Hi Cuz; I have found the Burgess name as far back as 1300 AD in England. It means "free citizen" in old England. That translates to we Burgess' as being one notch above surfdom. I agree we cant determine our ancestry by our lines from Europe, but its a good start. Acording to what I have discovered, surnames were apparently used before the century you named(1600). Shelby ************** Looking for love this summer? Find it now on AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000003)

Hello Shelby - From what I've read the surnames began in the 1400s and 1500s for the average person. My maternal Shamblin line was once deChamblen meaning of the village of Chamblen in France. After immingrating to MD and VA, my ancestors used deChamblen, then Chamblen, then Shamblin. I wish I knew more on the subject. A Stewart cousin has read some on the subject. I believe the nobility began using them first. So Burgess means free citizen and was used in 1300. It seems like the Stewart surname should have been around awhile. Mary Queen of Scots was a Stewart (Stuart) as was her son James I. Did Gail teach world history? I would like to know more about the surname subject. Thanks for the info. Cousin Rick On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 6:14 AM, <BurgessWV@aol.com> wrote: > Hi Cuz; > I have found the Burgess name as far back as 1300 AD in England. It means > "free citizen" in old England. That translates to we Burgess' as being one > notch above surfdom. I agree we cant determine our ancestry by our lines > from > Europe, but its a good start. Acording to what I have discovered, surnames > were apparently used before the century you named(1600). > > Shelby > > > ************** > Looking for love this summer? Find it now on AOL > Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000003) > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WVLOGAN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >