Top of Page

Family History

Ancestral Lineage

Origins of

the Surname

Variations of

the Surname

Armorial Bearings, Symbols and Mottoes

Researching

by Location

Migrations of the

American Family

Source Documents

Family Images Gallery

Gen-Resources

About This Webpage

Family history

     The progenitor of this family line in America is, our 8^th great-grandfather, Joris Jansen Rapalje the son of Jean Rapareilliet who was born circa 1572 at Valenciennes, Nord, France and Elizabeth Baudoin born at the same location, which at this time was part of the Spanish Netherlands.

      Joris Jansen Rapalje was born in 1604 at Valenciennes.  He married Catalyntje Trico [1605-1689] in Amsterdam, Holland, on January 21, 1624, just prior to their departure for the New World.  Joris and Catalyntje were part of the Huguenot refugee colony that came over from Holland to New Netherland, in 1624, on the ship to bring the first immigrants to this new colonial province. The ship was the “Eendracht”, also known by its translated name of “Unity’ or “Concord”.  Upon their arrival in New Netherland Joris and  Catalyntje were deposited at Fort Orange, a place that would eventually become Beverwyck, and later Albany, New York.  Their daughter Sarah Rapalje born July 9, 1625 is reported to have been the first white female child born in New

Netherland.  Over the next twenty-five years the couple would produce another twelve offspring.  Joris and his family removed to New Amsterdam in 1626, where they purchased a lot and built a house on Pearl Street just outside of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island.  This event was eventually confirmed to him by deed March 13, 1647, which also notes that he kept a tavern at that location.  In 1637 Joris purchased 335 acres on Long Island along with "some merchandise" from the local Native-Americans. This transaction was confirmed by deed from Governor Willem Kieft on June 17, 1643. He later moved to this plantation named "Rinnegacknock" located on Wallabout Bay.  He was appointed Magistrate of Breuckelen, now called Brooklyn, on April 13, 1655.  Joris Jansen Rapalje died at this location in 1662 at the age of 57 years.

     Our 9^th great-grandmother Marretje Joris (Maria) Rapalje, born 1627, was the second of Joris and Catalyntje Rapalji’s eleven children, and  first of their children born at New Amsterdam. She married Micheil Paulszen Van Der Voort (Vanderford), son of Paul Van Der Voort, on November 18, 1640 at New Amsterdam, New York.  To this union twelve known off-spring were born between 1642 and 1662.  Our lineage continued through their son George Paul Vanderford born in 1656.  Maria and Michael moved their family from New Amsterdam to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1660.  Here they eventually settled on the north side of the Corsica River near Alder Branch which is located just north of present day Centreville, Maryland.  Maria lived out the remainder of here life at this location and passed away about 1689-90 in what is now Talbot County, Maryland. 

Direct ancestors

Additional information about the persons in our database  as   well  as   a   complete

listing of individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on this LINK.

Descendant Register

Generation 1

Jean Raparelliet-1 was born on Abt. 1572 in Valenciennes, Nord, France. He died on 23 Feb 1606  in Valenciennes, Nord, France. He married Elizabeth Baudoin. She died in Valenciennes, Nord,  France.  Children of Jean Raparelliet and Elizabeth Baudoin are:

·                   Jeanne Raparelliet, B: Dec 1590.

·                   Olivier Raparelliet, B: Feb 1594.

·                   Anne Raparelliet, B: Sep 1595.

·                   Francois Raparelliet, B: Nov 1596.

·                   Nicholas Raparelliet, B: Jul 1598.

·                   Jean Raparelliet Jr., B: 1600.

·                    Joris Janssen Rapalje, B: 28 Apr 1604 in Valenciennes, Nord, France, D: 21 Feb 1662 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA, M: 21 Jan 1621/22 in Amsterdam, Holland.

