The American Surname Series seeks to aid beginning genealogists in the most basic aspect of building a family tree-- understanding the origins of one's surname. These reference works trace the evolution of a given surname from medieval times to the present, and lay out for the reader important bibliographic references as they start their search for ancestors. Each book explains the connection of the surname under study to many aspects of British and American history, and details important record sources for genealogical research.
Ryan P. Jordan explores the limits of religious dissent in antebellum America, and reminds us of the difficulties facing reformers who tried peacefully to end slavery. In the years before the Civil War, the Society of Friends opposed the abolitionist campaign for an immediate end to slavery and considered abolitionists within the church as heterodox radicals seeking to destroy civil and religious liberty. In response, many Quaker abolitionists began to build "comeouter" institutions where social and legal inequalities could be freely discussed, and where church members could fuse religious worship with social activism. The conflict between the Quakers and the Abolitionists highlights the dilemma of liberal religion within a slaveholding republic.
This book uses the discourse of religious liberty, often expressed as one favoring a separation between church and state, to explore racial differences during an era of American empire building (1750–1900). Discussions of religious liberty in America during this time often revolved around the fitness of certain ethnic or racial groups to properly exercise their freedom of conscience. Significant fear existed that groups outside the Anglo-Protestant mainstream might somehow undermine the American experiment in ordered republican liberty. Hence, repeated calls could be heard for varying forms of assimilation to normative Protestant ideals about religious expression. Though Americans pride themselves on their secular society, it is worth interrogating the exclusive and even violent genealogy of such secular values. When doing so, it is important to understand the racial limitations of the discourse of religious freedom for various aspects of American political culture. The following account of the history of religious liberty seeks to destabilize the widespread assumption that the dominant American culture inevitably trends toward greater freedom in the realm of personal expression.
Building a genealogy or family tree obviously begins with a surname. But do you know where your last name came from? For those trying to trace their family back many centuries, do you know how your name was spelled two, three, or five centuries ago? While it may not be possible to know precisely why you have your last name, understanding the various ways your ancestors may have spelled their surname could go a long way to helping you trace your family tree back generations-and it may even provide surprising information regarding your family's ethnic background. Practically every great civilization in history has found organization in the family-whether it is the small nuclear family of the present, or the larger multigenerational clans of earlier times. The pedigrees and lines of succession used by royal families today are just one way that people keep track of their personal, local, ethnic or national story. It is almost natural that people have some kind of curiosity regarding their origins, and when people undertake the pursuit of genealogy, they soon find how interrelated they are to the larger nations and ethnic groups from which they descend. No one should take too much pride in the uniqueness of their ancestry at some point, since nearly everyone has royals and commoners, famous and obscure ancestors and relatives in their family tree-it is just a question of whether you can prove the connection. This book is a small, but important record of the Brawley family, in an effort to aid beginning genealogists in their hunt for ancestors. From the feudal period to seventeenth century Britain and the settling of North America, to the Revolution and Civil War, members of the Brawley family have played a part in the history of Western Europe and the United States. Ryan Jordan received a BA in History from UCLA (1998) and a Ph.D. in History from Princeton (2004). He has taught at Lafayette College, the University of California- San Diego, the University of San Diego, and National University.
