My Sauls family seem to have come from Holland, although this has yet to be confirmed. They settled in South Carolina at some point prior to 1850. This is the earliest certain record I have of the family, but I have a record that indicates the family may have been in South Carolina as early as 1805.
This is my place to post my current research findings and challenges, changes to my genealogy website, and any other genealogical information that I find.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Surname Saturday: Sauls
My maiden name, the surname Sauls has given me difficulty in my research. This is because there are two distinct possibilities with regard to its origin and meaning. One meaning of the name is English in origin. In this case, Sauls is a possessive form of the Hebrew first name Saul, meaning that the bearer of the surname Sauls is a descendant of someone named Saul. However, I have evidence that the surname Sauls is an anglicization of the German/Dutch name Salz. This form is found in most German- or Dutch-speaking countries in Europe. It means that the bearer of the surname is a dealer in salt, either its production or its sales.
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Welcome to the Geneabloggers family. Hope you find the association fruitful; I sure do. I have found it most stimulating, especially some of the Daily Themes.
ReplyDeleteMay you keep sharing your ancestor stories!
Dr. Bill ;-)
http://drbilltellsancestorstories.blogspot.com/
Author of "Back to the Homeplace"
and "13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories"
http://www.examiner.com/x-53135-Springfield-Genealogy-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-58285-Ozarks-Cultural-Heritage-Examiner
I'm a Sauls descendant (NC). Sauls can be an Anglicized form of Salz, which can also be a Jewish name. Before mass immigration in the 1880s to NYC most Jewish immigrants had come through Charleston, SC and dispersed throughout the South from there as peddlers and merchants. The surname was occupational as you mentioned, dealing in salt. Ever consider genetic testing?
ReplyDeleteI did genetic testing and the results indicate a German Swiss Ydna with some certainty. But my Sauls DNA is not a match with two other Sauls branches of which I thought a connection would exist between the three. We need more Sauls men to test at familytreedna site either family friend finder option or ydna 67 level
DeleteEarly records show Sauls people in north Carolina and isle of wight Virginia in 1600's. A county was named saulston in NC. The first Sauls or Saul if the same was a Thomas Saul from England indentured servant. I've seen no other early Sauls immigrants to connect with my male Sauls line which is pre 1853.
ReplyDeleteThere is a saulgau town in Germany and Saul town in German Switzerland high in alps.