This book tells the engaging story of when our surnames first came into use, why they were necessary and how people acquired them. At some point we all consider our surnames - many of us will wonder about the stories behind them, especially if they are unusual. Those of us with British surnames possess that magic thread which leads back nearly a thousand years to a time when surnames were a new idea on this side of the English Channel. There have been many books with surnames as their theme: dictionaries of surnames, books about unusual surnames, heraldry, researching family history and so forth, but there are few books which look at British history solely through surnames. Although the origins of the majority of British surnames lie in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, the author shows that the near-Continent, especially France, has contributed its share too. The author has provided accounts of over 2000 of our surnames. Within this book the reader will find the answers to many questions about our surnames and will perhaps encourage its reader to pursue the study further. CONTENTS: What are Surnames and how old are they? - Surnames from Occupations - Surnames from Places - Surnames from Local Features - Surnames from Relationships - Surnames from Words of Affection - Surnames from Nicknames - Surnames from Personal Names - Postscipt - References - General index - Index of surnames.

This is the story of the ancestors of Charles E. Roseberry and Betty Jean Keister. Charles Roseberry's parents were Charles Wesley Roseberry and Elizabeth Clancy Sutton of Radford, Virginia. Charles Wesley Roseberry was born in Newbern in Pulaski County, VA and his ancestors were from there going back to 1872 when his grandfather, Samuel Roseberry, moved from Carroll County, VA. The Sutton family was also from Pulaski County, VA. Elizabeth's great-grandfather, John C. Sutton was born in Montgomery County, VA in the part that would later become Pulaski County. Betty Jean Keister's grandparents were Walter Henderson Keister and Ida May Foster of Radford, Virginia. Walter was born in Montgomery County, VA where his ancestors had lived since 1800. The Foster family was from Prince William County, VA but Ida May's line had lived in Monroe County, VA since before 1795 when it was Greenbrier County, VA.

Discusses German and German American history and culture with specific instructions for researching German family history.

Birth records typically give the child's name, date of birth, place of birth (or where recorded), parents' names, parents' places of birth, and reference source volume, page and line number. Marriage records typically give the bride's and groom's places of origin, date and place of marriage, bride's and groom's ages and places of birth, whether this is the first marriage, and bride's and groom's parents' names, followed by reference source volume, page and line number. Death records typically give the decedent's date and place of death, place of birth, parents' names, and reference source volume, page and line number. Contains the following records: births for the years 1737 through 1863; deaths for the years 1737 through 1857; marriages for the years 1737 through 1857; and baptisms for the years 1800 through 1816. Nearly all of the information falls between 1737 and 1857, but a few vital records go back as far as 1654. This volume has a new fullname index (containing roughly 6,000 to 10,000 names) to ease research.