Subject: Good information, "Researching African-Caribbean Family History" I know I just sent this to you but... When you have a chance , Print or read the entire article (Pgs 1-7) from the link I sent before,(see below). This is a "keeper" for your research tab in youur binders. Good to share with those new to researching. There is a lot of information on this link (See the botton right side for more articles) so be sure to save it. I sniped a small portion for your intrest- Cuzin Choli http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/next_steps/genealogy_article_ 02.shtml Researching African-Caribbean Family History By Guy Grannum SNIP: "People have surnames. The surname is passed on from the father to his children. Most parents get married usually before, or around the time of the first child. For Caribbean researchers, this is not necessarily the case: - Most children were born outside marriage and therefore registered under their mother's name. To complicate matters they might have later taken on their father's name. - Women might have had children by different men, and men might have had children by different women. Some children might have been born before marriage. - Until emancipation, enslaved people did not have legal surnames. However, it is apparent, from runaway notices and manumission registers that many enslaved people used surnames before freedom even if they were not recognised by the owner or state. It is believed that freed slaves adopted or were given the surname of their owner, but research shows that although this did happen, there were other options available to free men and women: - Surname of an owner - this could be the last owner or a former owner. - Surname of father - a white master or employee, a freed man, a slave from another plantation, or the name of the father's former or original owner. - Surname of mother. - Last forename - many captives had multiple names that were often used to differentiate between slaves who had similar first names. Many were surnames of local people and may have been kept as a surname after emancipation. - Chosen the surname - freed men and women could choose their surname, maybe to confirm family ties, to disassociate themselves from former owners, or after influential people. - Given by the church or state for official purposes." Plant the seeds of inquiry with our young people to keep the research alive... We will eventullay have to pass the baton to someone. Get the young people now while they 'know everything'. Cuzin Choli