The name Stoughton is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “stoctun” which means a large fenced dwelling. This family adopted the name because they owned the manor of Stoughton in Surrey. The original form of the name was “de Stoctun, ” and it was also spelled Stochton, Staughton, Stogton, Stawton, Stocketon, Stocktun and Stotun, before being…
Author: Justin Durand
Calculating Ethnicity
Most Americans I know divide their ethnic origins into fractions. Someone might say, for example, that they are 1/2 English, 1/4 Scottish, and 1/4 German. The Europeans I’ve talked to think this is a very odd idea, because the person is simply American. I’m always intrigued by these ethnic percentages. Americans are so mixed that…
Ancient Israelites
If you live long enough everything you learned as a child will change. Or at least that’s the way it feels. When I was growing up in the 1960s in Utah and Nevada, I thought we were all pretty clear about the Jews and Palestinians. They were both descended from the Israelites in the Bible….
Roots of Human Family Tree Are Shallow
This article appeared online from the Associated Press on July 1, 2006. It appears to have been deleted from the source.Roots of Human Family Tree Are ShallowBy MATT CRENSON, AP National Writer Whoever it was probably lived a few thousand years ago, somewhere in East Asia — Taiwan, Malaysia and Siberia all are likely locations….
American Identity
The Radical Genealogist has an interesting article about American ethnic identity. Anyone who has traveled to Europe knows that Europeans are puzzled when Americans claim to be English or Scottish or French or whatever. A friend who had this experience told me that her hosts asked, “Why do Americans always claim to be something else?…