Surname Spelling Variations

The Dutch brothers Myndert & Carsten Fredericksen (sons of Frederick Van Iveren) immigrated to the US in the 1600s. Most if not all with the surname Vanevery are descendants of Myndert. Most if not all with the surname Vanavery are descendants of Carsten. 

My second great aunt, Katie Newmark, married Philip Dzeikops, which he changed to Jacobs. 

My wife has some Wallace and Wallis ancestors who are likely related. 

These spelling variations are slight. Even Dzeikops to Jacobs which appears to me to be an Anglicized Yiddish spelling. 

My kin with ancestors from the town of Kruvandai Lithuania probably have the surname with the most spelling variations in my tree. To date, these are the six variations I’ve found:

Kruvant

Kruvand

Cruvant

Cruvand 

Kroovand

Kroband

These are just the spellings in recorded documents. It doesn’t include additional interpretations by census takers or database indexers.

The most intriguing spelling to me is the last one. Some might try to argue it is almost a name change, not realizing that in Hebrew the V and B sound are made with the same consonant. They are only differentiated by a diacritical mark. Similarly - the O and Oo vowels are differentiated by the position of a diacritical mark. The system of diacritical marks, known as Niqqud, was invented in the Middle Ages. Ancient Hebrew didn’t have them. I don’t know the rules of Hebrew that dictate when the letter Bet is pronounced Vet, or when certain vowels are appropriate, but it is my understanding that the originator of this spelling was trying to Hebraicize the name. 

In genealogy we are taught to ignore spelling, or be creative with spelling, in our searches. Names can be recorded or indexed in multiple ways. But differences in spelling can also sometimes tell us something about our ancestors and why they may have chosen that spelling. 

The Etymology of the Surname Dudelsack/Dudelczak/Dudelzak

When I began researching, all I could find on my ancestral surname, Dudelsack, was the German bagpipe.

Later, once I realized 'Dudel' was a Yiddish diminutive for 'David,' I realized the surname was likely 'Dudelczak' or 'Dudelzak,' and patronymic in origin.

A different etymology is provided in Dictionary of Jewish Surnames From the Russian Empire, by Alexander Bieder, Avotaynu, 1993.

Dudel'zak (Pinsk, Lutsk, Ostrog, Odessa, Rovno) O: from 'nudlzak' [Southeastern Yiddish] needle packing. 

This would make it an occupational surname. Needle packing is probably related to the profession of tailor. The entry also provides some locations where the surname could be found.

It's worth noting that there are several surnames in the dictionary that are based on the Yiddish diminutive, 'Dudel.'

Surname Poetry

Crestleaf - a genealogical database - is sponsoring a surname challenge to compose a creative post using their surname database. I think they had posts similar to my Friday Fives in mind. However, poetry was on my brain at the time, so that became the theme of my entry.

---

I've mentioned before that I am descended from Thomas and Katherine Stoughton. According to Gary Boyd Roberts of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, so was Clement Clarke Moore. [Source: The NEHGS recently moved their website, and it appears this is no longer viewable to the public.]

Moore's poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, is fairly well-known. I thought I would attempt to reconstruct it using surnames. As I often do in my genealogy research, I had to be a little flexible with spelling.

Every link goes directly to a person's entry in the Crestleaf database, so by following a few of the links you can get a general idea of the information they provide.

Avist From St. Nicholas
-- Clement Clarke Moore

Twasta Night Before Christmas Whenal Through Thee House
Notte Creature Waz Stirr Inge, Nott Even Amos;
Destocki Ng Zwar Hung Bythe Chimney Withcer,
Ihne Hopes Thatt Saint Nicholas Soon Would Bether;
Thee Children Ware Nestle Dall Snug Intihar Bedez;
While Vision Zove Sugar Plum Dance Intihar Heads;
Anda Mammana Kerchief, Andia Inma Kapp,
Hadjes Settle Dour Brain Sforza Long Winters Napp,
Wenot Onda Lawn Theroux Sucha Clatter,
Eye Sprange Fromme Bidtah Seewaldt Waz Demato.
Awai Tothe Window Eye Fleu Lika Flash,
Toro Penta Shutter Zandt Throop Thee Sash.
Thee Moon Onda Breast Oft Henu Fallen Snow,
Gavala Sterr Ohff Midday Tew Objay Below,
Wennwright Tomy Wonderling Eyes Didde Peer,
Buta Miniter Sleigh Andeits Tine Reinders,
Withall ittel Ohl Driver Soli Vly Ahn Quick,
Inoue Ihne Moment Hemus Beeh Sainick.
Moore Rapida Than Eagles Hizcorr Sers Theye Camm,
Ahn Dhew Hissel D,ahn Shoutd, Ahn Called Themm Bye Nam:
"Nahl, Dasher! Nahl, Dancer! Nahl Prance Ahn Vix Ehn!
Onn, Comet! Onn, Cupid! Onn, Donner Ahn Blitz Ehn!
Tohe Topoff Thee Porch! Tothe Topoff Thee Wall!
Nahl Dash Awai! Dash Awai! Dash Awai Awl!"
Ash Leaves That Before Thee Wild Hurry Cane Fly,
Whent Hey Meetz Withan Obsta Cle,ment Tothe Sky;
Souppa Tothe House Topp Thee Courser Sthay Fleu
Withee Sleigh Fullove Toyz,an Saint Nicholas Tew—
Anthen, Ihne Twinkley Ng,ai Heard Onn Theroff
Thee Prance Ngan Paal Ingo Veach Little Hoof.
Asid Rew Ihne Meehe Ad,an Dwass Turning Arounds,
Downs Thee Chimney St. Nicholasy Camm Witta Bound.
Hee Waz Dresdale Ihne Furr, From Hisheh Tohid Foot,
Ahn Hesz Clothe Zwar Altar Nishi Dwight Ashes Ahn Soot;
Abunda Oft Oys Hee Haade Flang Ohnhaus Back,
Ahn Helou Kedl Ike Aap Edler Just Oppen Ingis Pack.
Hisey Es—how Theye Twinn Kuld! Hisz Dimple S,howmar Rye!
Hische Eek Zwar Like Roses, Hisz Nosel Ika Cherry!
Hisz Droll Little Mouth Wasz Drawn Upp Like Abow,
Anthe Beard Onn Hisz Chin Wasas White Ash Thee Snow;
Thee Stump Ovah Pipe Hee Held Tight Innis Teeth,
Anthe Smoke, Itten Circle Dizh Head Lika Wreath;
Hee Hada Broadf Ace Anda Little Round Belly
Thatt Shook Wenhe Laughed, Lika Boll Fullove Jelly.
Hee Wasz Chubby Ahn Plump, Arite Jolly Ohlde Elff,
Andey Laughed Weney Sawh Him,inez Piteo Mais Elff;
Awin Koff Hisey Anda Twist Office Head
Soong Avem Eto Knoy Hadnot Hing Tew Dread;
Hee Spoke Nota Word, Butt Whent Straight Tew Hisz Work,
Anfield Ahl Thee Stockings; Then Turnn Dwight Ajer,
Ahn Lay Inge Hisz Finger Asid Eoff Hisz Nose,
Ahn Giving Ano, Upp Thee Chimney Heros;
Hee Sprang Tew Hisz Sleigh, Tew Hist Eem Gaveau Whistle,
Anda Way Thaye Ahl Fleu Like Thee Dounn Ofat Histel.
Buti Heard Hime Exx Claim, Airhea Drof Outa Sight—
"Happy Christmas Toal L,and Toala Goodnight!"

