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| LIFE IN SOLERA | AUGUST 2023 | 35 SURNAMES Today we all pretty much have last names or more correctly a surname, but how did we get our surname? Centuries ago, many people only had one name. Then as villages, towns, and cities increased their populations and more people had the same single name, people began to use occupations or the city, town of birth or the area they came from as a last name. For example, 'Bill the Carpenter' eventually became 'Bill Carpenter' or 'Bill of Winchester' became 'Bill Winchester'. Many of these names also got their spelling changed over the years. The name 'Smith' was originally spelt 'Smythe', but over the years the 'y' got changed to an 'i' and the 'e' was dropped. However, even though this happened for whatever reason, there are still 'Smythe's, as well as 'Smith's. As we progressed into the second Millenium A.D., many people began using the city or area of their birth as a surname. Depending on what language was used, such terms as 'de', 'di', 'van' or 'von' were used to designate 'of ' or 'from' after a person's name. For example, 'Bill de Marne' or 'Bill van Hague' were how a name was shown. In later centuries the 'of ' or 'from' word was dropped and the place name became the person's surname. In some cases, the 'de' or 'di' was incorporated into the place name to form the surname, i.e., 'Demarne'. There are other ways a person has a specific surname. For example the Scandinavians add 'son' to the father's first name to make the son's surname different from his father's surname. The same holds for the daughter. They add 'dottir', 'dotter', or 'dottar' to the father's first name to give the daughter a new surname. There are several other surname schemas depending on what ethnicity you are or where you are from. In addition, the actual spelling of a surname can change depending on who is recording the name. For example, my surname, Cramsie, has been spelled several different ways over the centuries (Crampsie, Cramsey, Crampsey, etc.) so you see there are many different possibilities to explore when you hit that 'brick wall' on tracing your surname back through the centuries. ~ Bill Cramsie ANCESTRY GROUP In July, Richard Crowe gave a presentation on the History and Politics of Public in the United States. On Aug. 14, 4 to 5 pm (not the usual Monday and time), Forest Falls resident and author, Shannon Wray, will speak on the history of Mill Creek Canyon. A variety of topics for the rest of the calendar year 2023 follows and we hope to see you then. Sept. 11 (not Sept. 4), 4:30 to 5:30 pm: David James will speak on the history of underground mining in the United States (Note: the month's talk is not the usual Monday and time.) Oct. 2, 4:30 to 5:30 pm: Yucaipa resident and writer, Wayne Purcell, will speak on the historical occurrence of a murder and lynching that took place in Bridgeport, CA in 1891 Nov. 6, 4:30 to 5:30 pm: Marty Mangan will talk on the History of Cosmology (the science of the origin of the universe) - Part 1 Dec. 4, 4:30 to 5:30 pm: Marty Mangan will present Part 2 of the above topic HISTORY GROUP

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