Generation 2

Joris Janssen Rapalje-2(Jean Raparelliet-1) was born on 28 Apr 1604 in Valenciennes, Nord,  France. He died on 21 Feb 1662 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA. He married Catalynie  "Catalina" Trico on 21 Jan 1621/22 in Amsterdam, Holland. She was born on 1605 in possibly in Prische, Nord,  France. She died on 11 Sep 1689 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.  Children of Joris Janssen Rapalje and Catalynie "Catalina" Trico are:

·        Sara Rapalje, B: 09 Jun 1625 in Ft. Orange, (Albany), New York, D: 04 Nov 1687  in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.

·        Maria Rapalje, B: 11 Mar 1626 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York, D: Abt.  1690 in Talbot County, Maryland, M: 18 Nov 1640 in New Amsterdam, (NYC),  New York.

·        Jannetje Jorise Rapalje, B: 18 Aug 1629 in New Amsterdam, New York, USA, D: May 1699 in Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York.

·        Judith Joris De Rappalje, B: 05 Jul 1635, D: 06 Jun 1726 in Somerset County,  New Jersey.

·        Jan Joriszen Rapalje, B: 25 Aug 1637 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York, D: Jan 1663 in Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York.

·        Jacob Jorise Rapalje, B: 28 May 1639 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York.

·        Catalyntje Jorise de Rapalie, B: 28 Mar 1641 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New  York, D: 1664 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.

·        Jeronimus Joriszen Rapalje, B: Abt. Jun 1643, D: 1690 in Brooklyn, Kings Co.,  New York.

·        Annetje Jorise Rapelje, B: 08 Feb 1646 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York, D: Mar 1681 in Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York, M: 14 May 1663.

·        Elisabeth Joris Rapalje, B: 27 Mar 1648 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York, D:  1712.

·        Daniel Jorisen Rapalje, B: 29 Dec 1650 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York, D: Dec 1725 in Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York.

Generation 3

Maria Rapalje-3(Joris Janssen Rapalje-2, Jean Raparelliet-1) was born on 11 Mar 1626 in New  Amsterdam, (NYC), New York. She died on Abt. 1690 in Talbot County, Maryland. She married  Michael Paul Vanderford on 18 Nov 1640 in New Amsterdam, (NYC), New York. He was born on  Abt. 1615 in Dermonde, Flanders. He died on 20 Sep 1692 in Talbot County, Maryland.  Children of Maria Rapalje and Michael Paul Vanderford are:

·        Michiel Van der Voort, B: 1642 in New York, New York, USA, D: Aft. 1661.

·        Josyntie Van der Voort, B: 1643 in New York, New York, USA, D: Bef. 1647 in  New York, New York, USA.

·        Susannah Van der Voort, B: 1647 in New York, New York, USA, D: Aft. 1692.

·        Paulus Van der Voort, B: 1649 in New York, New York, USA, D: 02 Jun 1681.

·        John Van der Voort, B: 1650, D: Aft. 1683.

·        Hendrick Van der Voort, B: 1655 in New York, New York, USA, D: Bef. 1661 in  New York, New York, USA.

·        George Paul Vanderford, B: 1656 in New York, New York, USA, D: Abt. 1715 in  Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

·        Catherine Vanderford, B: 1658 in New York, New York, USA, D: 1749.

The world’s largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, provides genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the web

including billions of names, dates and places worldwide. Mocavo.com seeks to index and make searchable all of the world’s free genealogy information.

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or "tricks"

that will likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname. 

Origins of the surname

An Introduction

to the Surname

Source/Meaning

of the Surname

History of

the Surname

More About

Surnames

An Introduction to the Surname

The practice of inherited family surnames began in England and France during the late part of the 11^th century.     With the passing of generations and the movement of families from place to place many of the original identifying names were altered into some of the versions that we are familiar with today.  Over the centuries, most of our European ancestors accepted their surname as an unchangeable part of their lives.  Thus people rarely changed their surname.  Variations of most surnames were usually the result of an involuntary act such as when a government official wrote a name phonetically or made an error in transcription.  Research into the record of this Rapalje family line indicates that the variations, meanings and history of this surname is most likely linked to that area of Europe where French  linguistic traditions are commonly found. 

