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This website last updated January 14, 2019

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Durham Passengers to America, 1600-1800
(listed Alphabetically)

Colonial Durhams
(Durhams in the US Colonies who were born before 1776)

Durhams in the Military
(listed by the war they participated)

Check out Durham Descendant Reports
(listed by state and county) (Alphabetic Listings - HUSBAND and WIFE)

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Goal of this website...
There are many Durham researchers out there dedicated to finding their ancestors and finding connections to other families. Many have hit "brick walls" in their research. I am one of these. I have found that researching related families around mine have opened a few doors, and allowed me to find new information regarding my own ancestry line. The goal of this website is to take the many resources of information regarding the Durham families and coordinate them into one website. Perhaps from the collective input of many researchers, many of these "brick walls" can come tumbling down.

As with many databases, this one is not perfect, but I have tried to be as accurate and complete as I can. I encourage people to help make this database as accurate as possible. Whether you would like to submit additions or corrections, any information is appreciated. I do ask that this new information be documented. Although much of this database has
been researched by me, I have relied on other researchers to help fill in the blanks, and have given them credit where credit is due. I want to thank these dedicated genealogists for everything they have done.

Durham Surname Origin
This word "Durham" is derived from the Saxon "Dun" and "holm", a town in a wood. It seems rather to come from the British Dour, water, and holm, land surrounded mostly by water. It may be derived from Doire, which, in the British and Celtic, signifies a woody place, abounding in oaks; hence Doireholm or Dourham, that is, the place or town surrounded by woods.

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857.

Ancestry.com's definition and meaning of the surname "Durham":
English: habitational name from Durham, a city in northeastern England, named from Old English "dun", meaning ‘hill’, plus Old Norse "holmr" meaning ‘island’.

 

 

 

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