BellaOnline Forums Family Genealogy Would love some help with surname!

Hi everyone! I briefly took up trying to locate my ancestors a few years back and got so overwhelmed I gave up. My last name is Dukes, which my greatgrandfather changed to from Duke back before he married. I was able to trace some ancestors back to the civil war and even to a rice plantation not far from where my granparents grew up. Where I got lost was when my grandfather told me that we were of irish decent but it is hard to find the last name Duke in any irish surname database. I would like to takle my grandfather's side before my grandmother's as hers is extremely complex. Can anyone suggest anything?

Tuck away the Irish part. That may or may not be true. A cousin once told me the story about my ancestor being born in NC in 1840 and being a shoemaker. Found out the ancestor was born in 1820 and he was a farmer. Then I found a record 100 years earlier indicating birth in 1740 and occupation a cordwainer which is a shoemaker for my ancestor's ancestor.

Give us the dates and places where you got stuck.