When William Nelson Travis was born on 19 June 1894, in Arcadia Township, Lapeer, Michigan, United States, his father, Sillamon Travis, was 41 and his mother, Florence M Koyl, was 34. He married Bera Dee Lawrence on 30 November 1920, in Isabella, Delta, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Union Township, Isabella, Michigan, United States for about 40 years and Grant Township, Iosco, Michigan, United States for about 1 years. He died on 12 April 1991, in Mt. Morris, Genesee, Michigan, United States, at the age of 96, and was buried in Flint Cemetery, Genesee, Michigan, United States.
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1894–1991 Male
1898–1982 Female
1927–2010 Male
1930– Male
1853–1924 Male
1860–1938 Female
1894–1991 Male
1899–1985 Male
English (mainly Lancashire and Yorkshire): from Old French and Middle English travers, also Middle English travas, travis, a word with several meanings. It may denote a toll paid for the right to cross a boundary or bridge, the surname perhaps being for someone who paid or collected such tolls. Alternatively, it may mean ‘crosswise, sideways’ or ‘dispute, disagreement’. The Old French word also had the sense ‘crossing, passage’, and it is more than likely that the surname is Norman in origin, for someone who lived at a crossing place or at a place so named (compare French Travers 3). The presence of the preposition ‘de’ (and perhaps also ‘le’) in early forms of the surname appears to indicate a topographic or habitational explanation, but the French preposition and definite article were sometimes added gratuitously to Norman surnames as a sign of their high social status. See also Travers 1.
Americanized form of German Drewes .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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