Surname Advice-52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

Week 52.  Advice.  Do you have any advice for future generations who may be researching your family?  For example, was there a name change or a significant relocation in your past.  This is intended to be a very flexible question.  Answer it any way you wish.

GLOVER:  I have been very fortunate to come in contact with other's who are researching the Glover line.    I have never seen it spelled any other way.  I am confident that I have traced it correctly to the 1600's Colonial America.  My advice is if you find Anna Glover's Glover Memorials and Genealogy book to verify the information.  The Glover family came from England to Dedham and Milton, Massachusetts to Lebanon, Connecticut, to  Phelps,New York to Ypsilanti,Michigan.

FREDRICK:  The spelling of this name can be found as FREDRICH, FREDRICKS, and FREDERICKS.  My line of Fredrick's came from Prussia.  The Fredrick family settled in Manistee County, Michigan.  The Fredrick farm is a Centennial Farm and is still in the area.  My advice is to visit the Manistee County Historical Museum which is rich in the history of the area.  You can do double duty here as Glover's and Fredrick's settled in this area.

WATT:  My paternal grandmother's surname was Watt.  The family was from Methil, Fife, Scotland.  They came to Ontario, Canada and then Marquette, Michigan.  Watt is the only spelling I have come across in my research.

GRAF:  The Graf family is from Rockenhausen, Germany.  They came from Germany to Miami County, Indiana to Brethren, Michigan.  The name can be found as Grav, Graff, and Graf.  Check out the Family History Center's films from Rockenhausen, Germany.  They have lots of information.

FENN:  I wish future researchers luck with this surname.  I imagine it will forever be a brickwall for me.  In my research I have only seen it spelled as Fenn.  The Fenn family came from Shoreham, Vermont to Washtenaw County, Michigan.

MCGEE:  The McGee family settled in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada.  They were Irish in origin.  The name is usually spelled McGee.  My advice is to not get confused by the various ages that Richard McGee listed in the census.  I think he was compensating for the age difference with his second wife.

ZASTROW:  The Zastrow name is German in origin.  My great grandmother was the first generation to come to America.  She settled in Manistee County, Michigan.  The spelling can be found as Zastrow and Zastrau.  Don't be confused by a Louise Zastrow who came to America through the New Orleans port and settled in Wisconsin.  She is not our Louise Zastrow.

MAST:  The Mast family came from the Guggisberg area of Switzerland.  They settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania in the 1730's.  They moved to Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  They also had a short stop in Walnut Creek, Ohio before settling in Howard County, Indiana.  Some family members used the spelling Mast and others used Maust.  Mast is the spelling I found in Switzerland.

LEYNDYKE:  Good Luck to future Leyndyke's researching the family.  My advice is to find where I donated my research and take a look.  The spelling of Leyndyke has changed over the years, starting with Luijendijk to Luyendyk to Leyn Dyke to Leyndyke.  The Luijendijk family originated in Heenvliet, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands around 1500.  The first five generations have Arend Jan and Jan Arend as their first name.  The first Luyendyk immigrated to Owasco, New York and later Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Once you figure out the spelling of the ancestors of Leyndyke you will have smooth sailing as Dutch records are easy to use.

This concludes my participation in 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History for this year.  The 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History was created by Amy Coffin of We Tree Genealogy Blog.  Thank you to Amy for her great ideas.  I have participated in 46 of the 52 weeks.  I don't usually write about myself, so these prompts were a way for me to leave stories for my descendants.  I hope you have enjoyed them.