I’m African American and my family’s last name was an interesting one because it is very German sounding but with a twist.
That’s when I learned that the reason for this was due to my ancestors being given that name by their…”new family”…but they didn’t want to give them the actual name so they put a twist on the spelling just slightly.
Apparently that was a thing with a lot of last names given by the “new family”.
Example: Villiams is the slaver’s last name so the slave gets the last name Williams. Close enough to be recognized, but not enough to note equality.
I’m African American and my family’s last name was an interesting one because it is very German sounding but with a twist.
That’s when I learned that the reason for this was due to my ancestors being given that name by their…”new family”…but they didn’t want to give them the actual name so they put a twist on the spelling just slightly.
Apparently that was a thing with a lot of last names given by the “new family”.
Example: Villiams is the slaver’s last name so the slave gets the last name Williams. Close enough to be recognized, but not enough to note equality.