Re: Kitts Origins, Irish perhaps, pre-1700
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In reply to:
Re: Kitts Origins, Irish perhaps, pre-1700
2/17/00
Our Jacob Kitts and wife Maria Barbara came from Wurtemberg/Baden (now a state in Germany) in 1759 to Chester/Delaware County PA. Some cousins of this family came earlier, others came later. Most came to the PA area then scattered throughout the states of PA, NJ, DE. One family moved into upper NY state. Another family spread out through the southern states. However, that group may have started early in the Philadelphia area.
Some immigrants using this surname came from England apparently via the Barbados.
I have found, in our own family, the name spelled as Cats, Catz, Kets, Ketts, Ketz, Kits, Kitz, Kitts, Goetz, Getz, etc. In the tax records of Chester/Delaware Counties PA, a multitude of creative spellings. The educated man wrote what he thought he heard. The immigrant had no idea how to spell his surname in America. Surname spelling, at least until about 1850, was in the ear of the person writing the record.
I live in Oregon where the mayor of the city of Portland is Vera Katz. Her ethnic origin is eastern Europe and Jewish although she did not know that until a few years ago.
As for the Holland emigration. For the last one hundred years that was assumed to be so in our family. The truth of the matter is that early 'Dutch' and early 'Germans' in the colonies were assumed to be the same because they spoke a like sounding language. [Pennsylvania Dutch!]
Please note, most people traveling to America from central western Europe (such as France, the Germanic states, and such) traveled overland until they reached the major port of Rotterdam.
Sometimes, an immigrant (and family) would find it necessary to find work in their departure city to earn enough to buy a ticket to America.
After boarding a sailing ship in Rotterdam, the next port was usually on the southern or western coast of England where the ship topped off water tanks and food supplies.
Thus, another reason to think the immigrant came from either Holland or England.
Maggie Kitts
So much to learn, so much to research, so little time.
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