Source(s) & Meaning(s) of the Surname

As in other European countries French surnames developed from four major sources: (1) Occupational Surnames are also very common among French surnames, these last names are based on the person’s job or trade for instance Jean Tailleur i.e.  John the tailor. (2) Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames that are based on a parent’s name, these are the most common origins of French surnames. The greater part of French patronymic and matronymic surnames are derived directly from the parent's given name like Michel Adolphe, i.e. Micheal son of Adolf.   In some cases prefixes and suffixes are attached to a given name to create a patronymic surname such as Jacques de Edmé which means James the son of Edmond. (3) Geographical Surnames are those surnames based on a the place where person came from like Claude from the city of Lyon, becomes Claude Lyon.  This type of name may also describe the location where the person resides within a village or town such as Jacques Jardin lives near a garden.  (4) Descriptive Surnames are usually based upon a “nickname” (i.e., Moody, Wise, Armstrong); status (i.e. Freeman, Bond, Knight); and acquired ornamental names that were simply made up, for example Charles Leblanc come from Charles the white.

     The meaning of the Rapalje surname is unknown.  It most likely originated from the Walloon Language.  Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions (70%) of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France (near Givet) until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language. This may be a habitational name for someone who lived in a town of Northern France or Southern Belgium with a variant spelling of this name.    

History of the Surname

Coming from the medieval French word 'surnom' translating as "above-or-over name," surnames or descriptive names such as Rapalje trace their use back to 11th century France, when it first became necessary to add a second name to distinguish between individuals with the same given name. The custom of using surnames did not become common for several centuries, however.

     The French surname Rapalje, and its variant spellings, are usually found in the Walloon Region of Belgium as well as the Nord and Ardennes Departments of the northeastern part of France.  The historical background of the fomation of the Walloon cultural area was the territorial extension since 980 of the Principality of Liège to the south and west.  The heartland of Walloon culture is the Meuse and Sambre valleys, Charleroi, Dinant, Namur (the regional capital), Huy, Verviers, and Liège.

     The Rapalje name is at times confused with other linguistic versions, and particularly so in the United States where immigration from many countries was at its height in the 18th century.  In any case the name is found in several European countries and is often the same or similar spelling, which is perhaps not surprising as they share related pre 7th century "Anglo-Saxon" roots.  The associated arms are recorded in J. B. Reitstap’s, Armorial General, Volume II. The Coat of Arms most associated with the name has a blue shield with three gold fesses, (see Armorial Bearings, Symbols and Mottoes).

     Some notable persons and places connected with the Rapalje surname are: Rapelje, Montana  which is named for J. M. Rapelje, a descendent of Joris Janssen Rapalje, who was general manager and vice president of the Northern Pacific Railway;   Capt. Daniel Rapelje, (1775-1828), a ggggrand-son of Joris Janssen Rapalje, founded the settlement which became St. Thomas, Ontario; and  Brooklyn's Rapelye Street which is named after the Rapalje family that established a plantation there in the mid 17^th century.

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants.  As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized.  Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families.  Spelling variations of this family name include:  Rapelye, Rapalje, Rapareilliet, Raparlié, Raparlier, Rapallier, Reparlier, Rapalyea, Raplee, Rapelyea, Rapeleye, Rappleyea as well as others

The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may also have been misspelled.  This is especially true when searching census documents.   The Soundex Indexing System was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a given surname.  Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research.  The Soundex Code for Rapalje is R142.  Other surnames sharing this Soundex Code:  RAPALJE | REPLOGLE | ROBLES |.

Searching for more Information about this and other surnames?

Click LINK button to view our Surname Locator and Resources page.

Amorial bearings, symcbols and mottoes

In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armored warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.  In the British Isles the College of Arms, (founded in 1483), is the Royal corporation of heralds who record proved pedigrees and grant armorial bearings.

