In the Welsh family last name Owen is there any difference between an Owen and Owens?
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Completely different surnames, Unfortunately when searching the surnames in registers the name can be entered by mistake with an s when there shouldn't be one.
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In Wales research you may come across a naming custom (patronymics) where a child has the name of his father attached as a second name (ie. Evan Owen). It was often evident when a family decided to abandon the patronymic naming custom and adopt a family surname because they would attach and "s" at the end (ie. John Owens).
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Thank you Susan. I like your answer and it adds up to what my Mother was taught about her maiden name as she was growing up. Her biological Father was Ernest Owen. His family was among the first white settlers in the northern panhandle of Idaho. They were fur trappers and mountain men of that era. If the legend is the truth they were renowned horse thieves. They would steal them in Idaho,drive them to Canada,steal them again, then steal them again,drive them to Montana and then steal them again and drive them back to Idaho. Supposedly they were Native American ponies that were herded from reservation to reserve[Canada] to reservation and finally back to a Idaho reservation.
She was also told that her name[Owen] was traceable back to the House of Owen in Wales. I need to get my research shoes and glasses on and see if I can trace this out. Again, thank you so much for your great information. Jim.
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It can get confusing especially when they name their children Owen Owens which happens quite a lot. Good luck with your search. Always willing to help.
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In my situation I see an evolution of the name. Some of my oldest ancestors I have record of had the last name Walter. As I move forward in time I occasionally see someone recording them on a record as Walters. Eventually they all were referred to as Walters. So I always search for both Walter and Walters and then evaluate all the information to see if it is applicable.
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