Family Stories and Other Fairy Tales

Do you have a family story handed down over the years? Perhaps an ancestor was a ship's captain. Or perhaps the family name was changed at Ellis Island. Or some lady in your family tree was a Cherokee princess. Another story I have heard many times is that some immigrant was the illegitimate child of the Russian czar or another royal person. Proving such stories can be difficult for one very simple reason: they often are not true! A more common scenario is a family story that contains a bit of truth but was embellished over the generations.

If you are using a family story to try to find an ancestor, I'd suggest that you consider the possibility that the story is only partially true or at least was built on some amount of facts. I can offer two examples from my family's stories plus a third example from someone else's family.

First, when I was a child I was told that "our family took part in the Salem Witch Trials." When I heard those stories, I assumed that the participant(s) was named Eastman although I am not sure that was ever clearly stated. I worked on that assumption for years and tried to find the story behind our family's "participation." One problem: my Eastman ancestors never lived in Salem! In fact, in the 1690s my Eastman ancestors were living about 40 miles further north in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Of course, that doesn't rule out their participation, but it does reduce the likelihood of their being actively involved.

Next, after several years of reading almost every scrap of information I could find about the Salem Witch Trials, I eventually discovered that another ancestor of mine on my grandmother's side of the family did live in Salem at the time. His name was Goodall, not Eastman. I never found any mention of him in any of the Witch Trial records, but I did learn that his son-in-law served on the jury. So yes, there was a nugget of truth to the claim that "our family participated in the Salem Witch Trials.” Indeed, it was a very distant relative: the son-in-law of an ancestor. However, the "real story" turned out to be somewhat different than what I had imagined.

My second family story involves a family claim that an ancestor had served as "a captain in the Revolutionary War." This story turned out to be factual, although not what I had assumed. I found that he served as a ferry boat captain, crossing a river time and again all day long in the years before a bridge was built. I have never found a description of his "ship" although I suspect it was not much bigger than a rowboat.

For a third example, I recently corresponded with a lady who expressed frustration at not being able to find an ancestor listed in the records at Ellis Island. She felt that he must be listed. After all, she told me that "his name had been changed at Ellis Island." She assured me that he had arrived in this country without paperwork and he could not speak English. He arrived with only fifty cents in his pocket. Since he couldn't speak English, the authorities at Ellis Island had given him a name which he used forever after. He eventually made his way to Indianapolis, where he joined relatives who had immigrated before him.

That's a great story, but let's examine the so-called facts, one at a time.

"His name had been changed at Ellis Island."

In fact, this never happened, despite all the claims otherwise. The story probably has a nugget of truth as many immigrants did change their names eventually. They processed through Ellis Island by using their true names, although often with spelling variations. After all, most of these people were illiterate and had no idea how to spell their own names in their native language, much less in English. Their names were copied from the documents in their possession which had been filled out by clerks back in "the old country." Spelling variations were common, but the names on the documents almost always sounded the same as the true names.

In the months and years following immigration, these immigrants settled in new neighborhoods and were assimilated into American life. Indeed, many did change their names over the years, but not at Ellis Island. Names were not changed by immigration officials but often were later changed by schoolteachers, by local officials, or by the immigrants themselves.

"Since he couldn't speak English, the authorities..."

Let's realize one thing: most immigrants could not speak English. This was so common that the authorities at Ellis Island were well prepared. They dealt with non-English speakers every day. Ellis Island hired an army of part-time interpreters during its years of operation. Ships would arrive at any time of the day or night, and first-class, second-class, and third-class passengers would leave the ship within a few hours. However, those traveling in steerage (which includes the majority of our ancestors and certainly included anyone "with only fifty cents in his pocket"), remained on board at least overnight and were processed the following day, at the earliest. Delays of two or three days were not uncommon.

During the afternoon and evening hours after the ship's arrival, a call went out for the part-time employees who worked as interpreters and were able to speak the language(s) of the passengers. If a ship arrived from Italy, no steerage passengers were ever allowed off the ship until Italian interpreters were available to interview them at length. The same was true for passengers who spoke Russian, Polish, Czech, Yiddish, or other languages.