Gallery of Images

Descriptions of the

Armorial Bearings

Motto(es) of

this Surname

More About Hearldic Bearings

Image gallery

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

ARMORIAL BEARINGS

The associated armorial bearings for this surname and close variant spellings are recorded in Burke’s General Armorie and Reitstap’s Armorial General.  The additional information, presented below, is offered with regard to the armorial bearings depicted above:

FIGURE 1: These armorial bearings were granted, in 1669, to a Rapaert de Grass of Flanders.  The silver shield contains a red fesse charged with two gold stars. In the chief are three black double spikes or crampons, and in the base a black lion.  The Crest (not shown) features a black and silver valence and a gold griffin with a red tongue.

FIGURE 2: The shield of a Rapatel of Brittany is blue on the left and contains an arm holding a silver flag.  The right side is gold containing a black sword topped by a crown of green laurel.

FIGURE 3: In 1749 these arms were bestowed upon Rapédius de Berg of Luxembourg, a Noble of the Holy Roman Empire.  The blue shield features a silver bend containing two gold stars. 

FIGURE 4: This coat-of-arms was granted to Rapelji or Rapelje (formerly de Rapalié) of France, Belgium, and New York.  The shield is blue with three gold fesses.  Above the helmet the crest features a  gold ducal coronet below a blue pyramidal hat of dignity containing three gold lines all surmounted with six plumes alternately colored blue and gold.   These armorial bearings are believed to apply to the descendents of the Rapalje family that is the subject of this webpage. It is most likely that this family originated in the Walloon Region which culturally incorporates all localities noted with the descriptions of figures 1, 3, and 4.

MOTTO(ES)  

     A motto is a word or sentence usually written upon a scroll and generally placed below the shield, but sometimes, especially in Scotland, above the crest.    Many ancient mottoes were war-cries such as the Douglas motto of “Forward.”    Many mottoes refer to the name of the bearer, for example “cole regem” for Coleridge.   In general most mottoes convey a sentiment, hope, or determination, such as the Cotter motto “Dum spiro spero” where the meaning is “While I have breath I hope“.     Mottoes are often used by several successive generations, but may be changed at any time by the grantee. The languages most in use are Latin, French, and English.  Exceptions are seen in Scotland where they are often in the old Lowland dialect, and in Wales, often in the language of the principality.   

The only known motto for Rapalje or it variant spellings is - Willing obedience and serenity of mind.

Heraldic bearings

The art of designing, displaying, describing, and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry.   A Coat of Arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, family, or institution.  Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a standard "coat of arms" for a surname.  A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, is a design usually granted only to a single person not to an entire family or to a particular surname.  Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee.  The rules and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. Therefore a Coat of Arms for an English family would differ from that of a German family even when the surname is the same. 

Some of the more prominent elements incorporated into a  coat of arms are :

Crest - The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.  The crest was a later development arising from the love of pageantry.  Initially the crest consisted of charges painted onto a ridge on top of the helmet.

Wreath or Torse – The torse is a twist of cloth or wreath underneath and part of a crest. Always shown as six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on.

Mantling – The mantling is a drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield.

Helm or Helmet - The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.

Shield or Arms - The basis of all coats of arms.  At their simplest, arms consist of a shield with a plain field on which appears a geometrical shape or object.  The items appearing on the shield are known as charges.

Motto - The motto was originally a war cry, but later mottoes often expressed some worthy sentiment. It may appear at the top or bottom of a family coat of arms.

Searching for more information about heraldry? Click on the button at the  right to take a look at our webpage featuring links to websites having images

of a wide variety of arms, crests, and badges.  They may also feature additional heraldry resources as noted in the accompanying descriptions.

Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill-in the gaps in our family trees.  It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group.

Locations of

Direct Ancestors

Locational Distribution

of  this Surname

Where In the World

are my Ancestors?

Locatiof Direct Ancestors

The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the Direct Ancestors in the “Ancestral Lineage” (see above) were born, married, and / or died.

