RAE This name has roots in Hebrew, in Old French and Old English, and is how Scots spell Ray. It is short for Old Testament Rachel meaning ewe. She was Jacob’s “beautiful and well-favoured” wife. Old English and French roots involve nickname rei, king. If you acted like one, served in a royal household, or played the part in a pageant or were king of a festivity, you’d be called one. Rae and Ray are northern forms of roe and roo inspired by roe deer and its fleetness. “Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices” is translated from The Song of Solomon. Or because of medieval spelling eccentricities, Rae might be intended for Old English Rea, resident at stream or river, or OE Rye, someone on island or low-lying land.
Clan Macrae means descendant of grace as befits one of the clans once involved in hereditary service to the Celtic Christian Church. Notwithstanding, Macraes were “Shirts of Mail” in support of Clan Mackenzie. MacKenzie chiefs had their western stronghold at Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich in Kintail. Mathesons supported Mackenzies but Macraes normally garrisoned the castle. [Their own mustering spot was beneath Squr Urain in Kintail.] To fill a power vacuum Donald of the Isles, Gruamach the Grim, led a rising 1539. They bore down on Eilean Donan garrisoned at that moment by only three. Behind battlements Duncan MacRae drew bow and pierced the leg of Donald the Grim. The chief angrily ripped the arrow out, severing an artery and bleeding to death. In the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 Macraes fell almost to a man fighting alongside their close ally. Eileen Donan was cannonaded by England’s Royal Navy, Macrae hereditary constables within. MacRaes may be few nowadays in Kintail but are found all over Scotland and, through heavy emigration, in the U. S., Canada and Down Under. Irish kin to their name is McGrath or McGraw. Most Reas are of County Antrim and stand for MacCrea.
Dr. John Rae (1813-93) was born in the Orkneys and is well remembered in Cana-da for his exploration of our Far North. The Bay looked to the Orkneys for workers hardened already to life up north and employed him 1833 onwards as surgeon, explorer and trader. This durable Orkadian proved foremost Arctic explorer of his day and has a fort, isthmus, strait and river named after him. Rae searched in vain for the lost Franklin expedition but came so close, about 65 kilometres, that he learned enough from local Inuit to bring bad news personally along with small items of proof back to England 1854.
John Rae (1796-1872) was another Scot who came to Upper Canada and head-mastered a couple of schools and authored serious economic works. His older sister Ann was prominent educator and writer in Montreal. John voyaged to Hawaii via Panama and California then wrote at length about Polynesia.
Rae, most popular as a first name in Australia, has also come to be feminine of Ray or Raymond, or just another way of naming some girl a ray of sunshine. Although a name by itself since 1918, Rae is found in compound names such as Rae Ann. Niece Gil-lian née Hanington, who works out of Seattle, Washington, bears Rae as middle name.
RANDALL/RANDOLPH The Old English personal name Randwulf meant shield wolf. Old Norse Rannulfr derived from rand meaning rim plus shield according to some. Others see in this name hrafn for raven plus ulfr for wolf. So we have Anglo Saxon Randwulf soon joined by perhaps Danish and certainly later by Norman Ranulfs. They were sounded in the Middle Ages as Randall and Ranulf.
For documentation they were latinized as Randulfus/Randulphus and Ranulfis/ Ra-nulphus. Randall endured; although Reaney & Wilson claim it came from Randel, dimi-nutive of Rand. Latin forms of Randall also survived, which may have influenced 18th century scholars to think Randolph the correct form although the latter has been less popular. Randall sired some surnames but as a first name dimmed after the 14th century never quite flickering out.
Both versions revived 1860s with Randall gaining some popularity mid-20th century USA. It was there and in Australia that short form Randy came to represent both first names plus Andrew, and then became a name on its own. Not so in the Old Country where randy means horny, and so it goes in Canada but nobody here seems to care. Girl names Randi, Randie can be pet forms also of Miranda.
Randolph “Randy” Andersen b. 1941 of Scandinavian stock in Indiana State, USA, is my niece Gillian née Hanington’s first husband. Their daughter is ever-perky Kirsten, running an art gallery in Seattle, Washington. Randy I remember as a street-smart young Hoosier, this byword for men of the State a corruption of husher which once meant brawler. In Randy was more potential I expect for hustle than husher.
RAYMOND Old German personal name Raginmund meant counsel or might-protection. We’d say good counsel is good insurance. Raymond was sole and respected scholar resi-dent in the abbey of 10th century St-Geraud. Its two-score monks were noted for cal-ligraphy, Raymond for knowledge of grammar and for his elegant Latin. The monastery was burned by Huguenots 1569. Raymond is yet another name Norman conquerors brought into England. In the 12th century a young Norman-Welsh knight, Raymond le Gros [the Fat] Carew, made quite a name for himself in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, distinguishing himself in its advance party, and capture of New Waterford and Dublin. See my Carew MS.
Two saints of 13th century Spain bore the name. St. Raymond of Toulouse was a Dominican involved in charity. He sailed the Mediterranean using his cloak as sail not as boat writes Ms. Elderbroom, tidying up some legend. He d. 1118, whether on land or sea she doesn’t reveal. Majorca calls Raymond Lull (c. 1232-1316) its saint. He sowed wild oats before becoming tertiary Franciscan. He spent nine years learning religion and cul-ture of Islam but his appeals to popes for help in converting Moors were in vain. He was stoned to death in Tunis. In Ireland Raymond does for Redmond in Counties Cork and Kerry.
The several surname spellings of Raymond indicate Middle Ages acceptance al-though it remained rare as a first name until 1840s. However, by 1900 Raymond was in the USA top 20, slackening early ‘80s. The first U. S. ambassador to Canada was Ray Atherton, nominated late 1943. Blind Ray Charles b. 1930 singer/ composer/ bandleader is still thumping out soul music he pioneered, described as a blend of gospel, R & B and jazz. In the UK Raymond peaked that very year.
We had well-born Canadian actor Raymond Massey (1896-1983) of stage, screen and tube for much of the 20th century to help keep this name going. Actor Raymond Burr (1917-93) from New Westminster, B. C., starred in hit courtroom TV series. Defence lawyer Perry Mason debuted on CBS 21 Sept. 1957 lasting until ’66, a tube record cap-ped by two Emmys. Then in wheelchair he enacted San Francisco detective Robert Iron-sides, impairing his vision by always having to look up at movie lights. His sidekick in Perry Mason was gumshoe Paul Drake [William T. Hopper (1915-70) son of actress/ columnist Hedda]. It was amusing to observe pedestrian actors finally able to afford nap-kin lunches. Both had to drape themselves in ever-bulkier tweed jackets to camouflage increasing girth.
