Totten Family History

If you are a Totten relative I hope you found this page.  If you are not and know someone who is a Totten, or descendant of, please forward the link to this page.  In reality, no one person can solve an entire genealogy puzzle because the task is so daunting that it truly requires co-operation of many branches to "flesh out" a family history.  Too many of the Tottens will "dead end" (my  apology for this bad genealogical pun) and never connect to the large file that I have compiled.  If you are willing to share your family history and in return hopefully connect to the Totten file, please contact me.  gatotten at hotmail dot com....yes, I have used this format to slow down the spammers so you will have to email me using the proper format.  I hope to hear from you soon.

     Most of the Totten family origins, USA genealogy, can be traced back to Edward and Joan Meade Totten, of Tottenham, England.  They emigrated to North America, Long Island, NY.        The folowing is from the Totten Family Hisory by Durling, "Richard Totten was born between 1643 and 1644, possibly at Hempstead, Long Island. No Richard is listed on the shipping lines prior to 1650 suggesting Richard's birth in the New Netherlands. No Richard Totten is listed in the 1658 tax list of Hempstead as having cattle, milk cows, calves, or acreage. His name first app ears in the Hempstead records in 1665, when he was granted a three acre home lot. Richard was a farmer and acted as cowkeeper for the town of Hempstead at least twice, in 1665 and 1668. He was listed as a freeholder in 1683. The names of six sons of Richar d and Sarah Champion have been learned. There are very likely so many daughters whose names have not come to light, and possibly a son or two who did not reach maturity. The 1698 census of Hempstead lists Richard's second wife, Elizabeth Roe, and children Sam uel, William, Benjamin, Jasper, Richard, Mary, and one unnamed ( newborn). Following Richard Sr.'s death on 12 June 1712 there wa s a quarrel concerning the estate between Peter, weaver, eldest son of Richard, and Peter Jr., cordwinder, eldest son of Peter. It was settled by Richard Sr's sons William, Benjamin, and Jasper."

If you are a Totten family member, male and your Y-DNA has been tested, it is likely that your Haplotype is R1b1a2a1a1a1 (U-198, shorthand notation); placing the Totten origins in The Netherlands, or North Belgium, adjacent to Germany.  This does not negate your family history of Welsh, Irish, Scotch, or English extraction - it just predates them as the root origin of your lineage.  If you are a Totten woman and you want to be tested you will need to have a male relative, preferably your father or brother, to determine your genetic contribution.  The Y-DNA is passed from father-to-son; unfortunately, the female genetic material mtDNA (maternal) does not follow this simple pattern. 

The most likely root source for the surname Totten is the German word "toten" meaning "dead", as in De Toten Hosen (The Dead Trousers), a German punk rock band.  The spelling of the Totten surname was "Toten", into the mid 1800's in New York.  Totens (Tottens) by the German root word would likely have been undertakers, grave diggers, or executioners (we hope not Zombies!).  Ancestry.com persists in claiming the origin is from the old English word "tot" from the Doomsday book, meaning village fool or idiot, (even though they have been contacted and asked to review their web page).  Since group or surnames existed prior to the English assignments in the Doomsday book it's logical that the surname Toten (Totten) was viable in the German language long before the English classification.

Roots of the surname Totten;  

Surname          Group              Subgroup         Language

TOTTEN          CELTIC             IRISH                ENGLISH

Top Countries                      FPM

CANADA                              34.15

UNITED STATES                  29.34

UNITED KINGDOM               16.56

AUSTRALIA                          13.2

IRELAND                               3.43

Top Regions                                                             FPM

NORTHERN IRELAND , UNITED KINGDOM               283.12

NOVA SCOTIA , CANADA                                          167.11

WEST VIRGINIA , UNITED STATES                           136.89

NEW BRUNSWICK , CANADA                                   129.62

NORTHERN TERRITORY , AUSTRALIA                     84.17

Top Cities

BELFAST , NORTHERN IRELAND , UNITED KINGDOM

GLASGOW , SCOTLAND , UNITED KINGDOM

ANTRIM , NORTHERN IRELAND , UNITED KINGDOM

CRAIGAVON , NORTHERN IRELAND , UNITED KINGDOM

LISBURN , NORTHERN IRELAND , UNITED KINGDOM

     Totten family members, at least military men in history, must have possessed the warrior gene responsible for the production of MAO, or monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that is increases the probability of survival of the organism and decreases the frequency of behavior that jeopardizes survival.

     In other words, an "in your face..don't even go there, or you'll get your ass kicked" mentality.  Arguably, it's a good trait - but only if your job is combat, and you can control it.  Do you know a Totten who acts like that?   I know several of them. ;^ )

     As an example, Brigadier General James H Totten, known to his men as "old bottle-nose" from his lack of sobriety and his penchant for abusive language towards his own troops, was a fearless artillery commander in the War of the Rebellion (Civil War).  In August 1861 he commanded Battery F, Second U.S. Artillery at the Battle of WIlson's Creek.  The enemy was attempting to flank the Union Army by sneaking up a small valley.  General Totten held his troops, cannons loaded with chain and nails (an old-fashioned fragmentation grenade of sorts), until the Rebels were so close that when they fired they tore them to shreds instilling overwhelming fear in the retreating survivors....it was a massacre. 

     “Totten would later become a brigadier general of the Missouri Militia and following the war he would be dismissed from the service for his drunkeness.” ("Duty, Honor, and Country", p123)

TOTTEN (includes Tatan, Tatin, Taton, Tattan, Tattin, Tatton, Tatum, Tootan, Tooten, Toten, Totin, Toton, Tottan, Tottin, Totton, Tutan, Tuten, Tutin, Tuttan, Tutten, Tutton)  Remember that spelling errors came from people - both the recorders and the family members. 

Errors abound in the census data.  I found one of my Totten relatives listed under the surname "Fetters" in a 1982 New York census!