Family Research in Ancient Times - Challenges
Objective: Find the first family who used a specific surname.
We sometimes find family genealogies which go back to Adam and Eve, or to a king or famous person of the distant past. When we send in our DNA for testing, we may see results that we came from (say), Northern Europe some tens of thousand years ago.
These results are very interesting, and we all like to see a quality family genealogy which has this kind of scope. We would like to see the same level of proof which we use to find our great grandparents. However, there are certain problems with this type of research.
These results are very interesting, and we all like to see a quality family genealogy which has this kind of scope. We would like to see the same level of proof which we use to find our great grandparents. However, there are certain problems with this type of research.
Sometimes, important records simply do not exist. Back past the mid 1500's, there were almost no standard birth records, even in parish churches. In these cases, we search property, court, and narrative accounts. In such cases, the spelling of surnames was very fluid. Until after the Norman Conquest of 1066, there were no surnames as we know them. In such cases, we apply forensic analysis with probable justification, to come up with a record.
In Ireland, there are special challenges. While they took census returns every ten years starting in 1810, all of these were lost in a fire in 1911. The earliest available census returns start in 1911. The only birth and marriage records were recorded by parish clergy, usually in Latin, and many of these records are lost. We have special methods for managing many Irish research projects successfully.
Sometimes, there are errors in existing records, such as in census returns. In such cases, we apply Forensic methods, based on the existing known records, to come up with the best possible date or event in your family ancestry.
Any family ancestry of a significant time span, will require a certain amount of forensic analysis.
In Ireland, there are special challenges. While they took census returns every ten years starting in 1810, all of these were lost in a fire in 1911. The earliest available census returns start in 1911. The only birth and marriage records were recorded by parish clergy, usually in Latin, and many of these records are lost. We have special methods for managing many Irish research projects successfully.
Sometimes, there are errors in existing records, such as in census returns. In such cases, we apply Forensic methods, based on the existing known records, to come up with the best possible date or event in your family ancestry.
Any family ancestry of a significant time span, will require a certain amount of forensic analysis.
Sample Projects showing first appearances of Family Surnames
Reading Early Records
Almost all source records from before the 1930s, are handwritten, and can be hard to decipher. Early church records were handwritten in Latin, by the parish clergy. In the 1100's early British records were written in Middle English, which requires course study to decipher. (Note that Shakespearian English is considered Modern English). Before and just after the Norman Conquest of 1066, records were written in Old English, also called Anglo-Saxon, and a graduate-level course is required for translation. We have taken these courses, and can translate. At the right, see a sample of the Anglo Saxon language.
The Ripley Surname
You may not have the surname Ripley, but by the genetics of marriage, if you descend from an early English family, then you too may be descended from a Ripley found in this study. Speaking of modern Ripleys, we have 'Robert' Leroy Ripley of 'Ripley's Believe it or Not'. (if you are interested and pay a fee, we can send you his entire genealogy and life history - send an email to us for a quotation). We have 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (Starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law), and Lieutenant Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in 'Alien'. And well of course, my surname is Ripley.
So, with a group of other talented researchers, we looked back to see which early family first adopted the surname 'Ripley'. We discovered that this first family was the family of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. An extensive study followed, and you may read it here. We had to fill in some gaps in the lineage forensically, using court and other records, to take this lineage from Thurstan's time, to the beginning of parish church records in the early 1500s. Even at this, such a study has more genealogical relevance, with names, dates & records, than a wide-swatch DNA study. This study shows what kind of early family history could be discovered for YOUR surname, with a fee in the range of $3000.00.
NOTE that this project represents hundreds of hours of research and may not be copied. If you would like to save a copy, please send us an email message first, to pay a fair cost to do so.
So, with a group of other talented researchers, we looked back to see which early family first adopted the surname 'Ripley'. We discovered that this first family was the family of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. An extensive study followed, and you may read it here. We had to fill in some gaps in the lineage forensically, using court and other records, to take this lineage from Thurstan's time, to the beginning of parish church records in the early 1500s. Even at this, such a study has more genealogical relevance, with names, dates & records, than a wide-swatch DNA study. This study shows what kind of early family history could be discovered for YOUR surname, with a fee in the range of $3000.00.
NOTE that this project represents hundreds of hours of research and may not be copied. If you would like to save a copy, please send us an email message first, to pay a fair cost to do so.
Thurstan's statue
at York Cathedral
at York Cathedral
Send an email to describe a possible surname-origin study for your surname, and to obtain a quote for such a project. Be aware that there will be some unverifiable forensic-assumptions in the ancestral chain. Our email address is nffgfamily@hotmail.com.
Origins of the Phillips family.
This is another well-known family. It has been the subject of much study and research. DNA studies have been done, which are somewhat inclusive. (See our note about DNA problems at 'Important Online Readings' at this website.) I descend from a Phillips family who lived in the area of New York State near the New Jersey border in the early 1700s.Some of this family later moved to Canada. This is a German-origin Phillips family. We suspected that the family had roots in Wales, where the first family to use the surname is found in the archives of Picton Castle at Pembrokeshire, where MANY interesting narratives & accounts were found. We sent away for these archives, and many of the records turned out to be very primitive, lacking the details we want in modern family research - many dates were missing, many names, etc., but there was a generational lineage shown, and by cross-referencing against property and other records, we created a genealogy which may be imperfect, but is the best possible rendering of the first-family records. In the end, we did not resolve whether our NY-Canada Phillips of German origin, WERE or WERE NOT connected to the first family in Wales.
Picton Castle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, ancestral Phillips home.
NOTE that this study represents hundreds of hours of research and other costs, and may NOT be copied. If you would like to save a copy, please send an email to obtain a fair cost to do so.
