Surnames, and a Little Math
Building a family tree leads to discovering surnames well beyond those of parents and grandparents. Each generation represents 2X surnames where X represents the number of generations removed. For example, 3rd great-grandparents are 5 generations removed and represent 32 surnames, typically. I get excited when I discover an ancestor with the same name as a friend, or co-worker, or neighbor. Maybe we are related!
So Many Same Names
I am fortunate enough to be able to trace my ancestry on several lines back 10 generations, and in some cases beyond, representing hundreds of surnames. [1] If I find a name in common with a friend such as Smith, Jones, Miller, etc., it is just too popular of a name to try and find a common ancestor. The more unusual a surname, the better for researching. Last year I wrote about discovering an 8th great grandparent named Byrd, and I was able to trace my connection through him to a childhood hero, Adm. Richard Byrd. [2] (NOTE: I have since writing this post discovered that my ancestors name was Bird NOT Byrd. And, the connection to Adm. Byrd does NOT exist.)
Skaggs, a Same Name Success
To date, I have not made a connection between an ancestor-surname and a current friend with the same name. But, I have found a connection to a friend by spotting a same surname in their family tree.
While looking over a family tree developed by a longtime friends’ mother, I spotted a surname that is also in my tree, Skaggs. We soon discovered we share 7th great-grandparents, James and Rachel Moredock Skaggs. I often tell my friends that “we are all related.” It’s fun to have proof of that by finding the same name in our lineages.
Common Ancestor: James Skaggs (1700-1790), 7th great-grandfather
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SOURCES:
- Osborne family tree, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/13493206/family?cfpid=-60123689
- Admiral Byrd post, https://barblafara.com/admiral-byrd-id-like-to-meet/
Ooh, I have some Skaggs on my tree also. They ended up out in Oregon in the early 1900s.
I wait in the hope that one of my friends will be a family tree match but so far I have waited in vain….I am reminded of the old saying “All good things will come to those who wait”. Lady Elizabeth Currie might be advocating patience being a virtue we all know we should exhibit…. 😉
I wrote a great long comment and then lost it because I didn’t notice the captcha. So sorry….
Sorry…