DUICK DEWICK ANCESTRY CHART

This ancestry chart covers 9 generations of recorded Duick and Dewick births and marriages from the earliest records up to about 1770 -- from the reign of Henry VIII to George III -- showing how new surnames developed as families grew, split up and moved to new parts. Check out the five sets of twins!

HORRIBLE GENEALOGY FACTS

Unless descended from those of noble birth -- meaning rich landowners -- genealogy experts agree that it's virtually impossible to trace the lineage of most ordinary people back more than 300-450 years.

DE WICK, DUKE OR DUYCK DERIVATION?

Up until 1474, Duke and de Wick were the only two names of their type -- starting with D and ending with a K, KE, C or CK -- in recorded existence in the British Isles. Both appear to be French-Norman names, but only the Duke surname survived in recorded history births and marriages in the British Isles over the following centuries.

SURNAME CHANGES AND NATIONAL EVENTS

From 1476 to 1541 there were no more new surnames that looked or sounded anything like Dewick, but from 1542 the changes occur regularly, almost every twenty years. That these surname changes occurred at the same time as monumental changes were happening nationally and globally, spilling over into ordinary life and upsetting the status quo is hardly surprising.

BARKING UP THE WRONG FAMILY TREE

Traditional genealogy asserts that you start with the latest record, usually yourself, and work backwards through time. This is a time-honored tradition -- very efficient and practical because it ignores all other relatives -- but too many us lose interest when we hit the inevitable missing links or bark up the wrong family tree altogether. Why end your lineage in the 1800s just because you cannot find anyone earlier with the same name?

WHY RESEARCH FAMILY HISTORY?

Inevitably, at some time in the future, we will all be DNA tagged and required to show a 'pedigree' before applying for a job or a license to breed. Don't laugh, it's coming! Your family history is going to become as important or more so than academic qualifications, and don't worry about the apes and the black sheep -- every family has a few them. It's the length and breadth of your lineage that counts.

CREATIVE NAME CHANGES FOR DEWICK

There are very few surnames that come through history without some change, and in determining ancestral possibilities you need to be very creative -- remembering at all times that how a name is written, read and spoken is dependent upon various dialects, styles handwriting and the speech, hearing and sight impediments of all concerned.

GERMAN ROOTS

Bearing in mind that just about everyone with English roots originates from the Germanic Angles and Saxons who invaded Britain after the Romans left, it should not surprise anyone that their more immediate ancestors might also have been German.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

When William the Conqueror took control England in 1066, his French Norman lords and ladies established themselves as the ruling caste over and above the English and this iniquitous caste system has prevailed to this day along with name changes that reflect French influence.

GAELIC ROOTS

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many English speaking people maintain that their name is a corruption of a Gaelic name -- either Scottish or Irish -- and this belief is particularly held by Catholics who desire a more romantic ancestry than the one the records give them.

17TH CENTURY ENGLAND

It's difficult to imagine England being in the throes of revolution, but 400 years ago it was one of the most dangerous places on earth and not even a king was safe. Considering outbreaks of plague, the Scottish Union, civil war under Oliver Cromwell, the Great Fire of London, the 'glorious revolution' of William and Mary and uprisings in Ireland, it's little wonder that parish records are so patchy.