Dean of science fiction writers is Hollywood scriptwriter Ray Bradbury b. 1920. He delights all since he never grew out of his childish wonder about everything. Future fiction is the first new literary form since the English novel arrived in the 18th century.
Raymond brothers Donat and Adelard were hoteliers in Montreal although Adel-ard (1889-1962) first finished an RCAF career as air vice marshal. Donat became senator 1926. Another brother, Alphonse, started a food canning and preserves business, served on Quebec’s legislative council 1936 and expanded commercial interests. Rev. William Odber Raymond (1853-1923) son of a lieutenant colonel of Loyalist descent in New Brunswick became Anglican archdeacon of Saint John 1908 and leading authority on pro-vincial history. His son, Rev. William O. Raymond b. 1880 was professor of English at Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, Que. He like his dad was elected fellow of the Royal Soc-iety of Canada.
Raymond, a town in Alberta, echoes its Mormon settlers from Utah who started sugarbeet crops. Japanese and Hungarians also settled in. Their village “stampede” dates from 1902 so Raymond claims first use ever of that word for cowboy competitions.
Raymond Samuel Riddell we knew as a pleasant, soccer-playing captain from a heavy helicopter unit based in Ottawa. Spouse of my niece Janet McDonald that was, he left the Armed Forces c. 1970s and joined the Halifax law firm of brother-in-law Robin. Raymond is a name meaningful for the law.
REBECCA Old Testament Rebecah was wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau [Genesis 24-27]. The name may come from Ribqah meaning bound or yoked for the actual Hebrew source-word is marbak, cattle stall. The root may lie somewhere within Aramaic since Rebecah was Aramean. The Greeks rendered her name Rebekka and the Latin form was Rebecca. The name has always flourished among Jews. The Protestant Reformation with its reactionary turning to the Bible resulted in a new emphasis on Old Testament names. There now were more Rebeccas in Christian households, and Puritans made very good use of it in the 17th century.
The choice faltered at the close of the 19th century after steady use for hundreds of years. However, in the USA this name picked up 1930s and peaked in the ‘60s. In Brit-ain by ‘80 Rebecca ranked fifth among women’s names and was borne by those of various faiths.
There was a Rebecca in Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) but this Scots pioneer of the historical novel let rival Rowena get the man. Daphne du Maurier b. 1907 Cornwall, England, wrote the romance Rebecca in ‘38. Her novels involved earlier Cor-nish environs. Sir Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) brought out a Rebecca movie in ‘40. From Hollywood Sir Alfred gave new dimensions to thriller movies. Rebekah Assembly involves women in the Independent Order of Oddfellows. This fraternal and benevolent society came out of Manchester, England, early 1800s, spreading to Canada and USA.
It was through a Rebecca that a New-World German limb was grafted onto our family tree. Governor Edward Cornwallis who founded Halifax 1749 found Cockneys lacking in pioneer resolve and asked urgently for more suitable settlers, perhaps German Protestant farmers? Hundreds came over in each of the next few years, Rhinelanders, Hu-guenots and Swiss from the Alps.
Gottlieb Seidler, widower, was quick to woo and marry Margarita Leipster, wi-dow, the year after being granted the fishery in Portuguese Cove 1750. It supplied the Halifax market. Descendant Rebecca Sadler [names anglicized by this time] in 1825 became wife of George Munro (1798-1869) later of Munro’s Point, Halifax County. His father was John, Founder Father of our Nova Scotia Munros, who had died at the Cove 1840 aged 71. George and Rebecca had 10 children including my great grandmother Re-becca (Munro) O’Neill, who escaped into a book after marrying an older man addicted to the extensive social life of Halifax Irish. They did have five or six children, my admired Grandma Lavinia placing between Ann and Sarah Elizabeth “Belle”. Rebecca died c.1880 of Bright’s Disease in her 50s. Earlier called nephritis, Bright’s is a kidney disorder. My wife has a grandniece named Rebecca, Becky Small b. 1992 London, Ont., #1 daughter of John Patrick Small. Son-in-law Bill’s latest grandchild, Emma Rebekah Rothery, was born 2 July 1999 in Tennessee.
REDMOND This is an anglicization of Irish Gaelic Reamann which itself is another way of saying Raymond. Mac Reamoinne is a Raymond descendant. Redmond can also mean someone red of hair or of ruddy complexion. An Old English personal name is a possibil-ity; raed, counsel, joined with mund, protector. Redmond is rarely a first name.
Redmonds were a Hiberno-Norman family important in Irish history. They are almost exclusively of south Wexford. MacMurroughs to the north in that county, some of whom are called Redmond, are distinct from MacRedmonds Mac Reamoinn who be-long to the Burkes.
The grandmother I never knew, Mary “Polly” Wallace (1856-98) was a Redmond. The man who would be her husband rescued a damsel in distress in Quebec City in the 19th century. Dad wrote that two men were molesting her so his dad downed ‘em. She must have been in her late teens and he, 24, a travelling salesman out of Toronto. Thomas Patrick Wallace became her Tam and she his Polly. They started the Nova Scotia branch of Wallaces by moving to Truro early in the last decade of the 1800s. Polly died aged 42 bleeding to death trying to give birth to twins. Grandfather Tam was killed 1919 at a rail-way crossing. Few crossings if any had safeguards in those times. Of 11 of their children entering the world, only five survived to have children of their own. The youngest boy at Polly’s death was my Dad, then 5, who wrote seven decades later that his adored mo-ther had Norse/Celto-Iberian roots.
The Redmond tragedy began in Ireland mid-1840s as blight struck potato crops and what was stored in pits. Famine and disease descended as they have so often in Irish history but this time for years in succession with relief mismanaged. Folk died, were driven out or stuffed into decrepit ships for the Dominions.
Thomas Redmond and his wife ran the gauntlet. They survived a long and ardu-ous crossing – it could take a couple of months or so – in one of the cramped coffin ships with inadequate and undercooked food and rampant pestilism. They got by a Grosse Ile immigration process where thousands died, and actually made it into Lowertown, Quebec City. Mary “Polly” was born 1856 and brother Sylvester a couple of years later. Ship’s fever, actually typhus, rushed through packed Irish slums, and took their parents. It hap-pened ashore in other ports, particularly Montreal and Saint John. Halifax and Kingston, Ont., could not avoid epidemics either. Polly and Sylvester now were orphaned, she just four years old, he two. Fortunately the Irish retained some closeness in spite of their or-deals so an aunt married to an O’Brien took them in.
