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ArchivesRe: The German surname "Gallwas"
in reply to a message by Mburnash
There are Gallwas all over Germany as you can see at tinyurl.com/h75jn9b. According to the data at tinyurl.com/zqg5fhq and tinyurl.com/znmap5k, Gallwas is an alteration of the French name Gallois which is from Old French galois 'fun-loving, bon vivant'.
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Replies
Thanks for your reply!
Today there is in Germany the surname "Gallwas," but in the thousands of archives I have looked through, there were no Gallwas in the 19th century. Thus, I am not able to trace the person on my family tree.
The URL you sent me I have seen before, but I have been mystified over the present day usage of this name since there are none in ANY archive within the years of the 1800's -1900's for which I am searching.
Also, I have seen the French variant for Gallwas, but since my grandmother's familly only ever spoke German and never considered themselves of French blood I wondered if there was another variant of the spelling for Gallwas that would apply to my family.
Thanks for your help!
Today there is in Germany the surname "Gallwas," but in the thousands of archives I have looked through, there were no Gallwas in the 19th century. Thus, I am not able to trace the person on my family tree.
The URL you sent me I have seen before, but I have been mystified over the present day usage of this name since there are none in ANY archive within the years of the 1800's -1900's for which I am searching.
Also, I have seen the French variant for Gallwas, but since my grandmother's familly only ever spoke German and never considered themselves of French blood I wondered if there was another variant of the spelling for Gallwas that would apply to my family.
Thanks for your help!
1
A French surname in Germany need not be of recent immigrants. Many French Huguenots settled in Germany in the 17th century, long enough for a spelling to develop more acceptable to German speakers. At one time (18th century?) Berlin's population was 25% Huguenot.
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Thank you! That is very interesting. It sure does widen the possibilities.
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