scottish. I wonder if your surname tells you where some of your ancestors come from...

It depends. On, like, not just your own family's history and record-keeping, but incorrect enumeration during census-taking and, of course, slavery can make it difficult.

It also depends on the name having been recorded accurately when one's family here. I'm fairly certain that my last name is not the same as that of my ancestors in Germany.

"You might say whatcha mad about, but you still got yo Family Name"....

[Edited 4/4/12 7:13am]

Brule

my father's side of the family mostly seems to be german, our last name is "lainhart", i've been told it used to be spelled "lainhardt" years ago, but someone along the way dropped the "d". i would love to know more about the history of family, but since i'm not really close to any of them, i don't know much.

Genesia said:

Spinlight said:

It depends. On, like, not just your own family's history and record-keeping, but incorrect enumeration during census-taking and, of course, slavery can make it difficult.

It also depends on the name having been recorded accurately when one's family here. I'm fairly certain that my last name is not the same as that of my ancestors in Germany.

I think it is. There are two or three different variations of your name (much like Mayer, Meyer and Meier are variations of the same name and hint at owning a dairy farm).

My Dad grew up on a [plantation] in South Carolina. I'm sure our last name has had an interesting journey from its origin to how it became our family's name.

One day I will try to trace it...

I wouldn't even know where to begin with my Mom's family.

shiloh66 said:

Spinlight said:

Yup. Compounding that is the 70 year hush on census documents. So most recent we can get is 1930. In I think either 1890 or 1900, the census was destroyed in a fire and had to be reconstructed.

I did some ancestry.com stuff a few months ago. Its crazy some of the things you can find if you're lucky enough to be "on the books"...

The 1940 census was actually just released earlier this week. http://1940census.archives.gov/

You can't search by name, but if you know where your family was you can scroll through the results by census dsitrict. I found my great-grandfather!

Shit, you're right! I was actually looking forward to this because of a particularly pesky family member whom I can't find much about.

i'm so appreciative that this thread came about

if it hadn't i never would have given it a second thought,

(about not havin a last name) HOWEVER, after dwellin

on it for a day i did some diggin and sure enough I DO!!!

my name is KING BAD THEGREAT

who wouldda thunk it???

and YES, it is truly revealin as to whut my

heritage is, as i am the last of my kind

(i have only daughters) those before me

were NOTGREAT, KINDAGREAT, MAYBEGREAT,

NOTYETGREAT, and ALMOSTGREAT....

it's a pitty for the world that once you get THEGREAT

there will be no more, OH BUT I DO FEEL SAD FOR YOU!!!

Genesia said:

Spinlight said:

It depends. On, like, not just your own family's history and record-keeping, but incorrect enumeration during census-taking and, of course, slavery can make it difficult.

It also depends on the name having been recorded accurately when one's family here. I'm fairly certain that my last name is not the same as that of my ancestors in Germany.

That's what I meant by incorrect enumeration during census-taking, primarily. You can find that pretty much every name has all sorts of alternatives and ones you wouldn't necessarily think of would be enumerated.

Example:

Burwell

Burell

Bunell

Burnell

Buonele

All the same name.

[Edited 4/4/12 9:32am]

my ancestors i can say proudly herded goats and lambs!

You may not know much about your family genealogy but the Mormons do. We were amazed and shocked how much info, I found about our family when we did research 20/25 years ago.

http://mormon.org/family-...KgodxGwcbQ

My father's father is Haitian. The surname is either Cornish or Dutch, most likely Dutch. The trail ends there.

PurpleJedi said:

vainandy said:

I could care less where my ancestors came from. I never knew them so that makes them complete strangers and if I did find out about them, I probably wouldn't like them anyway so why bother. Hell, I have no interest in some of my present relatives, let alone past ones. I'm my own person and none of them have anything to do with the person I am. My only interest is moving forward with my own life.

Ouch. Man...that sounds like family is a touchy subject.

But I disagree with the bolded part.

We are an accumulation of DNA from all of our ancestors. All of your quirks, your nuances, even the way you sit or walk are traits passed down from parents, grandparents, great-uncles, etc.

So that's why there's such a fascination in most people to find out "where they came from".

Not that anyone necessarily wants to develop a bond with great-great-great-uncles & aunts...but just to know where the blood in your veins originated from.

My last name is Basque in origin.

But it's a common name in Honduras, and probably just means that some Spaniard appropriated a large tract of land and whatever indigenous peoples lived there were given that name.

Of course, my mother's last name also paints a picture for half of my bloodline. That side of the family is exclusively Spanish and I could probably trace that line all the way back to Spain, and possibly France.

But I would have to travel to Honduras and Nicaragua, seek distant relatives, and spend an undue amount of time & money that I don't have. I am also at a point in my life where moving FORWARD is more important than looking back...BUT I guess the whole point of this long-winded reply is to just say, "As you move forward, don't ignore the past".

The only relative I'm really proud of is my grandfather on my mother's side who was a poll watcher during the 1960s. He was one of a few anonymous people who lived down South and went around to polls during that time and simply observed. When they saw whites trying to stop blacks from either voting or registering to vote, they called the proper people that were sent down here from up North to go into that voting area and stop the racists.

My father who is only one generation above me, has something different to brag about. His bragging is beating little black boys asses for drinking from the white water fountains. He's been obsessed for years on tracing his family tree and from what I understand from my sister who has spoken with him (I haven't seen or spoken to him since 1985), he has traced it all the way to The Mayflower and is very proud of it. For him to be proud of what's in it, you better believe, it's probably not something I'm proud of. That's why I say I'm my own person with a mind of my own regardless of what assholes I come from. You look at family trees a little differently than the rest of the nation when you're one of the few liberal whites from The South.

.

.

.

[Edited 4/4/12 10:50am]

Who Knows? I think for African Americans this is truly a depressing topic-its a topic with a never ending subject. Most of us will never know our real origins and that's sad.