Thomas Redmond, Founder Immigrant, had been born in county, bay, or town of Wexford, Ireland. Anglo-Normans had taken quickly this vital Viking trading centre 1169 after landing nearby. Yet Aunt Greta Granville in Halifax, sole surviving granddaughter, youngest of Dad’s siblings and now herself gone, understood that Thomas and wife came over from County Cork. They could either have lived in or embarked at Cork.
We know so little. It’s survivors who make history, not victims. That being said, in their memory my late Uncle Joe Wallace had Sylvester for middle name and my late cousin Louis Wallace was given Redmond for his.
REEVIE We have an embarrassment of possible sources for the surname Reevie. A reeve is somewhat historical these days. Originally this was the man elected by fellow tenants as link to the lord of the manor. The “lord” might be anything from ordinary farmer to baron. Some ceremonial was involved and such a position obviously varied in impor-tance. Port reeves originally were in charge of heavy grates defending access to castle, town or manor. They grew to be principal magistrate of a port or series of ports. From Anglo Saxon times the port reeve of London after the Norman conquest evolved gradually to lord mayor. A shire reeve in Old English times had local jurisdiction under the monarch as chief governor of town or district. The role changed name and expanded after the Norman conquest so that a sheriff was chief official of an entire county. By the 14th century a sheriff’s legal responsibilities passed to justices of the peace and by the 16th responsibility for militia went to lords lieutenant. Decline in powers was offset by increased ceremonial duties. The original reeve who once spoke for fellow tenants was now a minor official appointed by the lord. He ran things as bailiff, steward or overseer. A reeve was also one to oversee a parish, be churchwarden or the like. The evolution of the title in London was port-reeeve, Saxon for chief governor of its harbour. The Nor-mans initially changed this to provost. Then maire came into use under Henry II and soon after this was anglicized to mayor. Edward III granted the prefix Lord and in 1354 the style of Right Honourable was begun. In Canada from 1890 a reeve served as council president of a village or township. As the 20th century drew to a close, reeves and sheriffs became rarer following the leads of the Mother Country. Occupational surnames Oldreave and Oldreeve found chiefly in Devon, England, allude to once high-ranking posts.
Of course every sailor knows that to reeve is to pass a rope or wire line through block or ring. The ship herself for that matter threads or reeves her way through shoals, leads in ice, or heavy traffic in a seaway. Or a reeve is the female of a ruff. There was the man in 1327 Worcestershire, atte Reuese in Middle English, indicating he was living on the edge of woodland for example. Someone named Reeves could either be the son of one, or someone employed in the official’s household.
Go as far back as about 2000 BC in the Old Country for reaves; meaning a system of fields whose boundaries were banked earth or stone. Earthen bordered areas were lyn-chets put to spade or plough. The majority of reaves held livestock, boundaries topped by hedges. Dartmoor in Devon has the most elaborate system in Britain or possibly in Europe. In Ireland, MacGreevy, Reavey and variants from O Riabhaigh single out some-body “grey or brindled” – another case where a nickname replaced an inherited surname. O’Rive is a venerable, perhaps extinct family of County Down. MacGreevys were an important sept in the Middle Ages, chiefs and lords of Moylurg in north Connaught. The border betwixt England and Scotland four centuries ago was a harsh region of raid and counter raid if actual armies weren’t on the move. Raiders were called reivers and when they mounted up they were going reiving i. e. rustling and pillaging, sometimes in the hundreds. Look up Douglas and Graham to get some inkling. Two descendants of such riding families were U. S. presidents “LBJ” Johnson and “Tricky Dicky” Nixon. The -t- in Border surname Johnston got dropped some time between there and Texas.
The late Christopher Reeve [1952-2004] played Superman in popcorn land late last century then was made paraplegic 1995 by a horseback accident. His Paralysis Foun-dation was based in Springfield, New Jersey. He also travelled to encourage other crip-ples face to face, and made fund-raising appearances for spinal research. His heart gave out 10 October ‘04 while hospitalized for infection. Handsome Keanu Reeves was b. 1964 Beirut to English mother, Hawaiian father. He appeared in Abraham “Bram” Sto-ker’s Dracula 1992. Since then The Matrix boosted his screen appeal, another box office hit being The Watcher. He was an Internet star on the ‘04 list of Canada’s 100 richest.
Our connections by marriage to Reevies include Robbie Deshaies that was, b. 1936 Timmins, Ont., who raised their 10 children. Her Tina was b. Centennial Year in Chambly, Que., and married our #1 son Duncan at Toronto. Bridesmaid was sister Patricia b. 1963 Scarborough, Ont. Tina’s younger brother Keith and family from Barrie, Ont., attended Duncan’s 50th birthday celebration North Carolina. What’s the origin of their Reevie name? The family won’t say.
REINHILDIS Hilla [Struck] Jürissen perpetuates in her formal baptismal name a seven-century-old tradition of her native village of Riesenbeck in North Rhine/Westphalia, Germany. An account appears in relief on a plaque affixed to Reinhildis Brunnen, a com-memorative water fountain at the village church. Words tell the story in Plattdeutsch, a Low German dialect. Here’s the gist of the legend.
A young girl in Hilla’s words ”not well treated by her parents” appeared one day in Riesenbeck back in the 1200s. She was being borne along in a chariot drawn by two unguided oxen. The villagers made her welcome and were convinced of her holiness so that in time she was made their patron saint. Her name certainly was holy. The name element rein is Old German for ragin meaning advice; the second part hildis means fight, “fighteress” as Hilla wrote. Reinhildis seems a woman warrior for high causes.
“My mother thought that it was a much more interesting name than Ann, Mary and Elizabeth. I never met people from other German-speaking regions having this name, but it is not easy to live with it in non-German-speaking areas as I have for more than 30 years. I am glad Hilla sounds fine with Jürissen, so for ‘normal’ life the problem is resol-ved. Sometimes I have to use the name on my passport and so I get letters addressed to Mr. Reinhildis Jürissen. The daughters got short and simple names [Uta, Katrin] because I have such a long one. Reinhildis,” Hilla assured me “is definitely not related to the Rhine Maidens. The only thing in common with these ‘ladies’ is that they have names like Brunhilde, Kriemhilde….” Hilla does take her story with a grain of salt and suspects the fountain was no more than the village water supply. Another charming medieval tale that can’t stand scrutiny.
