Ragna,
You can never tell with names. My Jewish ancestor's surname was Barnett, which I had assumed was an "English" name.
Now, I can't find any data on my g-g-grandmother, Sarah Pope, who was born about 1845 in Whitechapel (according to two censuses taken after her marriage). I sent away for the matching birth record but tracked the family in the census and that Sarah Pope (the only one born 1845 in Whitechapel) died before the 1851 census. Bah. On her marriage record, she said her father's name was Robert, but I've tracked the Robert Popes who had daughters named Sarah (born in Middlesex), even those Sarahs whose ages were way out, and they aren't the right families.
I'm pretty sure I have her with my g-g-grandfather in 1871 and I definitely have them in 1881. Nothing before & nothing after. My g-g-grandfather died in 1883 in the Bethnal Green workhouse hospital, so who knows if Sarah died or remarried or went into the poor house or what. There are too many Sarah Georges to tell. I can't track her son (my g-grandfather) in 1891 or 1901. Was he in the poor house or a charity school and listed by his initials? Maybe so. I've exhausted all possibilities that are available online at the moment. I'll never give up, though.
There was another guy with the same name as my g-grandfather, born the same year, living in the same city. Can you believe it? Luckily, my aunt had his birth and marriage records, so we know which one isn't him, even though we can't find him, LOL.
Our less-well-off or poor ancestors are much harder to track, especially if they moved around, or couldn't make up what year they were born or where they were born.
Anyway, my point when I started (several paragraphs ago) was that now I'm wondering about Sarah Pope's origins, although you'd think Pope would be anything but a Jewish name!
I recently talked to someone with the same surname as my mother's maiden name. His given name is Irish. Turns out his mother is Irish and his father is Greek; the family name was shortened and Anglicized at some point.
Oh, well, we Rootschatters always love a good challenge!
Regards,
Josephine
