Posted by Dawn-Ann on December 11, 2010
Again from Records of the Closeburn Kirkpatricks by Charles Kirkpatrick, this fun little tid-bit:
“Amongst the Kirkpatricks, from earliest times, ‘Roger’ and ‘Ivone’ were favourite and common names. In our family there were only two ‘Johns’; one lost amidst the mists of the past, though figuring in the Ragman’s Roll.
“In later generations, few of the eldest sons escaped being called ‘Thomas’, thereby causing confusion amongst their descendants when trying to distinguish them.
“These ancestors of ours not only married two or three times, but in those days of large families, there were often two of a name, where one child having died, the parents christened a later arrival with the same name.
“In Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe’s family, there were two Isabellas, one John William and one William John!
“He has pointed out that a ‘nephew’ was frequently alluded to as a ‘grandson.’
“All these complications seem designed to tease antiquarians.”
Posted by Dawn-Ann on July 11, 2010
Well, not exactly new, but it’s a new template designed by moi.
It’s the refreshed Alberta Family Histories Society website and it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been working on it in my “spare time,” tweaking and refining until it was good enough to go live.
I can already see some things I’d do differently but what the hey? It was a learning experience! :)
Posted by Dawn-Ann on July 1, 2010
Time to start keeping our own records for future generations of family researchers
The genealogical community is abuzz with news that the long form of the Canada census has been tossed. As of next year’s census, 2011, everyone will receive just the short form to fill out. A voluntary “survey” will be sent out to about a third of households.
Folks who are not involved in genealogy are celebrating. Many found the long form, which only one in five households were asked to fill out in any given year, were onerous and intrusive. As a matter of fact, one Saskatchewan woman is doing battle in court over her refusal to fill out the long form.
But genealogists are less than pleased. For years, census data has offered important clues in family history research. An Edmonton Journal article says, “A door to Canada’s past has slammed shut, leaving future Canadians with little information about their own families and the country’s history, in a move the government says was prompted by privacy concerns.” This is exactly the kind of discussion I’m hearing in the genealogical circle.
Canadian census records are released to the public after 92 years for privacy reasons. The results of the voluntary “survey” will never be released to the public.
I have found some very valuable family information in census records. They brought my ancestors to life – I could see all the brothers and sisters, their ages, their neighbors, their father’s occupation. It’s sad that future researchers will come up against a brick wall on similar research.
I suppose that’s all the more reason for us to be writing out our own histories and gathering information together for future generations. Thank goodness for those of us who are the family “archivists” and story gatherers!
Posted by Dawn-Ann on March 11, 2010
I’ve know for some time that the Kilpatricks were kin, their name being a variation of Kirkpatrick. Tonight I stumbled upon an interesting explanation for the difference. The source is an old Kirkpatrick Newsletter dated Oct-Nov-Dec 1989. It was published by Nathan L. Barlow of Rison, Arizona, whom I have not been able to locate online. If anyone knows of him, please contact me!
Anyway, the article was written by George M. Kirkpatrick of North Syracuse, NY.
While there were many with the surname Kirkpatrick in America prior to 1800, it is difficult to find documentation to establish family lines. A further difficulty is found in the use of various surname spellings, particularly prior to 1800. Kirkpatrick and Kilpatrick are used almost interchangeably (and also Killpatrick). It seems likely that Kilpatrick is closer to the original surname spelling and that Kirkpatrick is the anglicized version… The Kilpatrick spelling is still found near Glasgow, Scotland as in the towns of ‘Old Kilpatrick’ and ‘New Kilpatrick’ while the Kirkpatrick spelling is common near the English border, e.g. near Closeburn and Dumfries. All three versions are still in use, however.
Posted by Dawn-Ann on February 11, 2010
Ira Cram, family ancestor
I stumbled upon an excellent blog post about how to deal with those “family legends” – some of which are true, some not; some of which are good, some not-so-good. Sometimes it takes a whole lot of tact and diplomacy.
Katrina at Kick-Ass Genealogy says this:
When you interview your family, sooner or later you will encounter a pretty tall tale. The novice researcher gets excited at the possibility of belonging to an exotic ethnicity; the more jaded historian dismisses the stories of war-time heroics out of hand. Neither approach is particularly constructive. In this article, we’re going to walk through how to prove (or disprove) a family legend.
Read the rest of her excellent article here.