From the dawn of history in northern Europe, names of great rivers continue Cel-tic. The Rhine [Rhein, Rhin, Rijn] is rooted in a Celtic name for a river/sea divine. The Danube, waters of heaven, recalls great mother goddess Danu. The later Irish Gaelic equi-valent means swift flowing. The higher valleys of Danube, Rhine and Rhone, their tribu-taries and sub-tributaries, are full of Celtic names. The river Seine comes from goddess Sequana. Celtic chieftain Viridomar [Virdomarus] who commanded 30,000 gaesatae against Rome 222 BC, identified himself as son of the Rhine, its goddess his ancestor. Gaesatae are called a tribe in error; Dr. Nora Chadwick and other Celtic authorities write they were hand-picked warriors who fought ritually naked on the battlefield, armed with heavy spear. There must have been other Celts as well; Roman defenders looking down from ramparts reported milling Gauls garbed in bright clothing – akin to tartan?
RHIANNON The beauteous Rhiannon is about to wed Pwyll. His rival Gwawl traps him into yielding her up during the wedding feast. Something to do with male honour and all that. However, at Gwawl’s wedding celebration, a disguised Pwyll manages to get Gwawl into a magic bag, with Rhiannon’s help of course. Then Pwyll’s followers thump and kick the bag. This Welsh tale echoes an Irish one about Mongan and the king of Leinster.
In the fourth year of wedlock, Rhiannon gives birth to a son for Pwyll. Attending women fall asleep: baby disappears. They quickly smear Rhiannon with dog’s blood and then accuse her of killing her own baby. Years later Rhiannon finds out that her child has been safe all the time with a nobleman. The boy took the name Pryderi with the pointed meaning Care. Other Rhiannon tales appear in Celtic mythology.
Rhiannon, according to Oxford Press names expert Patrick Hanks, is a minor Welsh deity associated with the moon. In early Welsh literature, The Mabinogi, Rhian-non’s a daughter of Hyfeidd the Old. Old Celtic Rigantona, great queen, is possibly the root of this name.
Revival of Rhiannon for girls is no doubt tied in with the current Celtic revival since it wasn’t used as a first name until the 20th century. France of late has relaxed its ban on unFrench names, so rising fast in popularity at fonts there is Rhiannon. Born 1974 Ottawa was Rhiannon Rhys-Jones whose Welsh dad Wyn was my niece Gillian’s doctor here, then spouse.
RHYS This traditional Welsh name means ardour but from other sources one infers that the ardour has to do with fighting. It was a royal name as in Rhys ap Tewdur d. 1093 and Rhys ap Gruffud (1132-97). The anglicized spelling is Rees[e] and also Reece. Rees and Price [a squished ap Rhys] are much more common surnames than Rhys. Rice gets in here too because ap, for son of, has fallen away. Rhys is family name of barons Dynevor. Wales-born Wyn Rhys-Jones M. D. is former husband of Gillian née Hanington, my niece. Like his countrymen Wyn is somewhat addicted to song.
RICHARD Old German Rich-hart meaning powerful ruler [or Anglo-Saxon Rice-hard, rule-hard] was popularized by Norman conquerors rather than by locals. King Richard I of England, Richard the Lion-Hearted (1157-99) was a popular monarch despite his ab-sence on the Third Crusade and more time away while his subjects were scraping together a huge ransom for him. Another Crusading ruler, resentful of Richard, had kidnapped this English king as he was journeying home through Europe. Thus Richard spent a mere frac-tion of his reign on the throne – apparently a way to lasting popularity!
There was another “King of the English” entombed in Lucca, Italy. This had been Pilgrim Richard who died en route to Rome in company of two sons. Miracles were reported at his tomb so veneration for him grew apace with exaggeration of his stature in life. It wasn’t long before locals had him a monarch. It wasn’t that easy for Richard de Wyche (c. 1197-1253). His election to bishop was countered by rival election of Richard Passelew by Henry III’s faction. Both groups appealed to the pope. De Wyche was confirmed and ran his diocese from Chichester. In church art he’s shown with a chalice at his feet. He’d dropped one at Mass but it hadn’t broken.
The many pet forms of this popular Norman name led to such surnames as Rick, Hitch, Dick but more typical are Dickens, Dickinson, Dixon, Hicks and Hitchcock, Rix and Richards. The last mentioned along with Richardson is most common in the United Kingdom. Richards is family name of barons Milverton.
Richard Jenkins (1925-84) from Pontrhydyfen, South Wales, took his stage name from Philip Burton, a schoolmaster he admired. Richard Burton of stage and screen mar-ried four times, two of them to actress Elizabeth Taylor. Rick Danko b. 1943 Simcoe, Ont., larger-than-life soulful singer/song writer/bassist was a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer. He d. 1999 a day after his 56th birthday.
Richard remained a frequent first name but declined sharply in America on resig-nation of Richard Nixon, 37th U. S. president, over the Watergate scandal. His ancestors were Anglo-Scottish border reivers. Until Tricky Dicky, it was one of the more success-ful Frankish names, borne by two other English monarchs as well as Coeur de Lion.
Richard III Richard of Gloucester (1452-85) was Yorkist in Wars of the Roses 1455-85. A few select murders got him kingship although he’s accused of more. Richard made a suicide charge into the bodyguard of Henry Tudor at the battle of Bosworth Field. In those wars, as soon as tide of battle turned “all fell on the earls” so at least he went down fighting. Certainly he was intelligent, a good soldier and promising administrator; but he lost. Lancastrian and Tudor won: thus they prevail in history and have made him look even worse than he probably was for someone of that time. But you never know. This In Memoriam with his likeness was published 22 Aug. 2000 in the Ottawa Citizen: RICHARD III by Grace of God, King of England 1883-1485. In the year of Our Lord 1485, on the grey day of 22 August, a great sorrow passed over the face of history. The White Boar lay dead on Bosworth Field, and the glorious Plantagenet blood of the Lionheart would no longer govern the Emerald Isles. Two short years of English reign made all too brief a light in the dark murkiness of the Wars of the Roses. Let history never forget him. “Loyaute me lie.”
Feminine versions include Rikki, Richenda, Richmal and Riccarda.