One of the part-time employees became famous in later years: as a young man, Fiorello Laguardia was employed for several years at Ellis Island as an interpreter. Although he was born and raised in America, he spoke Italian fluently and could read and write the language. He was also conversant in several other languages as well. He assisted thousands of immigrants process through Ellis Island. He was but one of hundreds of interpreters who worked at the immigration processing center. Today Laguardia is remembered as mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945.

Occasionally, a passenger who did not speak the language of the other passengers would be on board. For instance, a Greek national might travel overland to Italy and then purchase a ticket on a ship sailing from Italy to New York. The ship presumably was filled with Italian-speaking passengers, save for this one Greek person or family. In such cases, that Greek-speaking family would be detained at Ellis Island until a Greek interpreter was located. That might require a few hours or, occasionally, an extra overnight stay. Ellis Island had dormitories built just for such requirements. Nobody was allowed to pass through the immigration center until after they had spoken with an interpreter and their documentation had been examined by someone who could read and write the language of their documents.

"He had arrived in this country without paperwork."

The requirements for admission to the United States were strict. First, one had to have proper identification in their possession, filled out in the old country. Even if the ancestors in question could not read or write, they always had some paperwork (probably written in their native language) that clearly identified who they were and where they were from.

Anyone who did not possess identification was sent back to the port of embarkation AT THE STEAMSHIP COMPANY'S EXPENSE. Of course, the steamship companies all knew this and did not want the financial burden of carrying non-paying passengers back to the old country. Therefore, all the steamship companies typically checked the identification of passengers before they could board the ship. Anyone who lacked proper identification usually was not allowed to board at the port of embarkation.

One of the facts about Ellis Island that we do not learn in school is that thousands of would-be immigrants were denied entry into the United States and were sent back. Most of those denied entry were for medical reasons, but others who slipped past the steamship companies' scrutiny were denied entry for lack of identification or for possessing no visible means of support.

NOTE: I am told that some exceptions to the rules concerning required identification were made in 1945 and 1946 as a flood of refugees from war-torn Europe arrived at Ellis Island. These folks often did not possess identification. Their passage often was paid by the Red Cross or other relief agencies. If your ancestor arrived in 1945 or 1946, it is possible that he or she did not possess identification.

"He arrived with only fifty cents in his pocket."

To be sure, many immigrants were nearly penniless upon arrival. I could quibble that the gentleman in question might have had fifty pence or fifty lira or fifty rubles, but never fifty cents unless he arrived from some country that used dollars and cents at the time. Whatever the currency, it certainly is true that millions of immigrants were nearly penniless upon arrival. However, immigrants were not allowed into the country if they were to be paupers. They all had to either have money in their pocket (which steerage passengers rarely had) or they had to have some documentation proving they had financial support.

So let's assume that he really did arrive with the equivalent of fifty cents in his pocket. Who paid for his ticket?

Trans-Atlantic passage was never cheap. Somebody had to pay for the ticket. In many cases, passage was paid by some other relative who had gone to America earlier and had earned the money. It was very common for immigrants to save their money and pay for the passage of their relatives left behind. The newer immigrants were expected to do the same: save their money and pay for still other relatives to join them in America. In many cases, the immigrant had a letter in his possession written by a relative who had arrived in America earlier. The letter (often written by a clergyman or others) would state, "I will provide food and shelter for this family."

Sometimes the letter came from a new employer in America who had paid for the passage. Many immigrants without relatives in America were "sponsored" by corporations. Indeed, the mills of New England and elsewhere sent many recruiters to the old country, looking for new employees. The mills of New England were full of sponsored immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Canada, and elsewhere. Their descendants still live in many of the mill towns.

