This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Tuinstra Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kFB.2ACE/87.1.1 Message Board Post: Allison: I don't have any Pieter Tuinstras in my database at this time. The name Tuinstra means "from the garden". The Dutch did not have last names (other than patronyms - Jansen, etc.) until Napoleon required them to take them in 1803. Many Dutch in Friesland loved flowers, or worked in nurseries or on flower farms, so they took the surname "Tuinstra". For this reason, all Tuinstras are not related. Hope this is helpful! Sincerely, Miriam Midkiff Spokane, WA