---

This was fun, but next time I do it, I'm going to select a shorter poem!

A New Surname List

Below are the ancestral surnames for my wife, Jen, alphabetized, and organized by generational distance.  Similar to how I organized my ancestral surnames in a 2008 post.

1-4 Generations

Baldwin, Bauer, Blackman, Dexheimer, Fulkerson, Gober, Harrison, Mouldon, Olson, Schrock, Sheer, Taylor, Volk, Wallace

5-8 Generations

Abernathy, Armstead, Boyd, Bradley, Campbell, Cowsert, Davenport, Findley, Floyd, Hargrave, Jackson, Jernigan, Langenstein, McGinnis, Matheny, Meekin, Miller, Rolliston, Ruffert, Volckertson, Wentz, Whittmer, Wilkinson

9-12 Generations

DeWitt, Goode, Van Lieuvin, Massingale, Norgraves, Routt, Sharp, Shuttleworth, Wentworth

***

If you share one of these surnames, especially some of the rarer ones, we'd be interested in hearing from you.  The more surnames you share, naturally, the closer you are likely to be related.

For the first four generations, the geographical location is mostly Missouri.  Then it starts to disperse, ultimately arriving in French Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, and England.

My Ahnentafel/Ahnenliste

I've been actively blogging about family history for two and a half years (has it really been that long?); I figured it was time I posted a list of ancestors. I have chosen to use the ahnentafel numbering system. (**)

Below I include names, and the best information I have found so far on years of birth and death, and place of birth. (I've obscured the information for all living individuals)

On their first appearance, I have linked surnames to their respective category labels for relevant blog posts (even if the labels haven't been used yet, they may be at some point), and I have added links to individual memorials on Find a Grave (FGM) where they exist.

While I can only carry the Newmark surname back six generations, I include the numbers for successive generations as a placeholder for the beginning of each generation. Inversely, I can carry my Cruvant ancestors back a few more generations, but I have promised not to share online the research given to me by a cousin, and I wouldn't know those names without her help.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who thinks they are a cousin.

---

For those unfamiliar with the ahnentafel numbering system, the number for X's father is 2X, and X's mother is 2X+1. 

1. Me, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
2. Dad, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
3. Mom, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

4. Melvin Lester Newmark, 1912-1992, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (FGM)
5. Belle Feinstein, 1914-2002, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (FGM)
6. Martin Joel Deutsch, 1907-1991, Varalmas, Hungary (FGM)
7. Myrtle Ethel Van Every, 1900-1951, Maxwell, Texas, USA (FGM)

8. Barnet Newmark, 1886-1956, Warka, Poland (FGM)
9. Bertha Cruvant, 1886-1978, St. Louis, Missouri, USA (FGM)
10. Herman Max Feinstein, 1886-1963, Volhynia, Ukraine (FGM)
11. Anna Blatt, 1889-1965, Poland (FGM)
12. Samuel Deutsch, 1861-1938, Hungary (FGM)
13. Helen Lichtmann, 1881-1958, Margitta, Hungary (FGM)
14. Melvin Elijah Van Every, 1863-1929, Middleville, Michigan, USA (FGM)
15. Margaret Jane McAlpin Monteroy Denyer, 1868-1923, Kyle, Texas, USA (FGM)

