Hello! I'm continuing to write shorter posts on different ancestors each week following Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy challenge. ( www.amyjohnsoncrow.com ). This is week 7! Week 7: Outcast I couldn't think of a particular ancestor who was cast out of their community. What did come to mind are two ancestors who changed their surnames because of possible stigma associated with the meaning of name, combined with a move into a new life. I figure broadly speaking they were trying to avoid being an "outcast" simply because of their names. Posladek to Nalepka My maternal 2nd-great grandmother, Margaret Posladek, went by other surnames after immigrating to the United States. Her Polish maiden surname, Posladek, translates to approximately "buttock." Perhaps she figured it was better to tell others that her maiden name was something else. It appears she used the name Nalepka, which is a relatively common surname from the region of Poland where Margaret was born, a...
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