Can anyone tell me where the last name "Stondell" comes from?

Question

May have been created in Ellis Island. Origin of Family probably Naples Italy but no Stondells found anywhere

Answer 1

It sounded English to me at first glance...it also sounds like a name which could be speeled in different ways....like Stonedell, or if Italian Stondello.

Answer 2

I find it a couple of times in census records.. once with John and Elizabeth and family, where John's birth place is Ohio about 1840.  The other location is Albert, who lives in Wisc. and who was born there.  Both are well before Ellis Island was built.

I flipped a coin, and went further with Albert.. because he indicated HIS parents were born in Norway.  Since I (now) know I am looking for Norway, I played with the sound of the name, and sure enough, hit on Stendahl, and located Albert and family in 1880 census, where his parents are Thorsten and Johanna Stendahl.  Dad was born about 1823; the two eldest boys in the family were born in Norway, and the next in Wisconsin.  USING THEIR AGES, the family migrated from Norway between 1859-1864.  

In later years, Albert is using the Stonedell spelling (at least this is how it shows up in the census), while others are using the original spelling.  Someone in the family may later have married an Italian (or not), but nothing here connects to either Ellis Island or Italy.

The critical point is that you have to clear out any preconceptions, and starting with yourself, find documents to work your way back. This would include things like birth/death certs, cemetery records,etc.. and once you reach the person born prior to 1930, they SHOULD be findable in the census records.  I used ancestry.com, since it has all census records, and it is a subscription service..but worth it.

Remember.. I flipped a coin to use Albert and find that original spelling. You *might* descend from John and Elizabeth, who are connected to Indiana, but Ohio before that.

When I check further.. Stendahl comes up in www.familysearch.org, with numerous entries. The kink in this is that those entries now indicate church records (original) from both Sweden and Finland.  One of my all time favorite commercials is the credit card one, where the son takes Dad to Norway (land of his ancestors) and they have a huge great time, until after partying and shopping, they went to the Hall of Records, and found out that they really come from Sweden.  There is a massive reality in that, which genealogists get.. never mind the credit card, you HAVE TO use documentation.  Without documents, you'll wind up stuffed with pizza, but no family records.

You are more than welcome if you want to send me the details of your ancestor born pre 1930, and I can send you the census record directly.

edit-

looking through 1930 census entries, I find a TON more persons with the Stendahl spelling, with different origins.