16. Samuel Joseph Newmark, 1862-1940, Poland (FGM)
17. Rose Cantkert, 1865-1943, Poland (FGM)
18. Moshe Leyb Cruvant, 1857-1911, Lithuania (FGM)
19. Minnie Mojsabovski, 1863-1924, Lithuania (FGM)
20. Selig Dudelsack, 1860-1915, Ukraine (FGM)
21. Anna Perlik, 1868-1932, Ukraine (FGM)
22. Morris Blatt, 1862-1926, Poland (FGM)
23. Belle Wyman, ?-1892, Poland
24. Abraham Deutsch, Hungary
25. Sarah Weiss, Hungary
26. Israel Lichtmann, Hungary
27. Betty Adler, Hungary
28. Samuel Van Every, 1820-1888, Brant, Ontario, Canada (FGM)
29. Abigail Stuart, 1825-1866, Welland, Ontario, Canada (FGM)
30. Ebenezer Ophan Denyer, 1828-1872, Bucks, Pennsylvania, USA
31. Sarah Ann Hartley, 1836-1898, Mississippi, USA

32. Israel David Neimark, Poland
33. Leah, Poland
34. Hirsch Cantkert, Poland
35. Bryna, Poland
40. Samuel Zvi Dudelsack, Poland
41. Gitel Slupsky, 1846-1906, Poland (FGM)
42. Isaac Wolf Perlik, Poland
43. Freida Lipman, Poland
56. Andrew David Van Every, 1798-1873, Ontario, Canada (FGM)
57. Nancy Lucinda Van Sellas, 1799-1880, Ontario, Canada (FGM)
58. Elihu Stuart, 1788-1826, Canada
59. Johanna Swayze, 1796-1854, Ontario, Canada
60. William Denyer, 1794-1848 Hampshire, England
61. Elizabeth Sliver, 1798-1840, Bucks, Pennsylvania, USA
62. George W. Hartley
63. Eliza Beasley (?)
64.
112. David Van Every, 1757-1820, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA (FGM)
113. Sarah Showers, 1762-1795, Pennsylvania, USA
118. Israel Swayze, 1753-1844, Warren, New Jersey, USA
119. Abigail Coleman, 1757-1843, Warren, New Jersey, USA
120. William Denyer, 1770-?, England
121. Jane Goldfinch, 1770-?, England
122. John Sliver
123. Barbara Fretz, 1775-1840, Pennsylvania, USA

128.
224. McGregor Van Every, 1723-1786, New York, USA (FGM)
225. Mary Jaycocks, 1736-1786, New York, USA
226. Michael Schauers, 1733-1796, New York, USA
227. Hannah Van Tock, 1740-1825, New York, USA
236. Israel Swayze, 1720-1774, Southold, New York, USA
237. Mary Pitney, 1720-1754, New Jersey, USA
246. Mark Fretz, 1750-1840, Bucks, Pennsylvania, USA
247. Elizabeth Rosenberger, 1752-1847, Bucks, Pennsylvania, USA
256.
448. Martin Van Iveren, 1685-1760, Kingston, New York, USA
449. Judith Holmes, 1694-?, New York, USA
452. Adam Schauers, 1701-1762, Baden, Germany
453. Maria Fritz, Germany
454. John Van Tock, 1714-?, New York, USA
455. Hannah Pierce
472. Judge Samuel Swayze, 1688-1759, Southold, New York, USA
473. Penelope Horton, 1690-1746, Cutchogue, New York, USA
492. John "Weaver" Fretz, 1704-1772, Baden, Germany
494. Henry Rosenberger, 1725-1809, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
495. Barbara Oberholtzer, 1726-1775, Bucks, Pennsylvania, USA

512.
896. Burger Van Iveren, 1660-1762, Albany, New York, USA
897. Elizabeth Meyer
898. William Holmes
899. Lysbeth Wipp
904. Michael Schauers, 1679-1710, Baden, Germany
905. Anna Schauerin, 1679-1734, Baden, Germany
944. Joseph Swayze, 1653-1717, Suffolk, New York, USA
945. Mary Betts, 1654-1734, Queens, New York, USA
946. Barnabas Horton, Cutchogue, New York, USA
947. Sarah Wines
984. Johannes Fretz, 1680-1729, Alsace, Germany
985. Ann Marie Gross, 1682-1714, Baden, Germany
988. Henry Rosenberger, ?-1745, Germany
990. Jacob Oberholtzer, Germany

1024.
1792. Myndert Fredericksen, 1636-1706, Everinghe, Holland (or Jever, Oldenburg)
1793. Cathalyn Burger, 1640- (before 1663)
1888. John Swayze, 1619-1706, Suffolk, England
1889. Katherine Kinge, 1625-1692, Essex, England
1890. Capt. Richard Betts, 1613-1713, Hertfordshire, England
1891. Joanna Chamberlain, 1620, 1711, Hertfordshire, England
1892. Caleb Horton, 1640-1702, Southold, NY
1893. Abigail Hallock, 1642-1697, Suffolk, NY

2048.
3584. Frederick Van Iveren, Everinghe, Holland (or Jever, Oldenburg)
3782. Richard Chamberlain, 1590-1639, Warwickshire, England
3783. Elizabeth Stoughton, 1600-1647, Suffolk, England
3784. Barnabas Horton, 1600-1680, Leicestershire, England (FGM)
3785. Mary Langdon, 1611-1698, England (FGM)

4096.
7566. Thomas Stoughton, 1557-1622, Suffolk, England
7567. Katherine __, England

Some descendancies online for some of the more distant ancestors

• A Brief History of John and Christian Fretz and a complete genealogical family register, Rev. Abraham James Fretz, 1890. (PDF - 41 MB) (Other Formats)