COUNTRY

STATE

COUNTY / SUBDIVISION

FRANCE

Nord

Valenciennes

UNITED STATES

 OF AMERICA

New York

Manhattan Co.; Kings Co.

Maryland

Talbot County

Use this LINK to find out more

about the locations listed above.

Locational distributionstors

     Knowing the geographical areas where the surname you are researching is clustered and distributed is an indispensable tool in deciding where to focus your research.  We believe that the “Public Profiler” website will open up to you a wide range of solutions which implement current research in spatial analysis.  This site provides an array of local spatial information tools useful to the genealogist.

          The information presented below shows where the Rapalje surname is distributed within the United States.  Statistics show that there are approximately 0.3 persons per million of population with this surname, within the U.S.A.  Vermont is found to be the country in the world where this surname is the most highly clustered having almost 81 persons per million of population.

United States of America

Key

European Country of Origin

Probably France or Belgium

Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of a surname.  You can get

greater detail for any of the following maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

Wjere are my ancestors Ancestors

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important as their names. The LINK to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers,   and  other  helpful   resources 

that will assist in discovering Ancestral Locations.  These web sites comprise only a small portion of what is available for researchers interested in learning more about where their ancestors lived.

Migration routes

       Tracing our own family’s paths of migration can prove crucial in identifying previous generations and eventually, figuring out where and how they arrived in the “New World” as well as where they eventually settled.  Knowing the network of trails American pioneers traveled can help you guess where to start looking.  The trail map(s) provided below may assist you in understanding the routes that our direct ancestors of this family may have taken to find new homes and opportunities in the vast area now encompassed by the United States.

      During the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries hundreds of thousands of Europeans made the perilous ocean voyage to America.  For many it was an escape from economic hardship and religious persecution.  For most it was an opportunity to start over, own their own land, and make a better future for their descendents.  Immigration records show a number of people bearing the name of Rapalje, or one of its variants, as arriving in North America between the 17^th and 20^th centuries.   Most of these immigrants came from the British Isles.  Some of these immigrants were: Joris Janssen Rapalje who arrived at New Netherland in 1624; and George Rapalje who arrived at Nova Scotia, Canada in 1781.

Use the following links to find more early immigrants with this surname:

$ Search Ancestry.com Immigration Records; or Free Ship’s Passenger lists at OliveTreeGenealogy.com

The Development of an Historical Migration Route

It is understood that in many if not all cases we do not know exactly what routes our ancestors took as they migrated throughout the United States.   As such certain assumptions have been utilized to re-create the migration path presented above.  With regard to 18^th and 19^th century land routes we assume that they travelled along few trails and roads that were in existence at the time.  Research shows that a great many of these old paths and trails are today designated as U.S. Highway Routes.  For example, a major east-west route of migration known as the National Road is now U.S. Route 40, and a primary north-south migration route of the 18^th century followed the Great Indian War and Trading Path is now U.S. Route 11.  In some situations the re-created migration route may travel along state routes that connect or run through the seat of a county as that populated place is probably the oldest settlement in the area. The use of water as a migration route is also likely.  For example, during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries many families travelled west on the Ohio River as they moved on the new lands in Missouri or the Old Northwest Territory.  As such when applicable water routes have been included as the possible migration route.   

          Joris Jansen Rapalje and his new wife Catalyntje Trico departed from Amsterdam, Holland on January 25, 1624, They were part of the Huguenot refugee colony that came over from Holland to New Netherland, on the ship to bring the first immigrants to this new colonial province.  The ship was the

By 1642 the New Amsterdam settlement had a population of approximately 270 people, including infants.  In 1637 Joris purchased 335 acres, just across the East River on Long Island, along with "some merchandise" from the local Native-Americans. He later moved to this plantation named "Rinnegacknock" located on Wallabout Bay. 

