I want to find out where my ancestors are from?

Question

I know on my moms side, but not my dads. My maiden name is Nunnery. And my mothers maiden name is armel....but my grandmother's last name on her side is definitely russian(dont remember it). Anyone happen to know? It's such a off the wall last name you never hear about....I have no clue! And I dont feel like paying money to find out...any ideas? Anyone know about any free sites?

Answer 1

I know: you want it now and you want it to be free.  Have you tried your local library? But, there are sites:

You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history.  Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department.  Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc.  Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required).

Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers.  They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you).

A third option is one of the following websites:

http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

http://www.geni.com/

Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever.

Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example.

Good luck and have fun!

Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won't show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA.

I used www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program.

Answer 2

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Answer 3

Type your surname in wikipedia, that site is awesome!

Answer 4

"Recorded as Nunney, Nunnery and Nunnerley, this is an English medieval surname. It is locational for someone who lived at a place called Nunney in Somerset or Nunnerley in Sussex and Cumberland, the latter two being 'lost' or at least diminished villages. In all cases the meaning is the farm belonging to the nuns. The derivation is from the Anglo French word "nonnerie", a building in which nuns lived under religious rules, from the pre 7th century word 'nunme' and the Old French 'nomme', both meaning a nun, and where applicable the suffix "-ery" denoting the place belonging to the nuns, and '-leah', a farm or enclosure in a forrest fenced for agriculture. Topographical names are some of the earliest names to be created, as topographical features, whether natural or manmade provided obvious and convenient means of identification. Amongst the early recordings in surviving registers of the diocese of Greater London is that of the christening of Robert Nunnery on November 10th 1717 at St. Botolphs without Aldgate, and William Nunnerley christened at St James Clerkenwell on June 1st 1739. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling."

Armel - "French: from a Celtic personal name, Arthmael ‘bear prince’, Latin Armagilus. This was the name of a saint who was the subject of a local cult in Brittany."