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As I was told, my great Grandfather came to the United States from Holland right after the American Civil War. He bought a small parcel of land in the area of Chattanooga, TN and share-cropped the land with freed slaves. His son (my Grandfather) was Benjamin Floyd Lingerfelt and was married to Emma Lillian Smith. They had 4 sons (Benjamin Floyd Jr, Levi, Joseph, and my Father, Marion David).
I had been told that our last name meant "Dweller of the Land" and in basic terms, our history was that we were farmers and skilled tradesmen.