Hi<br><br><br>My surname [ Blignaut ] does not seem to exist in present-day France - it probably disappeared along with my Huguenot ancestors when they fled to Holland in the 17th Century. Is there anybody else in the same position with regard to their surname ? In addition, is there anyone amongst you whose ancestors came from the Champagne Region, especially the Marne Department ? Information about this area of north-eastern France during the Reformation, is a little scarce. Indeed, the World Wars apart, not much seems to have been written about the History of the Marne Department,unless of course, you are only interested in the famous fizzy drink which was developed after most of our ancestors departed ! <br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding.<br>Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com<br><br> _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com

This email is a reply to the one by Martin who raised the idea of surnames making transitions over the years. It does seem that surnames evolve or go through some transitions. It also depends on where the surname is being used. An easy example which comes to mind is Smith, Schmidt, Smid -- English, German, and Dutch versions of the same surname. One of my surnames that I know was definitely Walloon is Meijnet in the Netherlands. It is also spelled Meynet and Meinet. I read somewhere that these are surnames that are related to a French Huguenot surname of "Menet". My 2nd great-grandmother had been born in Groningen, the Netherlands. There are several spellings of her maiden name Reiseger amongst the Dutch. It can be spelled Reiseger, Reijseger, Reisiger, Reiziger, Reisseger. Sometimes her cousins or ancestors spelled the surname one way while other relatives spelled it differently. It didn't seem to matter if they lived in the same city or not because it was spelled in all sorts of ways. Yet, when the genealogical lines for a person were traced, they most likely led back to the earliest found "Reiseger" families about 1700 and then the families disappeared. Recently I found some records of the same time period in Germany as "Reisiger". The families were living in the city of Meinerzhagen and some of these individuals then show up in the northern part of the Netherlands and even Denmark. About a year ago, another researcher from France contacted me about a French family he was researching and he thought they would eventually be connected to the Dutch "Reiseger" families. The French spelling was "Ressegaire". Since then I have learned another French spelling which was "Ressiguier". Families living in England who might be related spelled the name "Recequiere" and "Reseguerre". Spelling was never standardized until relatively recently (maybe 150 to 200 years). So it is the pronunication and meanings which may link similar surnames together and not the spelling. While I originally thought my Reiseger family were only Dutch, I'm starting to wonder if they weren't also Huguenots. (Now to prove my hypothesis it might take another 20 years of research.) To be honest, it hadn't occurred to me that the heritage of my Reiseger family might eventually lead to France and that the family could also be Huguenot. Of course we have to trace one individual and generation at a time but it still is an intriguing thought to me. It illustrates to me once more that well-known genealogical principle of "thinking outside the box". (I always thought my friends held fast to their box flaps but not me -- smile.) Not everything has to be the way we always assumed. The are many other possibilities in many cases. While I am no expert in languages, I know that there are many participants on this list who speak multiple languages. So someone might look at Martin's surname "Blignaut" and see a variety of spelling possibilities he might check. It could save him a lot of research time. Surely the surname doesn't simply disappear in modern France but perhaps is a different version of the same surname. By the way, I'm really enjoying reading the submissions on this list. There is always something new that I'm learning from all the participants. Thank you for the valuable lessons and insights you've provided me over the last several months. It is expanding my world and makes life so interesting. Mary Scott from Michigan in USA Martin <moslins@myway.com> wrote: My surname [ Blignaut ] does not seem to exist in present-day France - it probably disappeared along with my Huguenot ancestors when they fled to Holland in the 17th Century. Is there anybody else in the same position with regard to their surname ? ... --------------------------------- Yahoo! Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, & more on new and used cars.