One thing in this world is yours and yours alone. No one can take that away from you. That one unique thing is “you”, the sum of your body, emotions, thoughts, experience, your past, present and future. These things make you stand out from everybody else in this overcrowded world.
However, “you” is for a large part painted by your history, both personal and genetic. You reflect your forefathers, their lives, the conditions they lived in and their experiences as well. Genetic inheritance and history passed down generation after generation make your history as unique as yourself.
By looking back in time and finding out more about the history of your family, you will be learning more about yourself. Every name has its own history as well. Research your history and you will find out more about your name too.
The surname ‘Sawrey’ for example existed more than 13 centuries ago and has travelled through many countries. This Norse or Viking surname was taken over and changed by many generations, all from different cultures.
Sawrey was the name for a fallow marsh in England and used by the people of the village to identify themselves. Of course with migration the Sawrey people took the name with them through northern England and Wales. The Middle Ages had a lot of different languages, accents and dialects – as we today still have, by the way – so the name got a lot of different pronunciations and spellings. People today with the name Sowraie and Sowrah descend from that Sawrey family.
When you start doing some genealogical research you don’t know where you will end. You might even be one of the Sawrey’s! Or your family roots go even further back than those of the Sawrey’s, further back than the 8th century!
By starting the quest for the source of your name and the history of your family you confirm your identity in the world of today.