Stories

The Mysterious Percival H Alder-Barrett

When the family tree was transferred from Ancestry to TNG via Family Tree Maker (FTM) a glitch caused hundreds of media files, mostly documents, to become detached from their "owners" and I am currently  in the process of reconnecting them.  I am purposefully making time to critically examine the data  in the documents to validate against the data in our family tree, a lot of which had been gleaned from Ancestry hints from other member trees.  Many people on genealogy forums that I belong to distrust information from other member trees because it is badly researched, often has no sources to back it up and is simply derived by copying verbatim from other member trees without any form of validation.   Then other members copy it to their trees and, before long, the hints are heavily biased towards bad data.  The result is a never ending stream of poor quality Ancestry hints, which was one of my reasons for moving from Ancestry to TNG.…

15 Comments
04 Aug 2017
Name Sources

Richings Name Origin

Recorded in a number of spellings including Rich, Riche, Riches, Richens, Rinchin, Richins, Riching, Richings, and possibly others, this is an English surname. It has at least three possible origins. Firstly, it may be Old French, and a nickname for a wealthy person from the pre 10th century "Firstly, it may be Old French, and a nickname for a wealthy person from the pre 10th century "riche" meaning rich or wealthy; the term being introduced into England after the famous Conquest of 1066. Secondly, it may be a patronymicSecondly, it may be a patronymic of the medieval given name "Rich". This is a short form of the personal name "Richard", of Old German origins and meaning 'Strong and powerful'. This name was found occasionally in Anglo-Saxon England, but was popularized by the Normans after 1066. Thirdly, the surname could be residential and if so it derives from the Olde English word "Thirdly, the surname could be residential and if so it derives from…

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19 Jul 2017
Name Sources

Hackett Name Origin

This unusual name has two possible origins, the first of which is from an Olde Norse byname, 'Hali', in Olde Danish 'Hake', given originally to someone with a hooked nose, and popular in medieval England as 'Hack' or 'Hake'. A number of surnames were generated from this source, Hackett and Haggett being diminutive forms of the name, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Hako' and in 1218 as 'Hacke', while Haket de Ridefort is recorded in Lincolnshire in 1160.The modern surname can be found as Haggett or Hackett, and in fact the two forms are found side by side in some medieval recordings, as in Rolland Haget or Haket (1158, Yorkshire). The marriage of William Hackett and Sarah Shepherd was recorded in London in 1802.The Coat of Arms most associated with the family was granted to Sir Thomas Hackett, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1688; descended from an ancient family long settled in Ireland and has the splendid blazon of a…

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21 Mar 2017
Name Sources

Clarke Name Origin

This long-established surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is from a medieval occupational name for a scribe or secretary, or for a member of a minor religious order. The word "clerc", from the Olde English pre 7th Century "Cler(e)c", priest, originally denoted a member of a religious order only, but since the clergy of minor orders were allowed to marry and so found families, the surname could become established.It should also be noted that during the Middle Ages virtually the only people who were able to read and write were members of religious orders and it was therefore natural that the term "clark" or "clerk" would come to be used of any literate man, particularly the professional secretary and the scholar. One Richerius Clericus, Hampshire, appears in the Domesday Book of 1086.The surname is first recorded in the early 12th Century (see below), and other early recordings include: Reginald Clerc, noted in the Curia Regis Rolls of Rutland (1205), and John le Clerk,…

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21 Mar 2017
Name Sources

Howell Name Origin

The primary source of this ancient and distinguished surname is the Old Welsh male given name "Hywel" meaning "Eminent, Prominent". This name was borne by Huwal West Wala Cyning (King of the West Welsh), recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of Devonshire, dated 926, and by Hywel Dda, Hywel the Goat, Prince of all Wales and collector of the Welsh laws circa 950. In 1184, one Hoelus de Charlion was noted in the ipe Rolls of Glamorgan, and a Howell filius (son of) Ade Walensis appears in the 1221 Shropshire Assizes.  Early examples of the surname include: William Hoel (Wiltshire, 1183); John Howel (Cambridgeshire, 1313); and Hyllar Howell (Somerset, 1327).The second possible source of the surname is English, and locational from a parish in South Lincolnshire called Howell. Recorded as "Huuelle" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and as "Huwell(e)" in the 1190 Pipe Rolls of that county, the place was so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal byname "Huna", from…

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21 Mar 2017
Name Sources

Barrett Name Origin

  The origin of the Barrett name is unclear.  When my father Ferberd Henry Barrett ("Fred" 1923 - 2003) carried out some family history research in the late 1960's he came to this conclusion:It's unclear what the struck-through characters mean on the third line up.  Did he mistype?  Did he mean to type 'Barre?' Or was he trying to represent what is shown on the memorial?Well, as the Battle Roll is all online now it was easy to check, and he did mean 'Barre.'  This is one of 629 names according to Wikipedia, although there are several duplicates and disputed names so the real number is lower.  So we can draw a couple of quick conclusions:The Battle Roll does not support the idea that "...a Barrett came over with William the Conqueror."Barre would have been a nobleman.  Commoners were not listed in the Roll.It's nice to think we might be of noble stock and if the name "Barre" morphed into "Barrett" perhaps we are.…

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20 Mar 2017
Stories

Lt James Kennedy OBE (Mil) RNR

Abandon Ship!This was the order that Lt James Kennedy, commander of the HM Whaler 'Blackwhale' had to give on the night of 3rd January 1918 after his convoy escort ship hit a mine off East Fife Ness at the position shown on the map.James wasn't on watch at the time.  According to the official report on the incident carried out by the Admiralty, at 3:45 AM after a course change ordered by the convoy force commander, Office of the Watch James Nair (2nd Hand) spotted: ... a  black object right under his port bow.  An explosion immediately followed, resulting in the fore part being submerged and in her eventually sinking, after remaining afloat for about two and a half hours.Twelve men lost their lives.  Of these two are known to have been drowned from the raft.  The other ten were watch below engine room ratings, and it appears they were asleep on their mess-deck at the time.  As this mess-deck is right forward and in the immediate…

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19 Mar 2017

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