Geneology...fascinating stuff but....
Discussion
How would I find the origin of my previous (not in a former life - but pre adoption
) surname??
I've had a gander on google and all it brings up is that it is a version of a fat cactus plant
It's a funny name, my father was german so I would presume it emerged from Germany and was either Higo or may have been prefixed with a von or van, I don't think van as that's dutch isn't it
My poor poor kids, My mother was irish, father german, I'm married to a 100% portuguese blooded woman, and was brought up in Wales.
) surname?? I've had a gander on google and all it brings up is that it is a version of a fat cactus plant
It's a funny name, my father was german so I would presume it emerged from Germany and was either Higo or may have been prefixed with a von or van, I don't think van as that's dutch isn't it
My poor poor kids, My mother was irish, father german, I'm married to a 100% portuguese blooded woman, and was brought up in Wales.
Wikipedia has info on some names. Try that.
Also:
www.a2a.org.uk/default.asp
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/partnerprojects/a2a/
www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp (good if you have an old address)
Also:
www.a2a.org.uk/default.asp
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/partnerprojects/a2a/
www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp (good if you have an old address)
I do a bit of Genealogy and these are good starting points. The last one is the best. Don't worry that it's a Mormon site, it's an excellent tool. Even lets you look around towns by census to see who was living there at the time. Handy for finding missing relatives. It's an awful lot of slog if you have a fairly common surname to research.
Getting back to 1836 is fairly easy as records were fairly centralised and are being transcribed online by the day, before that, it's down to how lucky you are finding copies of bishops transcripts etc. Registry offices are usually very helpful once you have an idea of the date of the BMD you are looking for. They'll search up to two years either side for you. If you need any hints, feel free to mail me.
http://boards.ancestry.co.uk
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/?homelink=main_family
www.familysearch.org/
Haven't forgotten about the Primula!
Getting back to 1836 is fairly easy as records were fairly centralised and are being transcribed online by the day, before that, it's down to how lucky you are finding copies of bishops transcripts etc. Registry offices are usually very helpful once you have an idea of the date of the BMD you are looking for. They'll search up to two years either side for you. If you need any hints, feel free to mail me.
http://boards.ancestry.co.uk
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/?homelink=main_family
www.familysearch.org/
Haven't forgotten about the Primula!
silverback mike said:
Thanks folks, and r988, bit of both really, hopefully not opening a large can of worms.
geneology is always a large can of worms, how big depends on how far you want dig back, all very interesting though
meanings of names can sometimes be found on websites dealing with names, haven't looked for ages but a quick google reveals the following site
www.behindthename.com/
though its first name only I think
for me its
website said:
ROSS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWS [key]
Extra Info: Popularity, Namesakes, Comments
Options: Contribute Information, Add to List
From a surname which meant "promontory" in Gaelic, originally belonging to someone who lived on a headland. A famous bearer of the surname was Sir James Clark Ross, an Antarctic explorer.
Lastnames brings up this site, though it requires membership of some sort, might be worth a look if you serious though.
www.last-names.net/
A free one
http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/bl_meani
An article that may be of interest
http://genealogy.about.com/od/surnames/a/surname_mea
Another free one
www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?fid=10
and so on, you can and probably will spend hours and days on this stuff, I think after porn and shopping, geneology is one of the most popular things on the internet.
8Pack said:
I have an unusual problem!.... One of my ancestors was born in qoute: Alberton, Cheshire in 1830............
Only as far as I can tell....."Alberton"....has never existed!
I always knew that you were from "far" away. Alberton is in the Alpha Centuri system! If you follow the Bimini road to the gates of Atlantis(lat-long to found by adding the number of words on the first and last pages of the DaVinci code) and play a John Lennon record backwards....the mother ship will appear
Sorry, just teasing.....about everything after Alpha Centuri.8Pack said:
I have an unusual problem!....
Only as far as I can tell....."Alberton"....has never existed!
www.familysearch.org/ should help you there.
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