• A Brief History of John and Christian Fretz and a complete genealogical family register to the fourth generation with accounts and addresses delivered at the Fretz family reunions, Rev. Abraham James Fretz, 1904. (PDF - 9 MB) (Other Formats)

• Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Martin and Jacob Oberholtzer; Together with Historical and Biographical Sketches, Rev. Abraham James Fretz, 1903. (PDF - 7 MB) (Other Formats)

• A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Henry Rosenberger of Franconia, Montgomery Co. Pa; Together with Historical and Biographical Sketches, Rev. Abraham James Fretz, 1906. (PDF - 22 MB) (Other Formats) (GEDcom at WorldConnect)

• The Rosenberger Family of Montgomery County, Edward Mathews, 1892. (PDF - 3 MB) (Other Formats)

• Horton Genealogy; or Chronicles of the Descendants of Barnabas Horton, George F Horton, M.D., 1876. (PDF - 20 MB) (Other Formats)

• Descendants of Barnabas Horton

• Sweezey.com

• Some Descendants of Rev. Thomas Stoughton of County Kent, England

• Notable Descendants of the Immigrant Stoughton Siblings of Massachusetts, Gary Boyd Roberts, New England Historic Genealogical Society.

** Note: Some consider ahnenliste to be the more accurate German word when the numbers are presented in a list format, instead of a table.  However, English-speaking genealogists seem to have largely adopted the term 'ahnentafel' to refer to both 'table' and 'list' format.  "We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." - James D. Nicoll, 1990

Our Name in History: Redux

Back in November of 2007, upon their release(*), I reviewed Ancestry.com's Our Name in History line of books. I summarized:

Someone who has spent significant time researching their family history already isn't likely to learn much, or get too many leads. In their introduction, Ancestry is careful to insert two disclaimers: 1) this information is about the surname in general, and not about the reader's specific ancestors. 2) data shouldn't be confused with fact. [I illustrated both disclaimers in my initial review.]

However, I feel this book would be a good first book for a son or grandson of high school/college age, or an adult friend who has shown some interest in genealogy, but doesn't quite know where to start. There is a section at the back that provides tips on research, and organization, along with some sample forms to get one started. The data that is presented should whet their appetite.

I noted that a quick random survey of surnames available on Amazon indicated that there was some variance in page length (as much as ten pages), likely due to how much data was found for particular surnames in the databases that Ancestry used for the books. I had purchased The Newmark Name in History, and said I wasn't interested in most of my other surnames, since I knew they would be very similar books. However, I was slightly curious about the Vanevery surname, since I knew the family had a different migration history which could yield different stock history pages.

The Van Every surname is also one of my few surnames where I am pretty certain everyone with the surname is related to me. It is believed all Van Everys are descended from two brothers Myndert and Carsten Frederickse (sons of Frederick Van Iveren). Therefore, I knew that the charts and graphs on name and occupation distribution would have a little more meaning for me.

Still, it was almost two years before I bought it.

I'm not going to repeat what I said in my first review. I will focus on the differences, as I find the differences are important to note for anyone considering purchase today.

There are only two pages in the Van Every book that weren't in the Newmark book, and that's because five Van Everys purchased some federal land between 1830 and 1888. None of these were my direct ancestors. However, there is a nice stock entry on the Homestead Act, Manifest Destiny, and Daniel Boone.

There at 10 pages in the Newmark book on the surname's history in England from 1851-1901, and only 2 in the Van Every book. For the obvious reason, there were no Van Everys in England. They did throw in 2 stock pages on the working conditions in England in 1881, even though they had no family statistics to attach that to. I'm not sure why they did this, except perhaps for padding.

Some of my disappointment I should have seen coming, as I could tell from the Amazon descriptions that the Van Every book was 6 pages shorter. With some thought, I should have figured out why.

My Van Every ancestors immigrated to America in the 17th century, but a large number of their descendants left America after the Revolutionary War. Even with just two surname books, I think I can say with relative certainty that all the books start with 1840, and the focus is on America, though they do have a sizable section on England, if applicable. Ancestry's Canadian resources have grown in the past two years, but all they had in 2007 may have been the 1911 census. So I did get a chart showing the 1911 name distribution - There were 98 families in Ontario, and 1-15 families in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. In comparison, there were only 3 Newmark families each in Quebec and Saskatchewan.

I'm not sure what the 19th century immigration data for the Van Every surname reflects. It could be families who were traveling instead of immigrating. Or perhaps some families returned to Europe for a couple generations instead of Canada. Or there is a third possibility that there are some Van Everys in America who aren't descended from the two brothers...perhaps related more distantly.

In summary, if one is evaluating which surnames to purchase a Name in History volume for, the paucity of information from Canada might play a role for some surnames.

(*)I know that the Amazon pages for the books say they were published in June/July of 2007. I also know the Amazon Press Release announcing them was on November 5th.

Surnames: Including Collateral Branches

After posting the recent Surname Wordle, I found this Word Frequency Counter, which allowed me to input the same text I entered into Wordle.net's script, and get an ordered list of surnames with the number of appearances. I then reorganized the information to my liking. What follows is every surname in my database with at least five individuals, grouped in order of frequency, with spelling variations grouped together. This is a good complement to my list of surnames of direct ancestors.

73 KRUVAND
53 KRUVANT
36 CRUVANT
25 KROOVAND
13 CRUVAND
8 KRUVOND
6 KRIVOND
---
214 (C/K)R(U/OO/I)V(A/O)N(T/D) [Pretty much any way you can imagine a phonetic spelling exists.]

