This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Arney, Earney, Erni Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/VgB.2ACE/667 Message Board Post: It is time to put together an Arney Genealogy website. A website devoted exclusively to Arney Genealogy. Yes, it will have links to other websites, to search engines, etc. I know how difficult it has been for me to find information on my Arney ancestors, and I want to make it easier for the next person who decides to follow my ancestral path. Yes, there are dozens of genealogical websites out there, like Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and Rootsweb.com, just to name a few. These websites are dedicated to a vast array of genealogy surnames. Yes, I understand that by doing family genealogy research you realize you are associated with other family surnames by marriage, etc. What I intend, at least initially, is to follow the direct path of my Arney ancestors. Yes, this may be a little biased but I am concentrating on the Arneys, for the most part. I know that Peter Arney was born in 1772, in Tryon County, North Carolina. I know that around 1793 he moved to Wythe County, Virginia where he married and began his family. I know he moved again around 1800 to Tennessee where he settled in Overton County, TN. Finally; he died there in 1845. I know that Peter Arney's brother was Christian Arney (who was born in 1750 in York County, Pennsylvania), who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Christian lived most of his life in Lincoln County, North Carolina where he died around 1837. I know that Peter and Christian's father was Jacob Arney. Jacob Arney moved his family from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in 1767. He settled in what would become Lincoln County, North Carolina where he died in 1784. Jacob Arney is the biggest Arney mystery that I have come across. A mystery over 250 years in the making. Who was Jacob Arney, where did he come from, who were his siblings, who were his parents? What once was believed was that Jacob Arney was the son of a Frederick Ernigh, who arrived in the USA in 1732. This has since proven to be false! We know there were, at least, two men with the first name of Jacob and a similar surname of Arney (Erni, Earney, Erne, etc.). We know that both were in Pennsylvania at virtually the same time frame. One was definitely the son of Frederick Ernigh, the other obviously was not. One of these Jacob's had a son, Christian, in 1750. This same Jacob moved his family to North Carolina in 1767. So, since this Jacob was NOT the son of Frederick, who was he the son of? Where did this Jacob come from? Why did he decide to move his family to North Carolina in 1767? Part of the problem of dissecting any family puzzle is the fact that few were literate. Many of these people could not read or write. There names were recorded by people who could write. Which meant when asked their name they spoke them, but could not spell them out to any one. This required the person recording the name to attempt to spell it correctly. This is why the spelling of a person's name could "evolve" over the years. If you could not spell your name to me, I would have to attempt to spell it, as I heard it pronounced. Maybe I was familiar with a similar sounding name, so I would spell it like it. That is how or why Arney could be written in so many variations (Arney/Earney/Erne/Erni/Erney/Arny or Erny/Ernigh). Another thing that did not help was that there were people here in the United States with a surname already pronounced similarly, Arney. We had people from England, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, etc. These families also married into each other, fu! rther complicating things. Anyway, you get the picture. I will give you more details later. Have a great time researching your Arney ancestry, may we find our answers, together.