French Connection?

Question

My grandmother's maiden name is Neal and family lore has it that the name is French in origin. Supposedly, the original name was De Carneal (or some variation of that spelling). During the French Revolution a family of brothers decided to flee France. One brother came to America and upon his arrival he decided to adopt the name Neal. Any information regarding the name De Carneal and it's possible french origin would be helpful. Also, if anybody has heard this story repeated in their family I would love to hear about it.

Answer 1

If you cannot trace by paper, opt for a DNA test, which will prove any French Connection. I opted for www.familytreedna.com, which sent me a written report and granted me my own webpage on their site.  It is fun and exciting!

Answer 2

this question is hard to answer

Answer 3

Maybe ur grandma will know or one of ur relitaves

Answer 4

This is what ancestry has for Carneal:

Scottish: habitational name from the lands of Carneil near Dunfermline, Fife.

Possibly an altered spelling of North German Ka(r)nehl, an occupational name for a spicer, from Kaneel ‘cinnamon’

There was nothing about De Carneal on Ancestry.com.

How far back have you gone in your research?

Answer 5

I've supposedly got a Marquis De Le Granae (spelling very uncertain) who fled to Ireland to avoid decapitation, and thence to Quebec. Unfortunately, I have yet to prove this piece of family lore, though I do have these French lines back to the 1850s. I expect I may have to GO THERE and rummage through church records to get the shoe-box evidence.

Do not be disheartened however. Family lore is fallible, but I've verified or clarified ten of twelve family lore stories, with only this one and a Battle of Bunker Hill/ Sons of Liberty story left to prove or disprove. It can be done, working backwards in time, one document at a time, inch by inch, decade by decade.

Happy hunting and good luck.