When immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, their names weren’t written down by customs officials. This means their name when they arrived is likely to be relatively accurate, even if the immigrant themselves was illiterate. In reality, passenger lists were created in the country of departure.
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How to Find and Use Hidden Clues in Obituariesġ1 of the Best Websites for Free Ship Passenger ListsĪ very common genealogy myth is that family names were changed at Ellis Island. Why Should You Use Ethnic Newspapers For Genealogy Research? This could be especially true for people escaping traumatic experiences like war. People could choose a name that they didn’t associate with the country they came from. A name like Kucharzewski might be changed to Kucharz.ģ) They didn’t like their name or wanted a fresh start. LaCroix became Cross, Blanc became White, Schneider became Snyder. This change could include anglicizing their name or translating it literally into English. These changes could include anglicizing their name or translating it literally into English. So, they changed it to make it easier for others and to better blend in. They didn’t want to stand out with a name that others couldn’t say or spell. People often changed their names to fit in. This was also a common practice for Jewish immigrants to avoid anti-Semitism.Ģ) Assimilation. By changing their name to something more “American” sounding, they had a better chance of getting jobs. There weren’t laws barring discrimination like today. There were a lot of reasons that immigrants changed their names when arriving in the US. Where To Find Records For Emigrants To The United States What Are Naturalization Records And How Can They Support Your Research?
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What To Know About Alien Registration Files And Where To Find Them I'm pretty sure he started a new life under a new name because I can’t find anyone even close to matching him anywhere in the US or Quebec, where he was from. I also have a 4x great grandfather who deserted his family. It can be a challenge searching for them because you have to look for a lot of name combinations. A lot of them used their nom dit and last name interchangeably. I have a lot of roots in Quebec, and many of those lines have nom dit. And actually more when you add in spelling and transcription errors to deal with. Even though the two names are similar, it does double the amount of searching I have to do.
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My great grandfather went back and forth between two last names from his arrival in 1912 to 1930. Dealing with an ancestor’s name change is hard.
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Making it even harder is that it wasn’t always required to legally change your name when many of our ancestors immigrated. It wasn’t uncommon for an ancestor to change their name, making it harder for us to track them. A lot of us struggle with name changes when working on our family tree.