After the War of 1812 former captain Richard Leonard, who’d commanded a grenadier company in 104th Foot, was later sheriff of Niagara area. He exercised daily by riding just a musket shot away from the old battlefield of Lundy’s Lane. A war wound pained him to edginess at best of times and infinitely more so each time an American tourist asked directions to “where we whupped the British”.
Edouard Richard (1844-1904) was a law partner of [later Sir] Wilfrid Laurier in Arthabaskaville, Lower Canada. He sat in the House 1872-78 and was sheriff of North-west Territories ’78-83. He went to live in Winnipeg and as a keen student of his roots in Acadia produced two volumes of history 1895. He was made fellow, Royal Society of Canada, the year following. In 1897 the government sent him to France to survey what archives were held on Canada.
Albert Norton Richards was first chief justice of Canada 1875-79. His able but restless younger brother was federal M. P., solicitor general of Upper Canada briefly, at-torney general of Manitoba and lieutenant governor of British Columbia 1876-81. Rich-ard Gatling (1818-1903) is an American best known for inventing a crank-operated, multi-barrel precursor of the machine gun. It came into use to suppress Indian and Métis in the Northwest Rebellion. Back east, Charles Dow Richards (1879-1956) was premier and attorney general of New Brunswick, became judge then chief justice 1948-55. Richard Taylor, Medicine Hat native at Stanford University, and two other scientists shared the 1990 Nobel Prize for physics for work on quarks.
Major-General Rick Hillier, whom Ottawa Valley folk grew to appreciate during the Canadian Army’s help after the Ice Storm of the Century, went on exchange, training thousands of American soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, for peacekeeping chores in Bosnia. He took command of six to eight thousand NATO troops in Sector Southwest over there. In former Yugoslavia, Canada recalled its 1,400 troops from Kosovo Force to meet the Bosnian stabilization challenge and supplied 1,800 of the 30,000 NATO soldiers. Since its bombing campaign ended NATO has put as many as 46,000 troops into Kosovo. This Newfoundlander became a lieutenant general as chief of the defence staff with a heavy military commitment to the stabilization of Afghanistan with a loss of 82 of our soldiers by early April 2008.
Founder Immigrant of our O’Neills was Richard O’Neill (1784-1862), an Irishman who settled into the fishery at Portuguese Cove in greater Halifax Harbour and there mar-ried Catherine Maguire. Did The O’Neill, earl of Tyrone turned Portuguese noble or his successors ever have anything to do with the fishery at Portuguese Cove?
RIDDELL Old English elements suggest this is either a cleared hill, or red dell made so by autumnal colours. However Old French ridel meaning a small hill was a nickname from some lost joke. Reaney & Wilson show examples in England 11th to 13th centuries. In Ire-land Riddell is an English name often encountered in Ulster and found as Riodal in Gal-way. Ruddle in Counties Limerick and Kerry and Ruddell in Co. Armagh are thought versions from English toponymic de Ryedale. Earliest references are to 13th century Leinster.
William Renwick Riddell (1852-1945) was called to the Ontario bar 1883, named Queen’s Counsel ‘94 and judge 1906. He moved up to the appeal division, supreme court of Ontario in ‘25. His legal and historical writings got him elected fellow, Royal Society of Canada, back in ‘17.
Robert Gerald Riddell (1908-51) taught history at University of Toronto 1934-42 and edited numerous works including Canada Book of Knowledge 1941-47. He joined the Department of External Affairs ‘43, becoming expert on the United Nations. He ended up Canada’s ambassador to the world body in ‘50.
Raymond Samuel Riddell b. 1940s we knew in Ottawa as a trim captain serving in a heavy helicopter squadron at Canadian Forces Base Uplands. Married to my niece Janet McDonald, he played soccer and was always affable. She nursed at Royal Ottawa Hospital. He resigned his commission in the ‘70s and joined her brother Robin’s Halifax law firm. Janet had twins Down East.
RITA This is a short form of Margarita, Latin, German and Spanish for Margaret. Since the turn into the 20th century it has been used independently in English-speaking count-ries, going high on charts.
Saint Rita of Cascia (1381-1457) was a peasant girl married at 12 against her will. Her two sons died before her and she was widowed after 18 years of unhappy marriage. Three times she tried to join local Augustinians. Their rule permitted only virgins but she was accepted finally 1413. Shortly before death she asked for roses and figs from her gar-den. Ms. Elderbroom writes that her friend uncovered snow there to find an intact rose and two ripe figs. Spaniards especially revere this “saint of desperate causes.”
Film actress and dancer Rita Hayworth [b. Margaret Carman Casino (1918-87)] kept it going until the ‘50s racking up 60 films or more. Then the Great American Love Goddess succumbed to Alzheimer’s by the ‘60s. Rita (Leichert) Johnston b.1935 Mel-ville, Sask., became B. C.’s first female premier ‘9l succeeding Bill Vander Zalm. Michael Harcourt’s New Democrats defeated her in an October election and she lost her own seat.
Rita as a name is rare now. Reta was another short form first appearing 1867 but never as often. We knew a young Canadian wren officer in Halifax of French background, Retha Mireault. She married naval officer John Mason, a four striper last I knew.
Margarita Isabel (Carew) Wallace was named for beautiful Margarita (Leipster) Seidler who 1794 became mother-in-law to Founder Immigrant John Munro in Portuguese Cove, outer Halifax. My mother, a bride only four foot 11 inches and 98 pounds when married, was known to all as Rita. Husband Howard Vincent Wallace, separated from her some 30 years, when elderly noted: “Rita never told me she captained Convent basket-ballers six years.” She quit her job every summer to be with her children on their hols; out-scooted them many years, and was a good sport all her long life.
Her oldest and soon taller daughter Margot was given Rita as middle name. My Uncle Tom’s #4 daughter, Eleanor Rita (Wallace) Culver, received it at the font 1918 [to honour Mummy?]. Rita around that time was working at Frank’s Wallace Advertising Agency in Halifax. Frank’s kid brother Howard was not due home until 1920, hospital-ized in England for war wounds. Would it be a Roaring Twenties romance? Even How-ard’s pious sister Greta at the Agency confessed to gulping live goldfish while partying back then. Rita and Howard were wed quietly 1921 Chester, N. S., by an archbishop.
ROBERT This is one of the more interesting names with Germanic roots that invading Normans took into England. It had elements hrod, fame, and berht, bright. There was, in fact, a native predecessor in Old English Hreodbeorht. People go for winners.
