Ancestry research has always been important. Mainly because people want to know if they might be able to lay claim to a fortune that was left behind by a great great great great grandparent or some other relative. These days, however, people seem to be much more curious about conducting ancestry research to learn their heritage and their background. Especially in America, because many of us come from various parts of the world. It also possible you may need to know for health reasons. There are companies who offer to do the ancestry research through historical documents and/or will conduct DNA tests and analysis to help a person determine who they really are.
Finding Your Roots
There is a television program that airs on our local PBS station (PBS stands for Public Broadcasting Service). The TV show is called “Finding Your Roots”. The host of the program is a man named Henry Louis Gates Jr. He is a historian and he does research to trace the ancestry of the celebrities who appear on his show. Celebrities like Tina Turner, Nancy Pelosi, Morgan Freeman, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston. Just to name a few. As you can imagine, it is a very popular show because the results of his research are actually kind of fascinating!
My Father’s Name
My late father never made a fuss about his last name. Of a truth, when he left his home country, The Bahamas, and came to America to plant his roots, he even changed the spelling of his last name. Evidently he was not the only one who made that change. In America, my father’s last name has two different spellings. When I attended elementary school, I met some kids with the same last name as mine. Sort of. They spelled it a little different, yet they insisted that we were cousins. To my surprise, we were related to each other.
The Names of My Father’s Children
In fact, my father’s children from his first marriage spelled their last name a different way than my brothers, my sister, and me. My mother, my father’s second wife, used the spelling that my father used when he changed it. It has been that way for over half a century. My father’s name is very common in his native land. Turns out that one of the prime ministers in The Bahamas has the same last name. However, I doubt that the minister would acknowledge any kinship with me. I suppose that if I really want to know, Henry Louis Gates Jr. could help me trace my genealogy and genetic history. But I should probably tell him that he would have to search for a name that has two different spellings.
My Husband’s Name
Unlike my father, my late husband always made a big deal about his last name. His name might indicate that he was probably a descendant of members of the British parliament. He said that he was probably related to that person in America in the entertainment business who owns everything including a news company! He always said “probably”. But he was never curious enough to verify.
Names of My Children and Me
My kids and I simply like our last name because it’s so easy to spell. Just three letters. How can you go wrong signing your name? In fact, sometimes when people say “Initial here”, I just write out my last name! A first name, middle name, and last name are just 3 initials. Might as well use my last name to initial important documents. Right?
What’s In a Name?
Truthfully, I am not really interested in delving into the past to find out more about my ancestry and where I came from. I accept the Bible truth that we are all children of Eve. No matter how much research we do, especially scientific research like DNA analysis, we are only going to discover that we are all related to each other.
What I know about the history of my father and my mother, who are both deceased now, is sufficient for me to know who I am and what I intend to do with MY LIFE. The extra information would be interesting but it would not impact any of the decisions and choices that I make. So the primary purpose of this content is to share a reference to a blog post found at a site that helps people trace their ancestry.
- “Do You Have Royal Blood? Your Last Name May Tell You.” Ancestry. Ancestry.com LLC, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. blogs.ancestry.com/cm/do-you-come-from-royal-blood-your-last-name-may-tell-you/. A resource for online family history & genealogy.
Blood is the Life of All Humankind
Royal blood? You can prove it by your name? What utter nonsense! As for our names? We make them up ourselves, we decide on the spelling, and we can change them later. As for our blood? Every human being’s blood is the same! Do you really think that if a king or queen needed a blood transfusion to save their life and the only person available with their blood type was a peasant that they would refuse that “unroyal blood”?
♦ Links of Interest:
My Ancestors Did What to Their DNA?
Origins of Royalty | HowStuffWorks