My Moore family lived in this country first in the Maine town of York, then spent a generation in Mount Vernon before moving to Parkman and eventually Abbot. Those ancestors don’t seem to be connected to other Moore lines in Norridgewock, Mount Vernon, Ellsworth, Milo and early Abbot.
So it was no surprise to me some years ago to see Moore listed as the ninth most common surname in the United States.
But by the time of the 2000 Census, Moore had fallen to being the 16th most common name. In fact, Hispanic surnames, such as Garcia and Martinez, creeped ahead of Moore — no surprise, since census tallies have shown the number of Hispanics living in this country increasing by 43 percent between 2000 and 2010. However, it appears the 2010 listing of names is not online.
It’s interesting to look at the top 25 surnames in the United States as of the 2000 Census: 1. Smith 2. Johnson 3. Williams 4. Brown 5. Jones 6. Miller 7. Davis 8. Garcia 9. Rodriguez 10. Wilson 11. Martinez 12. Anderson 13. Taylor 14. Thomas 15. Hernandez 16. Moore 17. Martin 18. Jackson 19. Thompson 20. White 21. Lopez 22. Lee 23. Gonzalez 24. Harris 25. Clark.
In addition to Moore, surnames I have in the top 25 are Davis, Taylor, Lee, Harris and Clark.
A website you might be interested in on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_North_America. This has the names I cited, except it lists Hansen at No. 9, while other sources I checked listed No. 9 as Rodriguez.
Even lineage groups are taking an interest in identifying new ancestors through which people might become members.
The National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution listed Manuel Lanzos, or de Lanzos, as a Louisiana man who rendered “Patriotic Service” during the American Revolution, one of dozens of new ancestors approved between Jan. 1, 2015, and March 1, 2015.
The DAR has a committee on minority research, which includes African-American, Native American, Hispanic and Jewish ancestors. Readers may learn more by visiting the website at dar.org/national-society/genealogy/using-genealogical-research-system-grs and clicking on Minority Research.
I looked for the surname Garcia among ancestors that have been used to join the DAR and found two of that name, including Manuel Garcia de Texada, listed as serving in Galvez’ battalion.
Members of the DAR have filed applications on more than 400 Hispanics who served in the military or gave patriotic service, a category which includes serving in state militias or on town boards or giving aid to the Patriots, such as those who donated some of the 10,000 Texas Longhorn cattle used to feed them.
Hispanic patriots generally lived in Louisiana or in Nueva Espana, which included parts of Texas, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Mexico. They may have served in battle at Pensacola, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; or Fort San Carlos, later St. Louis, Missouri.
Many of the Hispanic soldiers served under Gen. Bernardo de Galvez, who led expeditions at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Pensacola and Mobile. The May-June issue of American Spirit, the DAR-published magazine that can be found at some news stands, has a nice article on de Galvez.
The same issue has stories on the Molly Stark Home in New Hampshire, the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and on the Hermione, a replica of the Marquis de Lafayette’s frigate, which will be in Castine July 14 and 15.
The DAR launched its Spanish Task Force in 1998 to identify Hispanic patriots in order to help more women be eligible for DAR.
Franco-American resources
I am so pleased to tell you I will be presenting a program on “French-Canadian and Acadian Genealogical Research” for the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine.
This free program on Franco-American resources will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, in the library at Crossland Hall, which is across Long Road from Alfond Arena on the University of Maine campus in Orono. Parking should be plentiful this time of year, I’m told.
For i nformation on researching family history in Maine, see Genealogy Resources under Family Ties at bangordailynews.com/browse/family-ties. Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402, or email familyti@bangordailynews.com.