Hello Everyone: For those of you who have a deep interest in how, when and where your Surnames were formed I would like to direct you to 5 new pages we have recently added to our web site. Many researchers have for years believed that all ancestors with the same Surname were at some point related. That is simply not true. When you get back to proving your pre 1500s ancestors you will discover that there are in fact many Surnames that have passed through many families that have no relationship whatsoever. The 5 pages mentioned also contain information on many Forenames and their creation and some of the pages are large so relax and take your time. THE ORIGIN OF THE SURNAME PART 1 THE ORIGIN OF THE SURNAME PART 2 THE ORIGIN OF THE FORENAME FORENAMES OF WOMEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FORENAMES OF MEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE .......................................................................... There is much information here that should be of interest to all. Go to our web site at: http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/ Once there enter the link titled "ORIGIN OF SURNAMES & FORENAMES" this will take you to the index for the 5 pages. For those of you who are AOL members you may have trouble connecting to many pages that may come up with a message such as "Page Does Not Exist" and you can cure that by using your browser feature of Copy and Paste the URL to your browser and then enter from there. All pages contained within our web pages are free for viewing and study by all interested researchers. The very best to you all. Enjoy. Harold Oliver Director America's First Families

I second the validity of the statements below. I have studied surname origins for quite a few years and find it informative, fun and that it adds much to the general study of genealogy. There are many books on the subject - but an essential one is by Elsdon C.Smith - "American Surnames". Although this book was published many years ago is still very valuable. Stated in different ways, Mr. Smith's book supports the position stated below and give very good examples to illustrate the assertions. "American Surnames" is a great book for the genealogy researcher. It is the kind of book to take along on trips - trains, planes, busses and the like. Mr. Smith's research goes very deep. If you wish to get a flavor of the times of long ago and how your ancestors came to be called what they were - then find a copy of "American Surnames" and keep it at your side. Cordially - Joe Greene ************************************** First Families wrote: > Hello Everyone: > > For those of you who have a deep interest in how, when and where your > Surnames > were formed I would like to direct you to 5 new pages we have recently > added to our > web site. > > Many researchers have for years believed that all ancestors with the > same Surname > were at some point related. That is simply not true. > > When you get back to proving your pre 1500s ancestors you will > discover that there are > in fact many Surnames that have passed through many families that have > no relationship > whatsoever. > > The 5 pages mentioned also contain information on many Forenames and > their creation > and some of the pages are large so relax and take your time. > > > THE ORIGIN OF THE SURNAME PART 1 > > THE ORIGIN OF THE SURNAME PART 2 > > THE ORIGIN OF THE FORENAME > > FORENAMES OF WOMEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE > > FORENAMES OF MEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE > .......................................................................... > > There is much information here that should be of interest to all. > > Go to our web site at: > > http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/ > > Once there enter the link titled "ORIGIN OF SURNAMES & FORENAMES" > this will take you to the index for the 5 pages. > > For those of you who are AOL members you may have trouble connecting to > many pages that may come up with a message such as "Page Does Not Exist" > and you can cure that by using your browser feature of Copy and Paste > the URL > to your browser and then enter from there. > > All pages contained within our web pages are free for viewing and > study by all interested > researchers. > > The very best to you all. > > Enjoy. > > Harold Oliver > Director > America's First Families > > > > > > > ==== KENTUCKIANA Mailing List ==== > Please limit discussion to genealogical and historical research and/or > information pertaining to the Kentuckiana area. Please refrain from > discussing current religious or political issues on list. > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > >