How do you find ancestors if your last name was shortened?
My last name is Zak, I know it was shortened when my ancestors came to the states, but I don’t know what it originally was. I also know it’s a polish name. I’m just curious to find out about my ancestors and such. So does anyone know how to find your ancestors if your last name was shortened? ~Thanks~
Tagged with: how to find your ancestors • polish name
Filed under: Research
I thought I read once that the people taking names down and registering those who came here, could not understand very well when the immigrants said their name… so they would spell it the way it sounded. that could be a reason why last names were shortened?
I would look for last names that could be pronounced like "zak" … I don’t know if that is any help.
You’ll need to trace back through civil or church records for each individual. Sooner or later, you’ll find someone who is linked to parents with the original name, if you’re lucky. I have several lines that did this this surname trickery, some who used a French form of the name among the French, and a English form when dealing with the English; a Sobieski that changed his name to Zabriskie in New Amsterdam, and an entire Dutch family line that invented a surname when the English took over New Netherlands and demanded they do so for civil tracking purposes. Without church and court records, I would have hit a brick wall with all of them, or I would have gone off on a snipe hunt with the wrong family.
There are a zillion Zaks in the US. If you wish to email me with what names and dates you have, I’d be glad to do a lookup for you. Otherwise, hit http://rootsweb.com of http://familysearch.org .They’re free databases. If you are from the Michigan branch, you might contact these folks for information or the location of the local genealogy society:
Hamtramck Public Library
Albert J. Zak Memorial
E. Tamara Sochacka - Library Director
2360 Caniff
Hamtramck, MI 48212
(313) 365-7050
Good luck and happy hunting.
If you start with yourself and work backwards, it should not be a problem. Try:
You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history. Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department. Most do nowadays; also, don’t forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc. Our public library has both http://www.ancestry.com and http://www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).
Another place to check out is any of the Mormon’s Family History Centers. They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don’t try to convert you).
A third option is one of the following websites:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/...
http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...
http://www.usgenweb.com/
http://www.census.gov/
http://www.rootsweb.com/
http://www.ukgenweb.com/
http://www.archives.gov/
http://www.familysearch.org/
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...
http://www.cyndislist.com/
http://www.geni.com/
Cyndi’s has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship’s passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.
Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.
Good luck and have fun!
Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...
Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won’t show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA.
I used http://www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.