Personalities.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 349, 15 January 1903, Page 2

Personalities.

BOMANCE OE SUEJTAMES/ j JMKHERE are probably many people ilJfiW who speculate about their ancesqftL» tors and the origin of their family who are unaware that an interest* Jng and very valuable clue is euppUed by the very name they bear; and yet it is a fact that there is scaroely a single surname which is not in a way an index to family history. It is instructive, for instance, to know that the original bearer of the nnme of Jennings was in all probability a pi nor; the first Thwaytes, a woodfeller; and too primeval Leech a surgeon. The Marsh nils of to-day were originally smiths j "the Websters are deaoended in the paternal line from a weaver; the Fullers and Walkers from a clothfuller; and the Barkers from a tanner. '"•'""'■'

In days when surnames were unknown, and Christian names no longer served to. distinguish one John or William from several others in the same town or village who bore the same name, nothing could be more natural than to label them with their different trades and professions Thus, we find in our early records mention of John, the tailor; John, the Carter, the Chapman, or the Cowper, whose desctmdents thus derive their names of 'faylar, Carter, Chapmas and Cooper from the trade-label which first served to distinguish their ancestor from his fellow-townsmen. Thus, in cases where a surname indicates a trade it furnishes a fairly reliable clue to the occupation of the ancestor who first bore it, information which could not probably be obtained from any other source. It must not, however, be concluded that a surname, is always to be interpreted quite literally, and that the ancestors of a 'King'or a 'Lord* were actually of royal or • noble rank. It is more probable' that they filled these exalted roles in the old-world mystery plays, or had been 'Lords' and 'Kings' at popular sports and festivals. . Similarly, a surname is often a very useful clue to the country from which a family originally sprang. - Thus the original Gascoignes, no doubt, came from Gascony, the Britons and the Bretts from Brittany, the Scotts from S utland and the Normans from Normandy. Certain surnames, too, which do not bo clearly indicate the country of origin are distinctly traceable to certain foreign countries from which the original bearers almost certainly came. Thus the Conquests, Motleys, St. Aubyns and laßcelles are of Breton origin; the Harcourts, Percys and Nevilles are of Norman,- and so on. .It is possible, too, to go a step farther and on fair presumptive grounds infer a crusading ancestor from such names as Mount jij. the name of an eminence near Jerusalem; from D'Acre, famous for its siege; and from Jordan, although it would, not be wise to rely too much on such an inference. The precise town or country which may be said to have: been the cradle of any particular family can equally be known, from a surname. The original bearer of the name of York can be traced to that city,, the Chichesters came from Chichester, the Corawalls f rOm Cord wall, and so on to infinity almost; for there is scarcely a town, village or manor, a- ; river, hill or dale that has not given its name to one or more families.

The origin of these names of locality is interesting. When a man migrated from, let Us say, Skipton to Seattle, he would be known in his new domicile as Johannes de Skipton, or John, who came from Skiptoß, fchua distinguishing him from the other native Johns. After a time the prefix 'de' would be dropped, and his descendants for all time would bear the name of ' Skipton.' Among the natives Seattle, to pursue oar illustration, the indigenous J jhns would be distinguished in different ways, as John, the son of Thomas, who was quite a different person from John, the s->n of John, or John TTnd r the Killi or Jo>-h by the Beck. The descend-, ants of these gentlemen would be known for all time by the names of Thomson, Johnson, Uaderhill and Beck. • It is interesting to note how many of our modern surnames are evolved from the Christian names of remote ancestors, called William, for example, may be known today under a Bcore of different surnames, ranging from Wulantoa to Wilkes and from Tillotson to Tilly. Thomas is responsible for at least ten familiar names, including Thomkins and ThomUn; and Henry for the unlucky number of thirteen, among which are such strangely dissimilar names as Hawkins, Halket and Harris. „.

The termiaal V in some nam's is only an abbreviation for 'son.' Thua the first John Paillips was John, the son of Phillip; and the original Reynolds was son of a man whose Christian name was Eeynold, Many names are derived from the physical peculiarities of the remote ancestors who first bore them. The first Rueseland Racd were es ruddy as their names imply ;. and similarly we get such descriptive names as Long and Short, Stoat and fhyane, Whitehead and Bedhead, Lightfoot, afid rleavyside. The original Crump" was probably a crcocked man; Snell and Fleet were active and swift; whib from moral qualities or de fects we cet such names as Coward and Blytlie, Meek ,and. Wilde, Merry and T rry (or tearful) ' v " borne surnames have been- very un- 1 kindly treated by time, such as Death, which in its original form was Da Atb, and Deville, which looks much, more attractive as D j Ville; and. .in some cases the change brought by the centuries is so great that the original name cannot be recognised in itsi corrupt modern form.j Who, for instance, would see the con-, nccion between Knevett and Duvenett, D-ibscot and Dimprecourt, Troublefi Id and Tabfrville, or between Mungey and Mount] ay ? i And yet the names are identical in origin. ... J j