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.

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.

21 comments:

  1. 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?

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    1. I 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

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    2. I would love to Join the many who select to have Genetic Type Testing. I have spoken to my Patriarch Grand Mother, who stated that out Sauls line came out of Austria. I have learned to the Surname of Salz; but in no wise found any true connection-linking Salz, to Sauls. I have found over and over within many records the S often is left off of Sauls, as well as apostrophized. I was born Oct. 15, 1963; in Ogden, Ut. to a Jimmy Sauls, and Janet Bath.

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    3. I have done genetic testing from ancestry.org and all of my DNA is associated with the British isles and northern western Europe. I was born northern California.

      Michael Sauls

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  2. Early 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.

    There is a saulgau town in Germany and Saul town in German Switzerland high in alps.

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    1. My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Sauls. Her ancestors landed in Twiggs County, Georgia in the 1820's and the descendants are still there. I had my father do DNA testing and it came back as nearly all English. I would love to know any sources you care to share. Thanks!

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    2. Hi, Renee. My Sauls family also hails from Twiggs County, the surrounding counties, and particularly, Pelham, Georgia. I was raised in south Fulton County; my grandfather was born and raised in Pelham. I would not doubt that we are cousins of some distance!

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  3. There two swiss colonies founded in colonial south carolina in what is now jasper county.One was called Purrysburg and the other was Salzburg. My last name is Sauls and I live in this general area. I've wondered if there is any connection with my last name and these swiss immagrants. I've also seen the Sauls name in early land transactions in charleston and colleton counties around 1810.

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    1. Hi. I am a Sauls from my maternal fathers side. They are from Colleton county. I am interested in learning any more info that you may have.

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  4. My name is Ashley Sauls. Any info would be great as I have only found what's been said already. I was born in Louisiana but my Sauls family is from Missouri

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  5. I too am a Sauls and my line went Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia(Twiggs,Dooly,Albany) and on to Florida. I seem to end up in Germany with the Sauls line (changes to Saul) however my 7th great grandfather's wife (my 7th ggrandmother) was obviously from France.(Marie la Croix Lanois (Lanoix)
    1660–1705
    BIRTH 1660 • France
    DEATH 5 JANV 1705 • Ids-Saint-Roch, France) I did get Germany/France on my DNA test.I can tell you that the Jews of the Roman Empire migrated to the Rhine River and spread throughout Germany and France. Jewish did not show up in my % on Ancestry but it did on MyHeritage and the other sites I uploaded to but it was only 3%. I saw a post from the Journal of The Sole Society that stated there is no info on the surname Sauls in Germany and it is probably not Jewish as it is not a Jewish spelling basically but everyone knows people changed their names, usually shortened them and sometimes just went by however the census taker wrote them since so many were illiterate and King Saul was the king of Israel and Judah. I really think the Saul/Sauls line came from Germany or France. I also have DNA matches to Germany and France. I really would like to know the answer

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  6. Im a Sauls and did my dna on myheritage.com it says I'm 63% english the other is iberian, east europe, north and west europe, scottish, whelsh and irish. I'd like to know more as far as the Sauls lineage.

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  7. I'm a Sauls and I'm from Timmonsville South Carolina. My Dad is the only person I know with that last name. I would like to see who my relatives are. I know his dad's name was Bille Sauls

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  8. I'M David Sauls my father was John T Sauls my grand father was Harry Sauls from Marietta Georgia

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  9. My name is Anthony Sauls, from West Virginia, while I have not done any DNA test nor had much success tracing back my family origins, my family tells me that we are of German decent. I have also theorized that the name either originates from the German Salz or the Jewish Saul, but have not done too much research into the matter.

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  10. This is very interesting. In am from Southwest VA. My grandfather always told me we were Black and yellow Dutch. Which does not make sense. He would never explain and would not talk about where the family came from.

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  11. I am a Sauls, we are from South Africa. Would really love to find out if we have any linage out there in the rest of the world :)

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  12. Some of the research I've found says Saul went to Sauls. And that Saul, came from the surname Casper. http://sites.rootsweb.com/~saulperrin/article1.htm Maybe this will help, idk.

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  13. Charles Sauls - saulsc at gmail dot comAugust 31, 2020 at 12:13 AM

    Greetings from the Texas branch of the Oregon branch of the Alabama branch of the South Carolina branch of the Sauls family! :)

    Before my grandfather came to the Pacific Northwest during WWII, our Sauls ancestors lived in and around Dale County, Alabama, for about 90 years before that, back to at least 1850.

    Our Sauls family records only go back to a certain Jane Sauls, born in Barnwell County, SC on June 14, 1822. She has no spouse listed in the family tree, and her relative (daughter?) Amanda Sauls was the first of our line born in Alabama (born March 17, 1850, at Troy in Pike County). Amanda also has no spouse listed in the family tree, and our records say she had one son, John William Henry Sauls.

    Some sources have a Leevi [sic] and Rhoda Sauls listed as Jane's parents, but some don't associate Leevi with Jane at all. It's very confusing.

    Unfortunately, 23andme doesn't seem to think I have any Jewish heritage: I'm about 3/4 "British and Irish" (everything from the Isles except Welsh), 1/10th French or German, and a smattering of Scandihoovian. My Y-DNA haplogroup is G-CTS9737... obviously of mysterious origin, but, hey, at least I get to be related to Ötzi!

    Good luck with your blog and your research! :)

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    1. Ruben Sauls Sr was born in 1773 and died in 1850 in Pike County Alabama. Suppose to be my 6th great grandfather

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  14. My paternal grandmother was jettamae sauls adopted daughter of John sauls of Georgia(Pecan Farmer) 1930’s census

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