The would-be immigrants would sign employment agreements for two or three years, sometimes longer. In turn, their new employers would provide steamship tickets, often for the new employee and his family, along with dormitory accommodations upon arrival. Thousands of immigrants did arrive at Ellis Island with little money in their pockets but holding letters (with their names clearly written) that guaranteed passage to an American city and to guaranteed employment. If your ancestor went to work in a mill or factory soon after arrival, be suspicious that his passage was paid in advance by his new employer.

"He eventually made his way to Indianapolis where he joined relatives who had immigrated before him."

Now the story makes sense. The ancestor did not arrive at Ellis Island without knowing anyone in America. He probably carried documentation that stated he was to go to Indianapolis where his livelihood was guaranteed.

New York City had many "travelers' aid" societies that helped immigrants board trains and travel. Such agencies would include the Italian Society of Emigration, the St. Joseph's Home for the Protection of Polish Immigrants, the Swedish Lutheran Home for Immigrants, and other mutual aid societies. Many of these organizations are still in business today.

NOTE: You can find an interesting article written in the New York Times in 1909 about various problems with the mutual aid societies at http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C04E7DD1F31E733A25752C1A96E9C946897D6CF.

A new arrival in America who could not speak English and could not read or write any language and had little money in his pocket could not be expected to find the train station and purchase a ticket for a distant city that was a 2- or 3-day trip inland. Such immigrants always had at least a bit of assistance from people who spoke their language.

Indeed, my correspondent had a family story that appeared to be built on a bit of truth but had been embellished over time.

Now let's return to your family story that has been passed down over the generations. The story may be wrong or, as in the case of my correspondent, may have been "enhanced" significantly.

Let's examine a few other common family fables:

There is no such thing as a "Cherokee princess," despite the thousands of people who believe they have such a princess in the family tree. The Cherokees and other American Indians had no concept of royalty. There were no princes or princesses anywhere amongst American Indians. Even the title of “chief” was not hereditary; it was not passed down from father to son.

In many countries, ALL illegitimate children were referred to as "the child of the king" or the "child of the Czar." In most cases, they had no royal parentage.

In Canada, nearly a thousand young female immigrants were admitted as “the King's daughters.” However, that title refers to the fact that their passage was paid by the French government. In effect, the King paid for their passage whereas other young women often had passage paid by their fathers or other relatives. Historians have never found a single one of these young women that was a true daughter of any king.

Not everyone sailed on the Mayflower. The list of 102 passengers on that tiny ship is well known and documented in many places. (See http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=mayflower+%22list+of+passengers%22&btnG=Google+Search.) Thousands of families erroneously believe that their ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. If all the stories were true, the Mayflower would have been bigger than the Queen Mary!

“All the records were destroyed in the war (or fire or flood or tornado or other disaster).” This is NEVER true in North America and rarely was true in Europe. First of all, there is no central repository of records. Tax records are typically stored at a local government facility, military records are usually stored at a national location, baptism records are stored in the local church, and marriage records are typically stored in the church with duplicates often stored at the town or city offices. And so on. No one disaster ever destroys all the records of a person's existence.

"The name was changed at Ellis Island." Not true. Get over it.

"He jumped ship upon arrival in America." This one is possibly true but has been claimed far too often. In short, be skeptical. Even if it is true, you will probably never find any documentation to prove it. Those who jumped ship didn't want to leave records for fear of deportation! It is a great family story, but probably is not true. Even if there is some truth to the story, you probably will never prove it.

"He arrived with fifty cents in his pocket." Ask yourself: who paid for the ticket and how did he survive in his first few weeks in America? Also, why did the authorities at Ellis Island allow him to pass through when they sent all the other paupers back? Yes, many immigrants did arrive with little or no money, but they always had some guaranteed method of support after arrival. If they didn't possess such proof, they were sent back.

If you cannot find information about an ancestor's story that's based upon family folklore, question the story. It could be partially right and partially wrong, or all wrong. Go back and ask yourself how you would approach your research if you didn’t know about the family story. Would your research point in a different direction?

If you have already spent a lot of time trying to prove a family story and have been unsuccessful, I would suggest that you stop and try to find that ancestor through traditional genealogy research methods. If the story is correct, the facts will eventually prove it.

