This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: Johnday510 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.dunbar/1176.1.1.4.1.1.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: When I referred to the collection of names/surnames for the Doomsday book, I was just trying to let someone know that I understood the idea of name assumption. I did not apply it to the world. However, I did compare it to the assumption of names by freed slaves in America. If you want to read the comments, fine. But don't read into them. I felt that someone was treating me as ignorant of the concept. I was trying to show them that I understood the comment. "Sir Robert Dunbar" has or has not been proven to be a Dunbar? Many people still trace their origins through his line. Previously, I paid no attention to other lines. I only focused on mine. Mine was the only one that mattered to me. I did not rely on other trees. I used the hints from ancestry.com. I thought I could trust them. I was taken back when I found out I could not. No one seemed to understand that if "Sir Robert's" dilemma had been know for a while, why does ancestry.com keep using him--he must be a Dunbar or others could not trace their genealogy through him. I reacted to something that made me angry due to frustration. I have spent months and many hours a day to trace this for my family and myself. Then I am surprised to read a message that implies that "Sir Robert" might not be who others have made him out to be. If he is not a Dunbar, who is he. That would be our true ancestry line. When I had my students make family crests, I tried to get the children of divorce to understand that they are still related to the estranged parent. They wanted to identify with the step-parent. I tried to explain to them that the blood that ran through their veins belonged to the biological parent, not the step-parent. I did not do this to discourage children from loving and identifying with the step parent, but to help them understand what they will be passing down from generation to generation. Names make little difference. Why are you so small? Why are you so tall? Where did you get your blue/brown eyes? Where did you get your nose? These little things are what geneolgy is all about. One is athletically inclined, one is artistically inclined, one is an academic. Genealogy will sometimes answere the question. It's not necessarily in the name. It's in the blood. We live in a society of assumed names. I know that and understand it very well. My response was due to what I felt to be a genealogical let down--disappointment--confusion. After depending on someone to lead me in the right direction, spend money and a huge amount of time--I felt let down. I will not explain myself to everyone from this point on. My comments made no world change, no life change, they did not threaten the stability of social trends. They did not threaten anyone's genealogy--or did they. They were just words of frustration. Don't make them out to be more than they were. Mary Dunbar Erickson Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.