I want to trace my family tree all the way back to when we first came to america, my last name is fowler so I?

Question

am assuming that is an english name, I am in germany which is very close to england I justy think it would be cool to find some long distance relatives there, is this in any way possible, with not spending allot of money?

Answer 1

Mormons do the best ancestry records here in america; also, Ellis Island has a website http://www.ellisisland.org/

Also, check out this site http://www.cousinconnect.com/p/a/0/s/FOW...

It's a shame you don't have more information to go on

Answer 2

Have a look as well at the UK National archives

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

Answer 3

Fowler is a family name of mine. My great-grandmother was a genealogist and traced our Fowler ancestors back to England. I doubted we're related, since Fowler is a fairly common name, but just in case - she was from the Iowa and South Dakota area.

You can sign up for a free trial at Ancestry.com. You will need a credit card, though. Fortunately, you can cancel online rather than over the phone, with no obligation to buy. Use the census data and the family trees to help you locate your family.

Answer 4

I too am interested in family history research, and I'm a descendant of Irish ancestors.

There are several possibilities for you to check out. (1) Yahoo Groups has genealogy forums you can subscribe to. (2) On line family history programs such as www.ancestry.com and FamilyTreeMaker offers free intro trial subscriptions that you can start from to create your family tree. Many good features are provided, like  automatically scanning millions of historical records for you to compare. They also have family heraldry and origins of surnames. (3) there are genealogy societies in every country that you can join, query and communicate with

Answer 5

This is what I found in connection with the surname *Fowler*

Surname: Fowler

This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is from an occupational name for a bird-catcher or hunter of wild birds. In the medieval period a fowler would have been an important position, and all major houses would have employed one. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "fugelere", hunter of wild birds. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. There are several namebearers listed in the "Dictionary of National Biography", many being men of the church, the others tending towards innovation, such as John Fowler (1826 - 1864), who invented the steam plough,in 1858 he received a prize from the Royal Agricultural Society for his steam cultivator, and William Fowler (1761 - 1832), an artist, who was said to have introduced lead lines in representing coloured glass. The name reached the New World in the early 17th Century, when it is recorded that one George Fowler, aged 22 yrs., sailed aboard the "Primrose" in July 1635, bound for Virginia. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Fugelere, which was dated 1218, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.

Answer 6

The only way to answer your question is to find out how long they've been in the US. If they came over between 1800-1850, the records are skimpy. You might be able to figure out the country where they came from, but not much else. The more you can share about your family from 1880-1940, the more we can help you answer the question.

Answer 7

Tracing your family "tree" means finding your ancestry, which is not limited to your surname. It includes your mother's ancestry (Fowler would only be her married name).  Just think logically.. back to your grandparents.. 4 of these, all of whom have different birth names. One is a Fowler.  Now, going to your 8 gr grandparents, the same is still true.. only one of them is named Fowler (and if you happen to run into an adoption along the line, even THAT is not necessarily true.)

In genealogy, you HAVE to use valid records, not assumptions. Until you find your actual ancestors, of whichever name, you are stopped. Your gr grandfather could be the immigrant in the early 1920s, in which case, you MIGHT find relatives. If the immigrant ancestor came to the US in the 1700s.. it is extremely unlikely that you would.

http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

Here is one of many guides on how you can start tracing your ancestry.  It isn't as complicated as you might think, AS LONG AS you understand that it is based in factual records, and how to find those.

However, it is important that you also understand why your surname, and finding ancestry are two different goals.

edit-

ahhh, the trolls and gremlins are out in force again this am. You have several quality answers, and none of them require thumbs down.