Comments

[The.Q]

Dick, This is a great article, and very interesting. It's made me rethink a story I have in my family about my great-great grandfather who "emigrated from Ireland to Scotland, but fell overboard on the journey. His luggage was returned without him." I always doubted the veracity of this story, thinking instead that he probably ran off, maybe to another family (not that uncommon in those times!), but had no way of checking it up, without a fair bit of work (and I'm lazy!) Your story has given me the impetus to try again, though.

Thanks.

[Anne R W]

When I first started my job in Saugus, Mass. I was told by my mother and grandmother that my ancestors were "founders" of that town. My occasional local inquiries into that family story resulted in no confirmation of that tale over the 35 years I worked there.

Finally (after retiring and having more time to commit to genealogical research) I learned that the family story had some truth. Although Edmond Freeman had immigrated and settled in "Saugust" briefly (Dec. 1635 - April 1637), at that time Saugus (originally settled in 1629, several years before my ancestors immigrated) included a much wider area, currently 8 modern towns from North Reading over to Swampscott and south to Wakefield. Most likely he lived in what is now Lynn, which is why I found no records in Saugus.

In 1637 he was one of "ten men of Saugust" who went to found a town south of the Plymouth settlement, which became Sandwich, Mass.

The place-name change over time had frustrated my earlier inquiries, though the basic fact of being a town founder was true, but in the wrong part of the state.

Another example of how details can be muddled over time leaving us to find the facts.

Anyone researching in early towns should remember that the town names may have originally included a much larger area. (Remember, your "Salem" witch trials started in Salem village, which is the modern town of Danvers, Mass. and the trials reached far beyond the modern city of Salem.)

[S. Bailey]

Dick, That is a great synopsis and would make a most important book if you ever have the time.

[Dae Powell]

There's another one that I find common to many family histories: "Three brothers came to America together..." Again, while this may have been true, it is also too common to be sure.

One of my father's family traditions was that we were related to the actress Lillian Russell. Indeed, there are Russell surnames and both my father's and my son's given names are Russell. BUT, it only took a quick Google™ search to learn that "Russell" was her stage name! LOL.

Another one on Mum's side suggested that my g-g-grandmother sat on Abraham Lincoln's knee when he visited their home to borrow books. I doubt I'll ever prove or disprove this one, but the time frame and locality make it possible.

Happy Dae·
http://ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[Terri England]

My family has an outrageous story that the first of the line came to the US from Germany in the mid 1800s, that he was a doctor and while on board ship he came down with appendicitis and ended up operating on HIMSELF! The real truth is that the family is English (not German), all the generations up until 1900 were farmers, there was not a single doctor, and they first came to the New World in the late 17th century.

Not a bit of the story was true!

[John W. Bornholdt]

My wife's mother often said that there was family money back in Germany waiting to be claimed.
The truth of it was found in Hannover court papers.
Two brothers were found guilty of stealing (to support their families in a period of hard times) and sentenced to either jail or banishment with the threat of jail if ever they returned. Banishment included a payment to enable them to leave - that was "the money in Germany".
The families did arrive in Baltimore in 1843 on the same ship but for some reason settled in different counties of south central Pennsylvania.

[Silvia Wilson]

We had a family story that our ancestor, John Neal, was captured by Cromwell's forces at the Battle of Dundee, came to Saugus Iron Works as a P.O.W. and worked there for 7 years. I dug around on the internet and authenticated this information. There are numerous websites where old documents can be viewed, or where the information has been transcribed and posted. Just keep searching.

[Joyce]

WRT names being changed at Ellis Island--are there people who actually think that one of the authorities changed their ancestors' names? If so, for what purpose?

Just curious. I have found that my grandfather's surname spelling did change from what was originally taken down at Ellis Island (and what was on his marriage license)...but why, I don't know yet. But I always assumed that was someone transcribing his name incorrectly at some point b/c he didn't speak or read English, not that someone deliberately changed his name.