Robert Capet was son of King Hugh of France. To ensure his Capetian dynasty and thwart any nomination by nobles, Hugh was still living when he had Robert anointed and crowned. A lover of music, Robert was dethroned AD 987 at Orleans. He had mar-ried his cousin Berta. The Church condemned this as incestuous, excommunicating him.
Two Normandy dukes of the 11th century bore the name Robert. One was father of William the Bastard and is sometimes identified with legendary Robert the Devil. In 1034 he’d set out to invade England in support of nephews but his fleet was wrecked off the Channel island of Jersey. The other Robert was William the Conqueror’s eldest son who had his grandfather’s name. Robert was always quarreling with his brothers, but had such a good [booty?] Crusade it was said he refused his father’s new kingship. In case he changed his mind, his younger brother Henry of England took Robert prisoner in Norman-dy 1106. Robert spent the last 28 years of his life in the Tower of London or other se-cure castles, always well treated.
English-born Saint Robert served God in half-a-dozen monasteries there, about half of which he founded. He practised an early Benedictine rule and affiliated with Cis-tercians. After his death 1159 at Newminster, pilgrims made their way to this austere ab-bot’s tomb. Enthusiasm of people could backfire. St. Robert of Molesmes (c. 1024-1110) and hermit monks were swamped with unsuitable candidates forcing him to start anew elsewhere to ensure strict Benedictine rule was upheld. Additional saintly English and French monks named Robert worshipped in late Middle Ages. A Breton, Robert of Arbrissel (ca. 1047-1117) attracted huge crowds by his preaching and was called Blessed although not formally beatified. Sounds like he was formerly of the Celtic Christian Church.
In addition to Robert the Bruce who fought for Scottish independence after Sir William Wallace was barbarously executed, Scotland had two kingly Roberts shortly after. Robert II b.1316 was first of the Stuart dynasty. Worn out by border and baron war-rings he handed regal affairs over to second son Albany 1389 and left public life. Robert III d.1406 had also depended on Albany but grew terrified of him and sent son James to France for safety. The English captured and jailed young James, which so depressed dad that soon he died. Robert was actually born c.1340 in Scotland as John Stuart, earl of Carrick.
On the doorstep of modern times Saint Robert Bellarmine, Society of Jesus, made cardinal under Pope Clement VIII and headed up the Vatican Library before dying 1621 at 79 years of age. Louis Leopold Robert (1794-1835) was a French painter well hung in Berlin and the Louvre.
Long before Bob stood for Robert, medieval English pet forms are apparent in the beginning of surnames with Hob-, Dob- and Nob-. Rab and Rabbie were Scots versions.
Robertsons are said oldest of the clans of Scotland at least on paper. They come from the royal house of Dunkeld and Celtic earls of Atholl who in turn descend from kings of Dalriada. There’s a probable link back to Niall of the Nina Hostages at Tara in Ireland. He ruled as high king and raided Britain as the last Romans were pulling out. Un-til the 14th century the family was often tagged de Atholia. Robertsons took their name from Robert Riach, grizzled 4th chief, when surnames were called for. They were commonly known as Clann Donnachaidh Children of Duncan because they shared with Duncansons the ancestor Duncan the Fat who was a comrade in arms of Robert Bruce. Mac Donnchaidh meaning this time Son of Duncan has been contracted to MacConachie, Donachie and Donaghy to further complicate matters. Robertsons fought for Stewart kings from Charles I and in all Jacobite risings. Struan Robertson brought fight-ers for Lord Dundee’s army in the war against William III, 1689-90. Next he supported the Old Pretender James Edward 1715, and was out for Bonnie Prince Charlie in ‘45 al-though by this time too old to fight, even for a Scot! Anthropologist and historian Micheil Mac-Donald commented: “with more supporters like Struan Robertson, the Stuarts would probably still be on the throne”. An 18th century affair with a black female slave led to Clan Robertson’s line going 1930s to Jamaica.
A Robertson with Welsh background was writer/editor/educator William Robert-son Davies (1913-95). “I see Canada as a country torn between a very northern, rather extraordinary, mystical spirit which it fears,” he observed, “and its desire to present itself to the world as a Scotch banker.”
Robert Clive, first British governor of Bengal, won Battle of Plassey 1757 against the enormous army of Nawab Siraj-ud-daula. He’d taken recourse to wholesale bribery so most of the nawab’s soldiers dropped their weapons and surrendered.
The nickname Bobbies recalls the name of the man who started up London police 1829, home secretary Sir Robert Peel. To make sure they didn’t resemble British Army redcoats he garbed them in dark blue and only allowed them a truncheon.
Roberts is a name found in all provinces of Ireland although rare in Connacht. Frequently those of Scots origin in Ulster go by MacRoberts. Wispy wee Anglo Irish-man Field Marshall Frederick S. Roberts VC (1832-1914) highlights long British imperial service of Irish soldiery. He fought in the Indian Mutiny, winning 1858 the Empire’s highest military award for valour, the Victoria Cross. Then he fought in 2nd Afghan War 1878-80. Roberts reached the pinnacle of his operational career when commander-in-chief 1899-1900 of British forces in 2nd Boer War. He and his chief of staff Sir Horatio Herbert Kitchener escalated the war effort, regrettably concentrating Boer women and children in camps with many dying. When the Kaiser was chided for Germany’s concentration camps later on, he told critics what had happened in South Africa. Nevertheless Roberts was entitled 1st Earl of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, while the troops called him Bobs among themselves. He was the last C. -in- C. British Army 1901-04 before that post was abolished.
Robert Stephenson Smyth (1857-1941) Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell, 1st Baron, hero of the siege of Mafeking, South African War, founded Boy Scouts 1907 and his sister the Girl Guides three years later. [I was a Scout, attended camp, and became a Seconder.] Scouts Canada, half a million in the 1960s is down to 150,000 in 2000, despite going coed in ’92 and more recently encouraging gay troops. Two new groups were launched in 2000. One operates after school for 5 to 7 year-olds; the other Extreme Adventure group is for rock climbing, white water rafting involving adolescents 14 to 17. Neither requires uniforms, badges or rituals. The Ottawa Citizen snorted: “Now it’s only a bunch of kids hanging out. Will they meet in a mall?” Breakaway groups from Scouts Canada include one in the Baden-Powell Association stressing military discipline, uni-forms, and an oath to Queen & Country, aiming for an initial membership of 10,000.
