If Josephine Newton was half Dutch, was it her father's or mother's side? I have a line of old New York Dutch (surname: Tarpenning). My understanding is that many of those old surnames are not found in The Netherlands because in the early years the early Dutch colonists used patronymics until the British took over New Amsterdam and made them use surnames. I don't remember seeing the Newton surname when looking at those old names but in every generation there is a maternal line that could have connected in. Have you traced Josephine Newton back to find out who her parents were? There should be hope of finding them on the 1870 and 1880 censuses. I forget when the state of Vermont began keeping vital records but many town kept some records many years earlier. If only I had such a resource for my Mary Newton born about June 1761 in Massachusetts. She married Joel Lee in March 1782 in Southboro, MA. With all the recorded births in colonial Massachusetts, I think I have an ancestor whom alien dropped upon this earth. She and Joel moved their family to Vermont in 1793 and lived there until after Joel's death (Oct. 1822) when she followed some of her children when they moved to Rose, NY. She died there in Feb. 1855. Seems like some other Newtons also went from Massachusetts to Vermont to NY, etc. (Sorry--I haven't put in a mention of Mary for a while, so I couldn't resist doing so as an afterthought.) Best wishes, Gary > Dear Newton seekers, > Although Newton seems British,the elders in my > family insist that my great grandmother, nee > Josephine Newton b. 1870 in Vermont, was half > Holland Dutch. I am wondering if the lastname was > "Americanized" when they came here. For example, my > husband's family was German- von Weusterfeldt > changed to Westerfield. > Does anyone know of a Dutch surname that became > Newton? > Thank you, > Patricia Westerfield