[Sandra J Smith]

Another story I have heard many times in my 42 years of genealogical research. "She was the daughter of Lord X and ran off with the coachman" or "He was disinherited by his father Lord Y, because he fell in love with one of the maids"
We don't have enough titled folk in the United Kingdom to provide all the resultant illegitimate births!

[Sabrina]

I work in a Genealogy Department and encounter many patrons who are researching to prove a famiy story. Many of these people believe they have a Native American background due to someone with high cheek bones or tan skin in an old photograph. Sadly, many will not give up on the story even after records fail to support it. We even had a lady who believed she was Native American due to a dream. Turns out she was Irish. So imagine my dismay when at a family dinner my husband's grandmother said one of his ancestors married a Blackhawk Indian Princess and you could tell because of an uncle's high cheek bones. I don't know who started that story, but the family is German and I know where they came from in Germany and when they got here they married other Germans. I just had to shake my head.

[Leslie]

I do have a three brothers story that happens to be true and is proven in Rev War Pension files. Benjamin, Robert and Thomas Ishmael came from - as the story goes - either Wales or were Hessian soldiers. Not one researcher in the last 200 years has been able to find out where they came from... The trail begins and ends with the Rev War and they remain a mystery.

[Susan Bankhead]

Great informative article. Thanks for getting the word out. FYI: I too have Eastman ancestors from Massachusetts, so, we HAVE to be related! (Just kidding.) I trace mine to Joseph Eastman (b. 1651 in Salisbury and died in Hadley. If we are related, nice to meet you cousin.

[Christine Czarnecki]

Sometimes those unlikely stories are true! My grandmother told us that her mother-in-law said that her family was, "descended from kings." How likely is that for a small farm family in South Texas? Well, after a little genealogical research, it is indeed true. Great Grandmother Maggie is descended many times from the Kings of England, France and Scotland, William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great and Charlemagne. She was a descendant of the James River Harrisons, Robert "King" Carter, William Randolph and Mary Isham of Virginia, and their ancestors are exhaustively enumerated in books such as Gary Boyd Roberts' _Ancestors of American Presidents_ and _The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States..._, and Douglas Richardson's _Plantagenet Ancestry_. I am very lucky, genealogically speaking, to be descended from some early and prominent ancestors (not that I've done anything to deserve it), because I've had the benefit of several professional genealogists do terrific work on our behalf. Now if I could only get past my Eastern European early 1900's immigrant ancestors on my father's side.... And no, the name wasn't changed at Ellis Island, that part I know.

[Sandra Ruffing]

Very good article! I love the title, it is so true. My grandfather has told us many a time (and said so in interviews with the local paper) that his Uncle was "Red" Ruffing who played for the Yankees in the 30's and 40's. So far my research has shown this to be impossible. Red Ruffing was born in Illinois to totally different parents than my great-grandfathers. It made a great story, especially since my grandfather was a baseball coach his whole life.

Thanks so much for this articles information about Ellis Island. I had no idea that there were part-time interpeters there!

[Dixie]

I, too have many family stories that follow the myths you mention. However, one story that I have been unable to find out about is that the first of the line was on a British War Ship, the name of which was the "Revolutionarian" that was captured in New York Harbor in 1774. The ancestor was put in jail, and in exchange for his release, signed an Oath of Allegiance and joined the Revolutionary Army. There is evidence of his service in the Revolutionary Army, in Pennsylvania. However, I have not been able to find British records from that era that would tell me about any British Ship that was captured.