82 VAN EVERY
12 VAN IVEREN
--
94

60 NEWMARK
55 DENYER
48 SWAYZE
45 FEINSTEIN

33 DEUTSCH
5 DEUTCH
--
38 DEUT[S]CH

34 COHEN
25 ODELSON
19 PERLIK
16 SIVKIN
15 BRANNON
14 WEINBERG
13 LICHTMAN
13 HARTLEY
13 WYMAN
12 BENOLD
11 FELDMAN
11 SAMBOR
10 BROWN
10 GEIL
10 OXENHANDLER
10 PERKINS
10 VANN
10 CAMPBELL
10 HORTON
10 ZIMMERMAN
9 OBERMAN
9 STERN
9 KLINSKY
8 FREED
8 DUDELSACK
8 FAGEN
8 BLATT
8 LOFTIN
8 SEAGER
8 COLBERT
7 ROSS
7 GOLDMAN
7 ALTSHULER
7 HODGES
7 MARCUS
7 ADELMAN
7 TAYLOR
7 KAMERMAN
7 CAGLE
7 ALTMAN
7 GIZEMTERMAN
7 GOLD
7 ROSENBLUM
6 TURNER
6 FREIDMAN
6 KATZ
6 STEIN
6 VIDELEVSKI
6 GREENSTEIN
6 HANCHEY
6 ZIV
6 ZOOT
5 MITTLEMAN
5 STEELE
5 FUDEMBERG
5 STEINBERG
5 GRIFFITH
5 STETZ
5 BORAL
5 PALANS
5 DUBINSKY
5 FRETZ
5 REEVES
5 ROBINSON
5 WACKERHAGEN
5 JOHNSON
5 WEISS
5 WINTER
5 GREEN
5 GREENFIELD
5 MARKOWITZ
5 SHULTZ

Surname Wordle

It's only been a few months since I did a Surname Wordle, but my database has undergone some growth since then.

Wordles create 'word clouds' where the more frequent a word appears in the submitted text, the larger it will be shown. So it seemed natural to input a list of surnames generated from my database - to see visually which family names are the most represented.

(Click to englarge)

Some of this is a little misleading. Early on I added my seventh cousin, Patrick Swayze, to my database, and to do so I had to input seven generations of Swayzes. The most distant Cruvant/Kruvant cousins in my database are fourth cousins, and the most distant Van Every cousins are fifth cousins. "Cohen" as a surname isn't exactly misleading, except it is a surname that appears in several lines, and the families aren't necessarily closely related to each other. There is even one branch of the Cruvant/Kruvant family that changed their name to Cohen.

Surname Wordle

Last July it became popular to create wordles from the words on your blog. That is, create a graphic representation of the words, so that the more often the word was used, the larger it appeared in the graphic.

Wordle.net allows you to input text instead of a URL, so I'm sure some geneablogger back then thought of exporting the surnames in their database, but that idea occurred to me last night.

In my database software, iFamilyForLeopard, I selected 'Index' under the People menu, and selected the option to generate a CSV file. I was then provided a list of data names, and I selected only 'family name'. The excel sheet that was generated was one long column that was easy to copy and paste into the wordle.net text box.

And this was the result:

click to enlarge

This image shows some of the more common collateral surnames in my database that my surname entry doesn't include.

The Name Game

The Genealogue asks Is Cherry Garcia Jewish linking to an article that suggests Spanish surnames may indicate Jewish roots

I have heard it said that in 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, he left the day after it was decreed that all Muslims and Jews had to be gone from Spain, and several slept that night on board. A quick check on Wikipedia suggests this is extremely close. The Alhambra Decree set the begone date at July 31, 1492. Columbus set sail August 3. So it's possible a few of his crew spent a couple days and nights on board.

Longfellow's Jewish Cemetery at Newport

The very names recorded here are strange,
Of foreign accent, and of different climes;
Alvares and Rivera interchange
With Abraham and Jacob of old times.

Of course, playing 'the name game' isn't very scientific. Those who left Spain in 1492 had Spanish surnames, but so did those who remained!

Regarding the question of Cherry Garcia...
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield - yes
Jerry Garcia - no
Cherry Garcia - Yes

What's in a name...

In 2005 a man tried to legally change his name to his wife's name, and was told he would have to pay four times what his wife would have to pay to change her name to his, as well as needing to advertise his name change in the newspaper, and get judicial approval. A lawsuit was filed in 2006, and finally, a judgment has been returned in his favor.

Michael Buday wanted to take his wife's surname after marriage but found that the DMV wouldn't issue him a new license in that name.

Women get to change their names all the time, and Buday figured it was his right to change his. Plus, he promised his new wife that he would take her name, Bijon, because their were no sons in her father's family to carry on the Bijon name.

So, what's in a name? A three-year legal battle for starters. Today, Buday, uh, Bijon was granted the right to become Michael Bijon. Strike up one for women's liberation.

...

Prior to his lawsuit, if Buday wanted to make the change to Bijon, he would have had to pay court fees of more than $300, advertise his plans in newspaper for four weeks and get judicial approval.

The traditional method of Bijon taking on Buday's name would have cost
somewhere between about $50 and $90. And that's it. No newspaper announcement, no judicial approval.

Ancestry Facts

Several of the charts and tables that can be found in the Name in History books that Ancestry publishes can be found on Ancestry for free. Even for many surnames that aren't popular enough to have books. (Link to extensive review of the contents of one such book.)