In 1853 Roberts was the ninth commonest surname of England and Wales. It ranked 27th in the USA of 1939. Roberts stood eighth in Scotland 1958, a drop from fifth 100 years prior. Roberts is family name of barons Clwyd.
Bard of the Klondike was English-born bank clerk Robert Service d. 1958. He started in the North at Whitehorse 1905 then transferred to Dawson City. In that gold- rush community he wrote The Shooting of Dan McGrew and The Cremation of Sam McGee. Author Sir Charles G. D Roberts is described under Charles. His younger bro-ther, Theodore Goodridge “Ted” Roberts, wrote several volumes of military history and 30 novels. Sir Charles’ son Lloyd (1884-1966) was reporter for western and Ottawa newspapers before being parliamentary correspondent 1925-39 for Christian Science Monitor. Unlike most newspaper scribes, Lloyd Roberts put out three books of verse. Dr. William Francis Roberts (1869-1938) was another New Brunswicker practising medi-cine in Saint John who espoused provincial politics. He was first minister of health 1918-25 in the British Empire, then took on a labour portfolio as well.
Canada’s costliest day of the Second World War, 19 August 1942, was the nine-hour Dieppe Raid led by Major-General J. H. Roberts. He was made whipping boy for the British military hierarchy but Canadians knew who really was to blame. Dieppe caused 3,500 casualties, 900 of them fatal, and 1,874 were taken prisoners of war.
The Royal Canadian Navy’s only Victoria Cross of the ‘39-45 war was post-humously awarded Lt. Robert Hampton Gray (1917-45) from Nelson, B. C. He flew a Corsair off a British aircraft carrier to attack warships at Onagawa Wan, Japan. Al-though his fighter-bomber was hit, Lt. Gray got within 50 feet to drop his bombs. The destroyer sank but he was killed. Previously he had been mentioned in despatches for action against the German battleship Tirpitz and won a Distinguished Service Cross for a prior attack on a Japanese warship.
Bob Marley (1945-81) singer/songwriter/guitarist had 12 children by eight women in Jamaica yet himself brought forth reggae to the entire world. A “loping” musical beat surely helped spread this Rastafarian’s non-violent credo afar.
Robert Mundell blew U.S. $50,000 of his Nobel Prize money to have 23 relations see him awarded in Stockholm near the close of 1999. “His work on monetary dynamics and optimum currency areas has inspired generations of researchers,” said the citation. Associated with Columbia University in New York, Mundell taught at U. B. C., McGill and Waterloo universities. Seven or eight of his boyhood years were spent in a one-room rural Ontario school while his daddy was a warrant officer in the Kingston garrison. For the gathering of 1,300 notables he used most of his allotted five minutes for thanks to sing Frank Sinatra’s signature I Did It My Way [written by the way by Ottawa’s Paul Anka]. “Are all Canadians not so shy?” a woman asked while royalty and intelligentsia were grinning about this rogue Canadian senior.
We have Robert Fraser of Glen Margaret who married Great Aunt Janet Munro of Munro’s Point further along towards Peggy’s Cove in St. Margaret’s Bay, N. S. He owned a couple of stables well situated for farmers heading for Halifax markets or for vacationers from the city. Helpful Stan Fraser, farmer/fisherman at the Glen, who rented Rita and family his three-room summer holiday cottage converted from hencoop, was no relation. Robert Benedict “Bobby” Wallace (1925-28) was Uncle Tom’s seventh. Big Finno-American Bobby Lee Korpi is spouse in Seattle, Washington, of my niece Gillian née Hanington.
ROBIN Our Harbinger of Spring is the perky robin with a range coast to coast and north to the tree line. This is our most numerous and widespread thrush Turdus migratorius. Britain’s national bird is the smaller European Erithacus rubicula.
Robin is also one of the legion of short names for Germanic-rooted Robert, fame- bright, so popular with incoming Normans of 1066 England.
Thirty-six ballads of the 14th century tell us of Robin Hood. In the Lytell Geste of Robyn Hoode (c.1495) he kills off the evil sheriff of Nottingham. The king visits this yeoman-turned-outlaw in his forest lair and takes him into his royal household. Maid Marion and Sherwood Forest are later embellishments. Decades ago a learned book came out saying Robin and his merry men actually lived in the forest next north of Sherwood. A new one 1999 attempts to “out” Robin, asserting the whole gang was gay and popu-lace intolerant so that was why they all hung out in the woods.
In 1997 Welshman Stephen Knight, professor of English literature at University of Wales in Cardiff, delivered a 6,000-word paper at Edinburgh University headed Rabbie Hood: The Development of the English Outlaw Myth in Scotland. He suggested that the first three chroniclers to treat Robin Hood seriously were all Scots, namely Andrew Wyn-toun 1420s, Walter Bower 1440s and John Major 1521. Knight’s paper explored “strik-ing parallels” between Sir William Wallace, real-life Rabbie Hood, and the myth of Robin. Both slipped into town disguised as potters, both escaped by dressing as women, both robbed and killed travellers, both were given “noble” deaths by their enemies. Prof. Knight concludes the Robin Hood myth a “hybrid construct” whose notable characteris-tics are Scottish.
Historian Eric Hobsbaum has written of social bandits like Bai Ling of 19th century China, Lampiao of Brazil who d. 1938, and declared, “Robin Hood is our hero too and will remain so.” “Perhaps” retorted University of Toronto philosophy teacher and magazine editor Andrew Potter, “but unhappy the land where Kevin Costner, who played Robin Hood in a movie that grossed $400 million U. S., gets paid $20 million per movie. Prince of Thieves indeed.”
Robert Devereux (1591-1646) 3rd Earl of Essex was an English general known to familiars as Robin. Queen Elizabeth I had rightfully executed his daddy 1601 and Robin wound up fighting Charles I. Robinsons have appeared of late in Ireland in goodly num-bers and more so in Ulster. Robinson Crusoe was written by Daniel Defoe 1719.
Professor John Daniel Robins (1884-1952) became head of the English depart-ment at Victoria College, Toronto, 1938-52, although he had begun as lecturer in German 1919-25. He wrote of outdoor life, edited an anthology and a humour book..
Robin Arthur McDonald b. 1947 Halifax is my sister Rosemary’s only son. His initial schoolwork was indifferent but in an early semi-rural grade he took a liking to the award available for attendance. Teachers began to notice his cleverness now that he was underfoot all the time and he tested genius. From then on the struggle was to balance his emotional with mental growth. He runs a law firm in Halifax and all but one of his sisters seem to be lawyers of one kind or another as well. Janet the oldest is a psychiatric nurse. Natalie Robin Smith b. 1993 Ottawa is #2 daughter Catherine Anne’s only child. The name Robin is no longer given boys.