[Wrannej]

Excellent article. Being descended from Polish royalty I understand why people would be envious of my pedigree. Still...I can't understand why all the 1600-1900 parish records I got with my ancestors say they were peasant farmers. ;-)

[Lisa Rex]

It makes you wonder how the stories got started. I have a hand-written memoir that appears to be quite old, written in pencil with a English ancestor's name (Mrs. Sophia Mabey Hall) at the top. Sophia died in 1897, so it's possible it's Sophia's handwriting or perhaps Sophia dictated the story and it's someone else's handwriting. Or perhaps it was someone's school homework. In this memoir, it claims that Sophia's(?) mother was a lady who fell in love with the local dairyman in their village in Hampshire, was sent away to London by her family, but married the dairyman anyway. Her mother was subsequently given only half of the inheritance due to her by her late father. Further research revealed that Sophia's grandfather was a carpenter. I haven't found his will. I didn't think the daughters of carpenters were considered ladies? Her grandfather was a dairyman, and they did marry in London, so at least part of the story is true!

[Linda Kleback]

Great article! And often the truth is so much more interesting than the family myth!

[Frank Van Orden]

I solved an erroneous part of a family story. My mother said her grandfather told her that, as a soldier of the Confederacy, he was in a Yankee prison camp, and they were starving. A small yellow dog appeared on the scene, and he and other prisoners killed it and made a stew. He said that it was the best meal he ever had. He was released at the end of the war.

My research found that he was indeed a soldier in the Confederacy, First Lieutenant from Kentucky, had been captured, and was a prisoner in Camp Chase, Ohio. The dog part of the story may have been true, but the last part of the story erred. He was exchanged at Cairo, Illinois, returned to his unit, and was dismissed for "incompetence"some time later. What led to this, I don't know, but it must have been a great shame to him. I don't know if my mother ever knew the true story.

[Keith]

I was long told our family was part Cherokee, but i found no proof at
all. I finally tested my mother's DNA. the results- 99% European, 1% African.

[linda lemons]

my family came from messina sicily - there was a tidal wave there in 1908 (or thereabouts), the day after Christmas - this is true and written about in many sources. my great uncle went there in the 60's to see if he could find out info about the family but was told all records pre-tidal wave were destroyed, yet i still wonder if somewhere there is something to connect me back to the family in sicily

[Christine]

Love this article Dick! I agree with S.Bailey...It's a book I would definitely read!

[LornaHen]

What a timely article.
Just last week I think I stumbled across the tiniest tiniest grain of truth behind one of my Great Aunt's stories.
I'd never looked for it as it seemed so preposterous - that my great grandmother, her mother, was a Lady in Waiting to the Queen Mother.
Dates alone said this was absolute tosh, let alone that a farmer's daughter from Maxton on the Scottish Borders wasn't going to move in such circles.
I realised the other day that I'd never found Helen Sinton WIGHT in the 1871 census as she wasn't at home, and not at all obvious in any of the Scottish indexes.
I widened the search to include England, and there she was, in Belgravia, London, in the household of Sir William SCOTT, Baronet (6th of Ancrum as it turns out) - occupation "housemaid".
Close !!
I sometimes think it's a pity to ruin the stories, but truth will out, eventually.

[Toni Taranto]

Just read your article. I have been searching for my paternal grandfather off and on for three years. He was German, and the story told to me was that he died in the Boer War. Because my grandparents were not married, and I do not know the family members in Munich, it has been an impossible task. I have never been able to visit Germany or search the records in the small town of Asten, near Munich. Letters to the town and unnamed church were returned. I don't have his name, but I do have my grandmother's maiden name, and my father's birth date. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do?

[Kenneth Lary]

When I found my great, great, great grandfather Hutty Brown emigrating to Prince Edward Island from England about 1830 the story behind it was that he served under Wellington fighting against Napolean and was awarded land on PEI for his service. Hundred of dollars later paying a semi-thief researcher in England revealed that he HAD been in the British military, but had been stationed in India for 20 years and had not ever been a high enough rank to have been awarded land. He presumably bought the land after his 20 year service was up.

Also on PEI I've got a three brothers story. Three supposed Biggar brothers came to PEI in the 1830 time frame. Circumstantially, they came from a similar place in Scotland, they settled near each other on PEI, they were all in the correct age range to have been brothers, and multiple descendants refer to them as brothers, but who knows? I've found no "official" paperwork that relates them or that mentions parents' names for any of them.

