This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: boruffhobart Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties.greene/9846/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi, I've been doing a lot research for years. My G-pa was Oscar Boruff (Greene Co) and he started the research, then my Dad - Richard Malcolm Boruff took over, and about 20 years ago, I took over from him. I feel blessed to have two such good researchers come before me..and to have started learning at the age of about 6. Many leads have lead to the Borrough being our name, many of you have probably found things yourself. There is also a name out there Boroughf...which seems to indicate a cross or hint of the transformation that was to come. Spelling was not standardized until all children were required to go to school. Spellings in all languages were phonetic. A Frenchman would spell an Englishman's name diffent - using the French phonetics - than the Englishman would. But when pronouced it would sound the same. So spelling really doesn't have much to do with any of it. Webster, created his first dictionary in about 1830. He hated the English and chose pronuciations that were the furthest he could get from the way the British pronouced words. Many of his choices were for the Dutch...and German sounds. Borrough was one of the words that took a hit...he gave it a row sound on the end. The name Borrough...actually means Bor Land. Rough is old english for land. Bor were one of the 4 most successful Viking tribes. In England towns where the Bor had settled (usually trading towns) no matter what the actual towns name was...included Borrough..so people would know what to expect..I assume. With this information, I contacted a professor at Oxford Universtiy, asked my questions ...and had them delightfully confirmed. He checked old records, and several cemetaries....Even in 1100AD there were Borruff's in the records..and on the stones. If you think of how our name sounds..it does seem to have to r's in it "Bor ruff"...not Bo ruff. I then searched English phone books (you can do this online) and found our name showing up in the 1830..etc. Records have given more and more confirmation that it is indeed English. The UK is the only place besides the US, that i have ever found this many Boruffs in one place. I've heard the thing we are German...Bogenrief's etc. I was stationed in Germany at the time in the USAF. I spent my two years researching. No one ever thought my name was German...and I asked. I also had my car insurance man...check the national computers..only three Boruff's in Germany...all US military. When checking out the Bogenrief's they weren't German either..they were French. I soon disqualified them..because they pronouce the "gen" in their name..for them to be pronoucing it now...they had to back then. Since it is phonetics..the letters couldn't be there unless they were being pronouced....and if that were our name...we'd have the gen in our name too. Names are not just words on paper...that are read by today's researchers...you can't look at them..from today. You have to put yourself back in their time...and understand the way they lived and why. If my name was Bogenrief...and someone read it Boruff...don't you think I'd correct them and say, excuse me my is Bogenrief. Why would you let someone change your name? The only real changes were translation...for instance Cranston. A Cran has several meanings..but in this case it was a small fish..ton of course was town. When some Cranstons fled to Germany to escape religious persicution..the name became Cransdorf...dorf being the German word for town. The dramatic changes one sees at Ellis Island didn't happen 300 years ago. The very type of people who came here early, were very different from those that came later. It takes a different kind of person, to go to a place that has no or few towns, little in the way of luxury, lots of danger, lots of new things...from the person who leaves a poor town to come to a large prosporus one...like New Youk, etc. I have some leads that make me believe we are actually decended from John Borrough who was one of the early Jamestown settlers. I'm in the process of eliminating and concecting. I would like to suggest all of us, who are doing this research and have Gedcoms...start combining them. I've done this with other names..and you would be surprised how many of the little mistakes can be cleared up quickly. Also, the larger the picture...the more acurate it gets. Hope to hear from any of you that are serious about your hunt. I've almost written a book here....something my family has been telling me I should do for years. Love to all, Karen T 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.