On the main index page of their Learning Center, if you scroll down you will see "Facts About Your Surname", and an input box to enter your surname.

You don't need to have a paid Ancestry account - though if you do, there are links to the databases for the actual records, which of course the books don't have.

My Surnames

At the beginning of every meeting of the St. Louis Genealogical Society the attendees are asked, "Is there anybody here for the first time?" If there is they are asked to introduce themselves, and tell everyone the surnames they're researching. The latter makes a lot of sense at a local society since it's not completely unlikely you might run into a distant or not-so distant relative you were previously unaware of.

But it's also a small world, sometimes, and I don't think I've done that yet. I've introduced myself in several ways over the past few months, and mentioned surnames here and there in various posts, but I haven't created a single post that lists all my surnames. A complete surname list could get rather lengthy. But if I limit it to surnames of direct ancestors, it's more manageable.

There are several ways I could organize these names. I decided to alphabetize them, but group them by how many generations they are away from me.

Some may notice there are 17 names in the first list, when some might expect only 16. That's because there was a surname change. There are a couple surname changes in the earlier generations as well.

1-4 generations

ADLER, BLATT, BOKSERN, CANTKERT, CRUVANT, DENYER, DEUTSCH, DUDELSACK, FEINSTEIN , HARTLEY, LICHTMAN, MOJSABOVSKI, NEWMARK, PERLIK, STUART, VAN EVERY, WEISS

5-8 generations

BEASLEY, BLATYTA, COLEMAN, FRETZ , GOLDFINCH, GOLDSTEIN, HOLMES, HORTON, KIPERSZTOK, LIPMAN, LUCELLAS, OBERHOLTZER, ROSENBERGER, SHOWERS, SLIVER, SLUPSKY, SWAYZE, VAN IVEREN, WILCOX

9-12 generations

BETTS, BURGER, CHAMBERLAIN, FREDERICKSEN, HAYNE, KINGE, LANGTON, MEYER, SCHUYLER, WINES

I am going to link to this post from my sidebar, and I will update it as I have names to add (or change).

DNA Surname Studies

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak of RootsTelevision has a fun video on whether she married her cousin, and the value of DNA surname studies.



At the end she says to find out if there is a DNA surname study for your surname already, go to Google or another search engine and type in: YourSurname DNA Genealogy. She says the surname study should be the #1 hit.

When I do that, my blog is the #1 hit. I realized I shouldn't be too surprised. Possibly if there was a surname study it would be ranked higher. Someday I may find out. I could only find one of my great grandparents' surnames with a current study - sort of. Feinstein. However, my ancestor changed his surname to Feinstein, so I'm not related to any Feinstein who isn't descended from my great-great-grandfather, and that's pretty limiting. Ironically, the Feinsteins in the surname study are also 'New Feinsteins'. They're really Talalays, who changed their name to Feinstein in Philadelphia. The study is headed by Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe.

After realizing the only surname study even tangentially related to my tree was started by a blogger who I've been reading for several months, who I may not be related to at all, I next wondered how many families changed their name to Feinstein when coming to America. What the proportion of "New" Feinstein families were to "Old" Feinstein families, what it would mean if there were more "New" ones, and how far back did a surname have to go for it to be 'old' in my mind.

Kvelling

kvell - (Yiddish - kveln - to be delighted, from Middle High German quellen to well, gush, swell)

I've just learned my great-great-grandfather is quoted in a popular work of political non-fiction. I'll probably have to add it to my holiday reading list:

The Greeks had a word for it, it was "hubris." My grandfather, Sam the tailor, also had a word for it, "chutzpah."

- Victor Gold, Invasion of the Party Snatchers, 2007.

This is a paraphrase, as the quote has been relayed to me by a relative who's read the book, but Samuel Newmark was the patriarch of our family that emigrated from Poland to England to the US at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. While I often don't agree with his politics, Victor Gold may be the best known 'Grandson of Sam'. (Probably not the best phrase to use, but irresistible.)

Due to the geographical closeness of Greece and Israel, and due to the similarity in the meanings of the words 'hubris' and 'chutzpah', one does wonder if there is any etymological connection, but I doubt it. Etymology, the genealogy of words, fascinates me as well.

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On my mother's side, there's even more to kvell about. I recently found on the internet several photos from a 1971 issue of a popular magazine displaying a distant kin in all sorts of interesting poses. I don't know how we're related, but she has one of my surnames, and there's a good chance we're cousins. (3rd, 4th, maybe even 7th, but cousins.) There's probably an interview with her I can read if I find a copy of the magazine. I'm sure the interview will tell me a lot about my family.

My great-great grandmother's maiden name

I've blogged before about my difficulty in determining great-great grandmother, Rose Newmark's, maiden name.

I now have several more documents than I had before. No spelling is duplicated. Here's the list so far:

Daughter, Kate's birth certificate (informant - husband, Samuel): Sankad
Daughter, Cecile's birth certificate (informant - husband, Samuel): Sonka
Son, Israel David's birth certificate (informant - self): Sandgart
Her death certificate (informant - son, Barney): Sundberg

I think I am still leaning towards Cantkert as the most likely Polish name.

Our Name in History: A Review

It was the early-1930s, Great Depression, my grandfather and a couple friends hopped a train in St. Louis and rode it to California. Upon arriving in California, my grandfather saw a large building with the name Newmark on it. He had no idea he had relatives in California. So, naturally, he walked inside and asked for a job. And they told him to go away. They were probably nice about it, but it was the Great Depression, and there were no jobs available. Not even for potential distant cousins. No jobs were found, so the friends hopped another train, and rode back to St. Louis. My grandfather married my grandmother, had a successful career as a lawyer and a judge, and all was for the best in the best of all possible worlds (to quote Voltaire). However, when he heard about a family history book entitled, California Family Newmark, he bought a copy.

