The Privilege Of Ownership And Your Family

You may think that you know your ancestors, but what do you know of their property ownership? The privilege of ownership was not common in the past and the ability of people to own land often changed the fortunes of those people.

For example, in the early history of the United States, many states only allowed land holding adult males to vote. There were specific ideologies behind such provisions, and these date back centuries in Europe. Europe was generally ruled based on land ownership. Those who owned the land ruled those who did not.

So how does this affect your family? Look at surnames for some clues. Often, surnames were based on professions. Others were based in patronymics that carried the father’s given name to the next generation. But what of those that don’t seem to fit? In Scandinavian countries, land holders sometimes carried the name of their estate. Even in England this was often the case. My wife’s grandmother, a Wakefield, came from a family that originated on an estate in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, which is held by a distant cousin named Wakefield today. In parts of Germany, men who married the daughter of a landed man with no sons would move onto the farm or estate and take it as his surname.

Consequences Of Ownership

Most people who did not own the land had to pay rents to the land owner, meaning they gave part of their harvest, or product of their labor for the opportunity to live on the land. It also often meant that they held an obligation to stay on that land and continue to provide that rent in perpetuity. This would pass down from generation to generation.

Some might obtain land through acts of valor in war, or by gaining favor with someone of power. Others might marry well and change their status, but for most, life lacked mobility.

What Changed?

Major change in the world occurred when the Americas opened to Europeans in the 17th century. Suddenly there was a place with plentiful land to be owned. For the people native to the land, this was a disaster. They generally did not live with a code that recognized land ownership, so they did not know how to deal with the people who came and claimed specific places as theirs. My own ancestry includes Native Americans. Others pushed them out of their lands.

Some say that this was unjust, and perhaps it was, but it was nothing new to the world. Warfare and political intrigue has changed maps and land control for millennia. Does it mean that they acted in moral, legal, or ethical ways? No, but they generally accepted that life worked that way.

As land became available, many took the opportunity to take a chance and leave places that their family may have known for centuries. Hope called, and the pain and anguish of poverty or oppression moved them to try. Some came with ideas that in essence kept them in servitude.

What Keeps You In Servitude?

Today, property ownership is common, but people still live lives of servitude. The deciding factor for most today is mindset. Is the privilege of ownership something that you claim in your life? Do you own your circumstances, or are you still pointing to someone else for your position in life? Is it your boss, or your spouse’s spending? Perhaps it is the government that has put you where you are today.

Our attitude is the anchor or the projectile for our situation. If you want to be moving, change the way you think. Look at your ancestors and see who thought differently by learning about them and how their life played out. You may find that there are real inspirations, and others who cause you to think on how you are acting and thinking in similar patterns.

If you would like some help learning how to find these lessons and how they can help you find the life you want, please contact me.