> My wife's GGrandfather James Patt was born in Holland on 3/20/1852. > He emigrated to the USA in 1856. He married Ellen Pitt who had > emigrated from England in 1856. They settled in Brighton, Monroe > County, New York, later moving to West Webster, Monroe County, New > York, where James died in 1940. We are looking for any information > on James Patt's parents and family. We were told by my wife's father > that James Patt's surname may have been changed from some earlier > surname due to a family fight. James Patt first appears in the 1880 > Federal Census along with his wife and 2 children. We have reviewed > church and cemetery records to no avail. The Pat (one T) surname is somewhat common in the Netherlands. But the James first name is not. It might have been Jan or Johannes. While it is always possible that he changed his last name, for now you can only proceed with what you know. Have you searched the 1860 and 1870 census? There is a 17 year old James G. Patt living in Saratoga county in 1870. Have you tried Castle Garden? There is a Patt family arriving in 1856. They came from Germany but sailed from Antwerp. http://www.castlegarden.org There is no one by that last name on the Dutch to America CD (FTM 269) Was he naturalized? Finding name change documents without a date will be harder. But at the same time he might have never done so officially. Especially if it was only the first name. -- Sincerely Peter http://familyrecordfinder.com/ A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain. --Mark Twain