So when Ancestry recently announced they were publishing their "Our Name in History" series, I knew I had to buy a copy of "The Newmark Name in History," in memory of my grandfather. I knew the books had to be created by computer, pulling data from Ancestry's databases to create charts and graphs and mixed together with stock text. But there was still a chance the charts and graphs could be interesting, as well as the stock text.

So before I get into the full review, you're probably wanting to know what I think:
Q: Is the book worth $29.95?
A: It depends.

Someone who has spent significant time researching their family history already isn't likely to learn much, or get too many leads. In their introduction, Ancestry is careful to insert two disclaimers: 1) this information is about the surname in general, and not about the reader's specific ancestors. 2) data shouldn't be confused with fact. I will illustrate both of these disclaimers in the review.

However, I feel this book would be a good first book for a son or grandson of high school/college age, or an adult friend who has shown some interest in genealogy, but doesn't quite know where to start. There is a section at the back that provides tips on research, and organization, along with some sample forms to get one started. The data that is presented should whet their appetite.

Details:

The Newmark Name in History is 94 pages. When I browsed through the different surnames at Amazon, the longest volumes were 98 pages, so there is some information other surnames have, that the Newmark surname doesn’t. My guess is that since Newmarks appear in the United States about 1840, the missing 4 pages cover the years prior to that. However, 4 pages seems short to do that in. It is possible there is some variance in volumes, and more material was provided on the 19th century in mine than there would be for surnames that had a presence in America in earlier times.

I do have ancestors who were here during the Revolutionary War; the Vaneverys. Interestingly, the Vanevery Name in History is a shorter volume than The Newmark Name. My suspicion is that several pages on 19th century immigration are missing. It’s good that there is variance; but it means I can’t give a complete review from one volume. But still, I think I can give you a good idea of what you will receive.

Stock Material

There are a lot of pages devoted to history accounts, from immigrant journals, to discussions on name changes, Ellis Island, the Westward Expansion, medical advances in the delivering of babies, letters from soldiers, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Literacy rates, and other topics. Mostly devoted to America, but there was a section on England too (perhaps only because the Newmark surname had a British presence) Working Conditions in Britain in the 1880s, Queen Victoria’s death, and a general article on immigration from England to the US. Those who are interested in history will probably find the articles interesting. It does provide a good illustration of the lives people led during the various decades. (Each individual article is only a page in length at most.)

Pages 78-85 are a section devoted to a five-step process for researching, and organizing your family tree. Following this is a blank sample Family Tree Chart, Family Group Sheet, and Research Log. Then there is a glossary of Family History terms, and a list of sources, including a lot of websites. This would have been the most natural section to push Ancestry, but they only include it in a list of other websites, including FamilySearch, CyndisList, FamilyHistory, Rootsweb, USGenWeb, and VitalRec. I was impressed by, and appreciated the restraint they showed in advertising their website.

Surname Specific material

Charts/Graphs (extensive list, but not complete list)
Place Names (Buildings and Streets with the surname in them. Hopefully, if your surname is Main, they don’t include a complete list.)
Places of Origin (pulled from passenger lists)
Ports of Departure
Most Common Ship Names
Ten Earliest Immigrants, with arrival date, departure port, and ship name (Maybe you’ll get lucky, I didn’t)
A graph charting the number of arrivals per year from 1823 to 1943
Distribution of Households in 1840, 1851 (England), 1880, 1881 (England), 1901 (England), 1911 (Canada), 1920, 2000 (source for 2000: Phone Directories)
Literacy distribution by age in the 1920s
Distribution (by state) of WWI Draft Registrants, WWII Army Enlistment
Occupations in 1880 (US), 1881 (England)
Most Popular Given Names by Decade (1880s, 1900s, 1920s, 1940s, 1960s)
Home Ownership rates in the 1920s by age
Graph of Life Expentancy by year (1939-1999) versus general public
Most Common Causes of Death
Most Common Cemeteries for Veterans Burials

There is also the occasional ‘silly data’ such as the most common day of the week for a birth or a death in your family. I guess there are people who might think that’s significant.

There are times when it becomes painfully obvious that a computer produced the volume instead of a human. For example, for “Places of Origin for Newmark Immigrants” the chart shows that most immigrants (38) came from Russia. So they include below the chart a generic paragraph about generic Russian immigration. “The first Russians in the United States were explorers from Siberia that settled in Alaska in 1784…The large number of Russian immigrants declined in 1952 when the Soviet government began threatening those who tried to emigrate.” However, 37 immigrants came from England, 8 came from Great Britain, and 5 came from London. If a human had created the book, there would be a paragraph on immigration from England. However, ironically, I know that a good number of Newmarks only stopped briefly in England (my family was there for 15 years), and really originated in Poland or Russia. So in actuality, while the data indicates the majority came from England, the majority really didn’t originate there. Similarly, in 1880, out of the top five occupations for Newmarks are “Keeping House” and “Keeps House”. The sixth most common occupation got pushed off the list by the duplication.

In summary, I don’t think I have any new leads for research (except the long list of websites in the back pages under “Selected Sources”). I’m not disappointed. Some of the information is at least fun to have. There is a significant amount of good reading material about life in America. And the section on research and organization could be beneficial for any beginner. (Which I still am.) These books appear to be meant for the newcomer to genealogy and family history. They’re meant to ignite the spark.

