Finding RootsTech 2022 on the web is easy but, once there, you immediately get overwhelmed with all that there is to learn and do. Remember there is no hurry, as all the classes and speakers’ videos are on RootsTech for approximately 3 years. Right now, there are over a 1000+ classes, workshops and activities that you can do in your own time, and you can create your own playlist.
One time-sensitive activity that ends on March 25th is to see how many cousins you have based on the FamilySearch Family Tree. To do this, you have to be a member of FamilySearch so that they can access your tree in the giant one world tree. One benefit about your cousin connection on RootsTech 2022 is that you can contact your cousins to maybe further your tree.
Again, the cousin connection consists of speculative cousins as there could be major errors in the Family Tree as we learned in my post “Relative Finder: Are you Related to Famous People?”
If this event has ended, and instead you want to know if you are related to famous people, then go to RelativeFinder.org. If you need more instruction about GEDCOMs and tree building on FamilySearch, click the above link.
Now, getting back to my discovery about my surname that is on RootsTech 2022, (if this is taken down you can also do a surname check on FamilySearch) let’s dive deeper.
Surname Search with a Friend
If you haven’t been to RootsTech 2022 for the virtual genealogy convention, there is still time to explore the convention. The other day, I went back to check how many more cousin connections I have from people logging in at RootsTech. While there, I saw the box about ‘see where your surname comes from’.
I filled in the box with the known surname. You have to understand that my surname has many variations and then was shortened by my grandfather so my grandmother would marry him. So, I tried ALL variations and each time it said it came from nowhere. The only one that said something was the surname my grandfather shortened to. I put in friend’s surnames and they all contained origin information, unlike mine.
In this post, we will explore RootsTech’s last name connection and why this was an important discovery.
How to Locate The Surname Activities:
For this activity, you do not need to be a FamilySearch member and can access the websites by clicking on either of these links:
Scroll down until you see “Connect with People Around the World”. Listed there is the activity “Surname Search With a Friend”.
With the FamilySearch main page, you will need to click on the “Activities” tab and a drop-down menu will appear; then select “Surname Origins”.
With either website, all you need to do is input your surname and, if you are doing a friend connect, input your friend’s.
Watch the video below to see how to find each website and what happens when I input my known surname plus variations.
What is my Important Discovery?
Doing this activity made me realize that, even going back to the first church record from 1843, how they spelled it from the records in the Sackelhausen books was wrong. From this activity, I learned there must be another variation based on the fact there is no known origin and that is probably why I can’t go any further back. Phonetically, it sounded like that, but it might have been spelled very differently as my 3rd great grandfather could probably not read or write.
This new fact got me going on my case of how my surname is really spelled. I start investigating by making my plan.
Nancy Dru’s Research Plan:
- First, I made an appointment for a free 20-minute zoom meeting with a FamilySearch expert.
- I was hoping the expert could help me, but they had no idea and apparently, I have done all the things they would have suggested.
- Again, I look over all my information to see what I am missing.
- I find that my 3rd great-grandfather was born Abt. 1821 in Deutsch St. Peter, according to the Sackelhausen books.
- There are several Deutsch St. Peters. Again, I study it and use Google maps to visually see the locations.
- I email my cousin that has the Sackelhausen books to see if the Deutsch St. Peter location is listed in the books.
- He said it wasn’t listed, but he gave me a website to check out and bingo, Deutsch St. Peter is located near Sackelhausen, which, before World War I, was located in Hungary, but today they are in Romania.
- This line was Catholic, so I work on finding Catholic church records for Deutsch St. Peter. Hopefully, the church records will have my answer and then be able to find out where my ancestors came from before Deutsch St. Peter.
- I use a website and do a soundex for possible spellings of my surname. This will help so I can focus on similar surnames when looking at the digital records.
- Go to FamilySearch catalog where I find the Deutsch St. Peter church records, but a lot of the digital pages are in rough condition, and I can’t read because of this.
- Submit a request to the Family History Library to see if they have a better copy, where they can look for me.
- Research is still in progress.
Wrap-up about Surname Origins:
Sometimes in your research, you will have an ‘ah-hah’ moment and immediately slam into a brick wall. You have to learn to be patient, as you might never know the answer, but I believe in the saying that when one door closes, another opens.
As I have shown with the surname origins activity, I now believe my surname is phonetically spelled differently, and it will take more sleuthing to figure the correct spelling. Once I have thoroughly researched this, if I still do not have an answer, I will have to set this case aside until I get my next bit of inspiration, which again, could be years. That’s the way it goes with a few of my brick walls and could be the same with your brick walls.
I hope you didn’t laugh too much when you saw my funny surname. Now, you understand why my grandma wouldn’t marry my grandfather until he changed his surname. Having a wrongly-spelled surname is probably more common than you think. Not only was my surname misspelled when my 3rd great-grandfather settled in Sackelhausen in the 1840’s, but it was repeatedly misspelled every time my great-grandparents went back and forth to Sackelhausen in the early 1900’s. I truly have earned my investigator badge studying this line.
If you would like to read more articles about genealogy, please visit my homepage: https://www.nancydrugenealogy.com/.
