I agree with Nancy's observations on the naming patterns. Nothing was set in stone, but there were "customs", and until I find something that disproves a particular family following the cultural custom, that is what I use as a guide. The Dutch in New Netherland did stay pretty much "old world" Dutch until the English forced them to conform to English ways/names. Some people could end up with several surnames this way (patronymic, nickname, locality surname, etc.) which makes researching such fun (or is that frustrating?!). It's a similar problem with my Norwegians -- they have patronymic surnames, but they also have "farm names" taken from the farm of residence. This is nice, until you find that great-grandpa lived on 5 or 6 farms (which means at one time or another, these farm names were his surname). I wish things were as permanent then (regarding surnames) as they are now. I do enjoy and appreciate the fact that the Dutch, as well as the Scandinavians, had the good sense to practice keeping maiden names for the women. : ) Thanks, Nancy, for the "Easy Going" nickname -- I can never remember that one off the top of my head! I am anxious to follow up on the leads that Jan Mangelse might have had some connection to Utrecht. I am really familiar with their records (having searched them over the past 10 years) and can't wait to get to Salt Lake City to look through them for any references to Mangel or Mangelse, etc.! Now, if I could just open up that DuChesne and Bouquet/Bockee line! I am confident that the Bouquet's will be a bit easier, as we already have records of Jerome's 2 marriages in Middelburg, Zeeland; plus the fact that the ship's passenger list shows him as "aus Walslandt" (of Wallonia) -- present day Belgium, plus a little chunck of northern France. I'm hoping to get into those records a bit, too, to see if I can extend that line back any further. Plus, of course, trying to see if I can find any more on Sickles / Strickhauser to solve that mystery. I really enjoy this forum of sharing information and ideas. Our collective heads have come up with some great ideas! Michael VanBaaren [email protected] [email protected]