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The Barefoots-RevisionBarefoot comes from my dads side of the family and is a Norwegian name, originating in Norway with the original spelling of Bjornfoot. Norway is now a unitary monarchy whose territory takes up the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and also shares a long eastern border with Sweden. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Barefoot is a nickname for someone who goes without shoes the majority of the time. This surname was usually given to someone who could not afford even the simplest footwear, or to someone who went barefoot as a religious penance. I could not find any meanings or history regarding the original spelling of the name.My ancestors migrated from Norway to the United States in the early to mid 1800s, taking up residence in New York. Organized emigration started in 1825 due to Norways shortage of jobs and religious persecution. My ancestors were Quakers and came to America to experience religious freedom. Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, a faith that emerged as a new Christian denomination in England during a period of religious turmoil in the mid-1600's and is practiced today in a variety of forms around the world. To members of this religion, the words "Quaker"and "Friend" mean the same thing. To get here, Norwegian emigrants had to cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat, which is believed to have been about a fourteen week trip. My great, great, great grandfather, Crogan Barefoot and his wife Lula were believed to be among the first Norwegian emigrants to arrive and start their new life in America.My ancestors were known to be entrepreneurs and brought with them from Norway the Norwegian Elkhound. The Norwegian Elkhound is the national dog of Norway, originating there as early as 5000 B.C. The Elkhound has a medium to larger stature and a gray and brown long coat. It resembles a wolf in appearance. The Elkhound was developed to help early Scandinavians hunt big game such as moose and bear. Elkhounds can also be used for hunting smaller game. Crogan and Lula continued to breed the Norwegian Elkhound here in America, and sold it to hunters all over the east coast. Also being known for its beautiful coat and stature, these dogs were strong competitors in dog exhibitions sometimes bringing their masters home a substantial cash prize. Most Norwegian emigrants worked as farmers and lived in farming communities with people who shared their culture and religious beliefs. This gave opportunity for Crogan and Lula to sell these dogs to farmers as well as hunters to help do farm work. This is how my family first got established and made a cushy living for themselves in the United States. It is not known when or why my family dissolved their dog breeding business.Crogan and Lula had many children, one of them being my great, great grandfather, Miles Barefoot who owned a small farm in Western New York where he grew various crops and raised cattle and hogs. Although he made a comfortable living by trading and selling his crops and cattle he was mainly known for his devout Quakerism. He considered himself a Christian, and based on a main principal of Quakerism he believed that every person he met had something great in them. He truly cared about people, and organized countless charity events in his community to help others. He later married Ida Flowers, and moved down to South Carolina where he continued farming. Miles and Ida also grew a sizeable family, among their children was my great grandfather Miles Mack Barefoot. Miles Mack Barefoot mainly helped on the farm growing up and did not acquire any formal education. Fortunately he inherited the entrepreneur gene, and had saved enough money to start his own oil company in the early 1900s. From South Carolina he moved to Mecklenburg County in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was later taken over by his son, and my grandfather, Bunyan Wesley Barefoot. My grandfather was very smart, and a great student. A family friend offered to pay his tuition to Duke University, but he did not accept. Instead he married my grandmother, Ruth Earnhardt, and continued to run the oil business. Together they had eight children, which he supported by delivering oil to people with oil furnaces in the 1950s. In 1955 Bunyan Barefoot came down with Rheumatoid Arthritis and had to sell the business. After some recovery he started a carpet cleaning business and called it Superior Rug Cleaners. My dad and his siblings grew up extremely poor. Regardless they were the first generation to attend college. My family is made up of very hard workers. My dad, Claiborne Wesley Barefoot, was able to go to Guilford College when he walked on to the football team and received a scholarship. However, he was working many jobs at the time and did not have a car. Sometimes he would have to walk ten miles to get to, or home from school and work. He graduated with a bachelors in education, and later attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte to receive a business degree. He has worked a pharmaceutical sales rep in Greensboro for over thirty years. My dad married my mom, Holly Barefoot, in 1964, and started a family five years later, and has taken excellent care of us.My family is the prime example that hard work pays off. No matter what adversity you face you can still be very successful. I am proud to be a Barefoot.

Works CitedMeet The Norwegian Elkhound.akc.org.Hound Group.web.10 Apr. 2015.Norwegian-Americans.norway.org.Norway the official site in the United States, 17 May 2014.web.10 Apr. 2015.Quaker Beliefs.minneapolisfriends.org.The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).web.10 Apr. 2015.