In doing family research, I found an old letter from one of your readers dated April 27, 2001, entitled "You Say 'Man-Shack,' I Say 'Man-Check.'" My maternal grandfather's surname was Manshack (pronounced man-shack). And, many of our ancestors can be found at the Handbook of Texas' Web site. The Manshack name dates back to the 1500s when conquistadors arrived from Spain. The surname is Basque. Basque is a region between Spain and France, but is ruled by Spain. The people are neither Spanish nor French. The Basque spelling is Menchaca or Manchaca, and Basque pronunciation is man-shack. The word means passageway. The French spelling of the word is Manchac and is also pronounced man-shack. Bayou Manchac, which is located in between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, was named by early French explorers. For more information on where this town got its name you might go to the Handbook of Texas: "Manchaca is ten miles southwest of Austin in southwestern Travis County. It was named for nearby Manchaca Springs, where José Antonio Menchaca once camped." (Source: www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online)