     Our 9^th great-grandmother Marretje Joris (Maria) Rapalje, the second of Joris and Catalyntje Rapalji’s eleven children, married Micheil Paulszen Van Der Voort (Vanderford), son of Paul Van Der Voort, in 1640 at

Source documents

The documents contained within this “Source Documents Archives” have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.   We have source documents related to the following persons within our database with this surname.

·    Rapalje - Macy Research

·    Rapalje - Shorto Research

·    Rapalje - The Hidden History

·      Joris Janssen Rapalje - Plantation Map

·      Joris Janssen Rapalje - Stoutenburgh research

·      Sarah Rapalje – Biography

This Link will take you to our

archive of source documents.  

You are welcome to download any of the documents contained within this archive that does not cite a copyright.  Should you encounter a problem obtaining a copy you may get in touch with us via the contact information found at the end of this web-page.

     Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary evidence.  Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record.  Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error.  Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents.  Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

     Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value.  This is especially true of secondary evidence.  Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?; (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE:  Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing  Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

Images gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a particular family.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives.

This Link will take you to our

collection of family photographs.  

Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search   page.   Enter   the   topic   you   are

searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated.

Web resources

This search engine may

provide you with additional

information to assist with

your research about this topic.

·             Our Surname Locator And Resources web page contains the following: (1) links that will take you to an updated listing of all surnames as posted in our three databases at the Rootsweb WorldConnect Project; (2) the Surname List Finder a tool that finds sound-alike matches for a given surname from among RootsWeb's thousands of surname lists; (3) the Soundex Converter that can be used to find the soundex code for a surname, plus other surnames/spellings sharing the same soundex code;  (4) Surname Message Boards the world's largest online genealogy community with over 17 Million posts on more than 161,000 boards; (5) Surname Mailing Lists of all surnames having mailing lists at RootsWeb, as well as topics that include (6) Surname Heraldy, and  (7) Mapping a Surname. 

·             Your genealogy research of this surname can be facilitated by use of Surname Web. This website links to the majority of the surname data on the web, as well as to individual family trees, origin and surname meaning if known, and many other related genealogy resources. 

·             Surname Finder provides easy access to free and commercial resources for 1,731,359 surnames. On each surname specific "finder" page, you can search a variety of online databases all pre-programmed with your surname.

·             Use All Surnames Genealogy to get access to find your surname resources .  There are almost 1300 links in this directory.

·             SurnameDB Free database of surname meanings - This site SurnameDB.Com contains a large FREE to access database (almost 50,000 surnames) on the history and meaning of family last names.

·             Public Profiler / World Names - Search for a Surname to view its Map and Statistics.

·             Linkpendium Surnames - Web sites, obituaries, biographies, and other material specific to a surname.

·             Cyndi's List - Surnames, Family Associations & Family Newsletters Index - Sites or resources dedicated to specific, individual family surnames.  

Free Records & Databases

All of the records and databases we’ve collected are FREE and can be accessed and searched online without having to pay for a subscription.   We have divided our collected into 14 record types as follows: Biographical; Birth; Cemetery; Census & City Directories; Church; Court; Death; Immigration & Naturalization; Land; Marriage; Military; Newspapers; Occupational; and Tax Records.    We try not to list any sites that have only a few records for the purpose of getting you to a website that will charge a fee to actually see the record beyond just a name.  

This Link will take you to our

collections of FREE Records.  

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books.   Here you will find bibliographies, family histories and books about names.  In addition, there are texts that pertain to ethnic and religion groups, history, geography as well as other books that will assist you with your research.

This Link will take you to our

collections of reference books.  

About this webpage

CONTACT INFORMATION

-- Email us with your comments or questions. 

We do like to hear from others who are researching the same people and surnames.

We need your help to keep growing!  So please Email us your

photos, stories, and other appropriate information about this topic.

RULES OF USE
You are welcome to download any information on this page that does not cite a copyright. 

We only ask that if you have a personal website please create a link to our Home Page.

-- This webpage was last updated on --

01 January 2012