I don’t have a large interest in buying a copy for any of my other surnames, since I am almost certain most of the stock material will be repeated, and I don’t expect to learn anything truly essential to my research. However, I might get a copy of the Vanevery volume since they immigrated in the 17th and 18th centuries, and while I don't know for certain, there might be some good articles on that time period. There also could be more information on Canada, since that's the part of my family that were Loyalists and they fled to Canada for a couple generations after the Revolutionary War.

Instructions on how to add text to, and otherwise alter Amazon images as done at top of entry.

Your Name In History

BookSurge (Amazon.com's Print-on-Demand service) has partnered with Ancestry to produce 277,577 books in a series entitled "Our Name in History". Each volume costs $29.95. Collecting the whole series would be expensive, but most people wouldn't want the whole series. They'll only want the volumes on their various surnames of interest.

This PR-Release says 90% of all names in America are covered. A quick search told me there wasn't a volume on the Dudelsacks, Cruvants or the Van Everys, but there was a volume on Denyers, Newmarks, Deutsches, and Blatts, as well as Vaneverys, and Kruvants. (So when searching, remember to enter variant spellings.)

Here's their standardized 'Product Description'. The only thing that varies is the surname:

The Newmark Name in History is a customized book offering a unique blend of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary about the Newmark name. The book is just one of an entire series of family name books in the Our Name in History collection. Each book in the collection is printed on demand and is compiled from hundreds of millions of records from the world's largest online resource of family history, Ancestry.com. This particular book follows the Newmark family name through history and makes the perfect gift for your family members and anyone interested in the Newmark name. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Newmark last name originated. You may discover the countries and ports they left behind, the ships they sailed and more. You'll get a better idea of where people sharing the Newmark name settled and where they may reside today in the United States, Canada, England and other countries. You'll get all this information and much more in your Newmark family name book. If your last name is not Newmark, then check out our collection of nearly 300,000 family name books to find other available names in the series.

The entries at Amazon.com I looked at (just a handful) seem to range between 80-98 pages. The announcement was today. I don't have a copy to review yet. Should have one by Wednesday.

Null set

Family lore had my great-great-grandmother's maiden name as Rose Garten. I always cringed and shook my head, wondering if that could be true. Everyone knows there are real Rose Gartens out there, and other silly names, but still, I didn't want my ancestor to have to have suffered through that.

When I discovered her death certificate, and with her son, my great-grandfather, as informant, learned her name had been Sundberg, I smiled in relief.

Another son's birth certificate just arrived from London, and as she was the informant in this case. that narrows down any variances to clerical error, which is usually limited to spelling. Turns our her maiden name was Sandgart. A nice compromise between Sundberg and Garten.

Unfortunately, there are no records on Ancestry or FamilySearch of anyone ever having that surname. Anywhere. Anywhen. I plugged the word into Google, and it was a 1-word Googlewhack.

Sure, if I spell it Sandgaard, or Sundgart, I come up with some peeps from Denmark or Sweden, but somehow she had to meet her husband in Warsaw. I ask myself...Did the Danes ever invade Poland? Turns out, not to my knowledge, but there was a series of wars between Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Russia . Hmmmmm.

(JewishGen suggests Cantkert, which is still a null set on both Ancestry and Familysearch, but there are a handful in the Polish database. Since a Polish 'C' is pronounced 'Ts', that's actually pretty close.)

French twist on surnames

A recently married woman in Quebec wants to change her surname to her new husband's name. However, she isn't allowed to by Quebec law.

In provinces where common law prevails, a woman can simply begin using her husband's surname after marriage. Armed with a copy of their provincially issued marriage certificate, a woman can easily acquire new identification for other documents such as a driver's licence.

But in Quebec, since a 1981 reform of the civil law, women are not permitted to adopt their husband's name at marriage, not even if they apply for an official name change.

link

The rationale given is 'gender equality.'

Procedures for any formal name change are very strict in Quebec, and the decision is up [to] the director of civil status. It requires a serious reason, such as difficulty of use due to spelling or pronunciation, or bearing a name that is mocked or that has been made infamous.

Reading this I think to myself, "this certainly makes things easier for genealogists," but then I find a letter to the editor a few days later. Apparently hyphenated surnames for children are a common solution, resulting in the following:

Their children will have to take her surname, his surname, or both. When their child marries the offspring of another couple married in Quebec, let's say a Sophie Gray-Bertrand, their grandchildren could be called Parent-Lamirande, Gray-Bertrand, Parent-Gray, Lamirande-Bertrand or any combination of these composed names - but only keeping two surnames.

When Caroline and Karl's grandchildren have children, the family surnames get further diluted, especially if these grandchildren also marry someone with a composed name, as they can only keep two surnames.

Imagine the convoluted family histories if all of their descendants opt for different combinations of these composed names.

Oy! Let's see. The sixteen surnames of my great-great-grandparents, assuming no name changes would be allowed: Newmark, Sundberg, Blatt, Wyman, Cruvant, Mojsabovski, Dudelsack, Perlik, Deutsch, Weiss, Lichtman, Adler, Van Every, Stuart, Heartley, Denyer. Which two would I choose? I wonder which two my siblings would choose. My cousins would have different choices.

Actually, we'd only have four surnames to choose from, depending upon what surnames our parents had chosen, and their parents. But everyone in my generation could have a different last name.