[Jade]

Thanks for the very pertinent article. Often the 'story' is what people want to believe.

The "three brothers" item is usually from a mostly-non-researched book where the author (based on "same name = same family") wants to account for occurrence of the surname in disparate places, and to make the writer look smarter.

One published story about a distant cousin's ancestry shared with mine states the progenitor settled at Jamestown and came to WV from VA. Not so, but for families with Confederate sympathies it was a lot more appealing to be "from VA" than from the actual place, Delaware. The published item also skips a generation and does not go back further than the DE family who moved to WV in 1796, leaving the 180-odd years back to "Jamestown" to the reader's imagination!

[Glen Gallagher]

Dick,
This is a really interesting article, but there is something I've learned recently related to the "name was changed" part of the story.
I've been participating for a few months in Ancestry's volunteer record indexing program - WAP. I've spent a good amount of time working on two of their naturalization index collections - one for New England and another one for Illinois. Having now seen and keyed thousands of these index cards, I'm really startled by the changes that were made to some immigrants' names when they naturalized.
I think when these two collections are completed and made available, they will be very useful resources for genealogists who may be struggling with jumping from their current Anglicized surnames back to the original surnames in the home country. And this will apply even to researchers whose ancestors may not be included in these two collections.
I expect just browsing the collections for your current Anglicized surname will reveal quite a few surprising new and different possibilities for the names your ancestors had when they arrived.
One I recall in particular was the "new" surname Costas (like the sportscaster)which had been given to a Greek immigrant. The home country surname began with the letter "K" and was fourteen letters long. While I could imagine how they derived Costas from the original name, I've seen plenty where I didn't have a clue how they came up with the new, Anglicized surname.
So while these records don't apply to the "name changed when someone arrived" part of the story - many of these changes are recorded as taking place twenty to thirty years or more after arrival - they are going to be helpful with LOTS of brick walls.

[Heather Olsen]

I found your comments on immigrant aid societies very interesting. I'd often wondered how my German ancestors managed to navigate the trip to Ohio with next to no English.

You say immigrants almost always had papers of some kind-- how far back would this have been true-- would it have been true in pre-Ellis Island days as well? I've heard it said that the term "wop," a derogatory term for Italian-Americans, came from the fact that they often arrived without papers.

With regard to record destruction, it's interesting to note that in wartime records have sometimes been evacuated to a supposedly safe place--in both Virginia and and eastern Germany, records that might have helped my research were destroyed because they were moved, while the original repositories were left standing.

[Kathleen Lopez]

My siblings and I grew up hearing my mother's stories about her grandmother who was named EVALINA and was a lady's maid to a LADY EVALINA in Wales. My mother described her grandmother in detail right down to a description of the place in Wales where her grandmother was born--The Black Mountains of Wales. My mother was supposedly named EVALINA after this lady in Wales. My mother and I even took a trip to Wales to see where her grandmother was born. After the death of my mother [who was born in 1902 in Newfoundland] I became interested in researching the family history. I spent months trying to pin down this elusive Welsh grandmother, only to discover that ALL my mother's family were born in Newfoundland --right back to the early 1700's. There was NO Welsh grandmother! In fact, there was an infant Evalina in the family who died shortly after her birth and this was where my mother's name originated. Where did this family story about a Welsh grandmother begin? Who knows? My mother certainly believed it. She told stories about her grandmother's life in Wales.

[george chapple]

Good stuff. I was told we Chapples of Norwich England were of French Hugenot descent being Le Chappelles and all that and had fled persecution. It turns out that My Great Grandfather William Chapple was the illegitimate son of a man named William Folgate and not a Chapple at all. He wrote down his father was a George Chapple but he had died three years earlier then when he was born. I had to go to England to prove my suspicions.

[Catherine Wolken]

You didn't mention all those people named Adams who are absolutely certain they are descended from the presidents. I had a couple of great aunts who insisted they were cousins of either John Adams or John Quincy Adams. That family came from England centuries ago and my Adams' came from Northern Ireland in 1852