 captivating historical summaries of thousands of surnames.I found that my Matthews surname was English and Scottish and that Captain Samuel Matthews was one of the earliest settlers in the New World. Another one of my surnames, Jack, evolved from the French name Jacques and John Jack was one of the first settlers in America.
And Beatty was a boundary name, equal in both England and Scotland.And then there is my maiden name, Capps. The surname I was born with and the one that is closest to my identity. As one would expect, the English name was occupational; given to someone who was a "maker of caps and hats." The Capps name was also patronymic, meaning the "son of Capp."But most amusing was the use of the Capps surname as a nickname: given to "someone who wore a particularly noticeable cap or hat!"And so, I will continue to utilize the Internet Surname Database; adding it to my vast array of bookmarks for future genealogical exploration. And who knows, rather that "pulling my hair out" over frustrating misspellings of ancestral surnames; I will instead sit pompous wearing a fabulously, flamboyant hat!Proudly relishing in the history of my birth surname.Keep searching for answers,Cheryl(Source: AAG International Research)
It is amazing how the ever changing world of technology has given rise to this rapidly growing hobby we call genealogy. What only a few years ago was an interesting past time for the occasional family historian, today with the increasing release of digital records, genealogy has grown into a full-time business for many. It certainly has at times, taken over the majority of my 'free time', with a daily dose of googling for ancestors during my weekends and evenings.But with the invention of the Internet, human interaction often becomes 'old school' and we sometimes forget that genealogy is a social science made possible by others sharing their family histories with one another. We sit for hours and type away, entering new names within old search engines, sometimes providing new pieces to our puzzle, and sometimes not. And if I were to count up the number of hours spent in front of my computer over the years, I am certain I would be shocked at the results.With the discovery of my Irish ancestors in Michigan, I fervently tapped away on the keyboard, searching every corner within the cyberspace community. Placing keywords within my Google search-bar, I was presented with one of my more exciting discoveries: The Irish Genealogical Society of Michigan. With a scroll through each page, I came across the societies' surname registry. It looked interesting, a publication from the society, released for Detroit's Tricentennial Celebration of 2001. With a glance at the title, I paused, giving the publication consideration, then continued on my way. Occasionally giving a click back, staring at the title, and wondering 'could my ancestors be hidden within its' pages?' I once again move on, leaving the website to check other results from my hasty search.As the days pass, I began to reflect back on the little publication from the Detroit society. Once again reviewing the website, clicking on the page to provide description of the $12.00 book, I thought, 'why not?' Considering time and money that I have invested over the years in my genealogical 'obsession', $12.00 is nothing in comparison. A 'spit in the bucket', my Irish ancestors might say, so I printed off the order form, signed my check, and ran to the post office. Hoping for more answers but expecting none.With a pleasantly quick response from the society, the 190-page publication appeared on my doorstep. Hastily flipping through the long list of Irish surnames, I quickly found two entries for Crawford. Realizing one of the entries provided the name of the Michigan township my great grandmother was born, I immediately went to the cross reference for the surname submitter list. A listing of phone numbers was provided and I stared at the number for the submitter of my Crawford surname. 'I'm certain this number won't still be good', I thought, realizing the publication 