7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Author Review, October 17, 2001
This review is from: Names, Names, & More Names: Locating Your Dutch Ancestors in Colonial America (Paperback)
GETTING THE MAXIMUM GENEALOGICAL BENEFIT FROM "Names, Names, and More Names"
The recently published book, "Names, Names, and More Names" by Arthur C. M. Kelly has three main sections of use to genealogists. They are:
#1 Surname and Patronymic equivalents.
#2 Given name equivalents.
#3 Parents and married persons identified by given names only.
#1 Since many individuals were identified by both a patronymic as well as adopted surname in the early records, this information was used to construct these tables. As an example,- if you are working with the family that subsequently became Van WAGENEN, it would be helpful for you to discover (on page 79) that at least four different lines assumed the Van WAGENEN surname, namely, Aerts, Gerriits, Hendricks, and Jacobs in the early 1700s. That information should now allow you to broaden your search for ancestors so that you would consider those with these patronymc "surnames" as possible progenitors of your line.
Additionally, you can extend a search forward as well. For example, suppose that you have just discovered that a Maria STORMS was married to an ancestor of yours. By consulting page 141, you would discover that this patronymic became either BRATT or Van Der ZEE as a surname at the turn of the 18th century. Your research possibilities have now expanded considerably.
#2 The given name equivalent section of the book is particularly useful for discovering other spellings of a Christian name including nicknames. We wouldn't need a table for connecting Hulda and Hilda or Lizzie and Elizabeth but equivalents such as Helm and William or Nolte and Arnold might not be so obvious. The Dutch to English section is useful when determining what a particularly unusual Dutch name had become while the English to Dutch section allows you to discover alternate names for what the name became. For example, note the almost two columns of "Maria" equivalents on pages 207-208.
#3 The final tables in this book are those of last resort. When all other avenues have been exhausted in your search for ancestors, try these tables!!! The theory behind their use is described on pages 217-219. To give an example, suppose you have determined that the `arents of one of your ancestors is most likely a Nicholas and a Maria. Possible candidates appearing as parents (as found on page 244) occur in the Reformed churches of Albany, NY, Bergen, NJ, and New York City from 1655 through 1698 and this same pairing of names is found in the marriage section (on page 308) in the Reformed churches of Flatbush, `NY and New York City. Also, we discover that Maria is mentioned as deceased in the subsequent re-marriage of her husband in the Reformed church of Kingston, NY and New York City in 1681.
This is just a brief outline of how to get the maximum benefit from this excellent pocket guide.
Happy hunting!!!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent work., September 30, 2010
This review is from: Names, Names, & More Names: Locating Your Dutch Ancestors in Colonial America (Paperback)
An essential guide for anyone researching Colonial New York and New Jersey, as both Dutch and English persons will be found in the records, and naming patterns made clear. The definitive work on the subject.
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