ROGER It was Hrothgar in Old English and Ro[d]ger in Old German and, yes, other Germanic languages had a similar name incorporating the elements fame and spear. In Normandy, an Old Norse name merely helped amplify an Old French version and so Rog[i]er came to England with the Norman tide, washing away the Old English name. Another Norman, Roger (c.1031-1101) son of Tancred, had just taken Sicily back from Saracens and became count there. Son Roger rose to king and gathered quite a couthful court about him.
English, French and Italian medieval clerics were called Roger. Roger Le Fort made archbishop of Bourges 1343. Pilgrims visited his tomb. Two English chroniclers bear the name. Roger of Hoveden [now Howden] was lawyer/priest at the court of Henry II lat-ter 12th century. Then he went into semi-monastic retirement. Edward I in 1291 wanted Roger’s work consulted to establish the level of homage due from the Scottish crown. This English monarch gutted Scotland’s libraries of much to do with ownership as well. Roger of Wendover early the following century was prior of Belvoir but his own histori-cal input to an ongoing opus at St. Alban’s Abbey wasn’t always accurate.
The English names Rogers and Rodgers in Ireland usually meant a MacRory, Mac Ruaidhri, especially so in Ulster. Five of name were among Cromwellian adventurers mid-1600s, thus numerous throughout the land if for some reason less so in Munster.
In England rhyming led to Hodge and Dodge, which evolved to surnames Hodges and Dodgson long common since to all English-speaking countries. It is rare, but Old Eng-lish Hrothgar does make an appearance. English philosopher Roger Bacon (1214-94) in retrospect made the name look good to us even if in political hot water much of the time.
Pirate flags appeared in many designs, but it was Walt Disney who standardized the white grinning skull and crossed bones on black background and called a Jolly Roger. In 20th century wireless voice procedure, saying roger indicated a transmission has been received and is understood. Robert Rogers (1731-95) raised more than seven companies of Rogers Rangers and commanded them in the Seven Years War. In ‘60 he was commi-ssioned to take possession of western lake posts. He set up Queen’s Rangers to fight American rebels but in ‘79 was less successful later with his King’s Rangers. His final years dealt him dire poverty in England.
Benjamin Rogers (1837-1923) was homegrown lieutenant governor of Prince Ed-ward Island. He started as a member, then president of the Island legislative council, as commissioner of agriculture and provincial secretary-treasurer, and a merchant between these stints of public service. Benjamin Tingley Rogers (1865-1913) was an American chemist who got sugar refining going in a big way in British Columbia. Sons Blythe, Er-nest, Philip and Forrest succeeded him as president of B. C. Sugar. The father was six years commodore of Vancouver yacht club.
Norman McLeod Rogers served in Canadian Mounted Rifles in the Great War, was a Rhodes scholar, lawyer, history professor, secretary to Prime Minister Mackenzie King, political scientist at Queen’s University where he became rector 1937. He sat in the House from ‘35 and, after being labour minister, was given the defence portfolio on out-break of the Second World War. He was killed in a 1940 air crash.
Rogers Pass was the main Canadian Pacific Railway route through the Selkirks and, because of all the winter snow, a five-mile tunnel had to be dug through the rock. It is named for Major A. B. Rogers, railway pathfinder who explored it 1881. The Trans-Canada Highway went through the pass 1956. Gunners of the Royal Regiment of Cana-dian Artillery fired carefully aimed 105mm rounds winter after winter to break up snow accumulations so that avalanches wouldn’t halt transportation.
Quebec City’s Roger Lemelin (1919-92) created the 1948 novel Les Plouffe. This was made into the endearing The Plouffe Family for CBC TV English and French net-works of the ‘50s.
The penis was called a roger back in a time when practically every man was called Roger. Every guy deserves to think he has a “famous spear”, which is what the name means, after all. As a given name Roger understandably declined in the 17th century, began increasing around 1840 and reached its zenith in the 1950s. Again Roger went out of style: was it because of 007 Roger Moore on the big screen? Roger Maris batting ’em out of the ballpark didn’t do the name harm.
Roger John Forget b. 1939 in Northern Ontario, is our daughter-in-law Debbie’s golfin’, huntin’ and fishin’ father who manoeuvred himself into managing small-town bank branches handy these engaging pursuits. He’s retired now in Bracebridge, Ont., director of a local golf club naturally and no doubt still a stiff competitor. Roger Wallace (1929-31) was second son of my Uncle Frank in Halifax, leaving older brother Frank the only boy in that family.
ROLANDE Charlemagne’s commander on the Breton border was Roland. When the Frankish army was returning 778 from a thrust into Spain, Basques cut off its rear guard in a pass of the Pyrenees. Roland was killed.
Theroulde transforms Roland into one of the 12 peers of Charlemagne and as well his nephew. The Basques are changed into Saracens and the pass is now at Roncesvalles.
Ganelon, count of Mayence and Charlemagne’s vassal, is Roland’s scheming stepfather. He has something to do with Roland getting command of the rear guard. Genelon con-trives to get Saracens to attack. Roland is too proud to sound his horn to summon rein-forcements. Although he finally does blow for help his valiant Franks are overwhelmed. The last alive, Roland vainly tries to break his sword Durandel. Charlemagne, he knows, is on his way but too late. Roland is slain, Charlemagne defeats the oncoming emir Bali-zant, Ganelon is tried and executed. Finis.
Le Chanson de Roland was important to a cycle of chansons de geste of 11/12th centuries, many of them featuring Roland amidst heroic events. Ariosto’s Orlando Furio-so is the Italian rendition. When the warrior/trouvere Taillefer led the Norman army at Hastings 1066, he sang le Chanson de Rolande to brace his knights.
In Line 4001, Charlemagne is made to exclaim as he plucks his mighty beard: “My God, how toilsome is my life!” Understandably so, Roland having been such a twit by normal tactical standards of any age. Charlemagne was anticipating new conquests and, judging from his beard pulling, more twits.
The English inherited celebration of glory in defeat. Take the destruction of a light cavalry brigade 25 October 1854 in a battle over Balaclava harbour in the Crimean War. Because of a vaguely worded order 600 British horsemen, one of them at least a Canadian officer, charged with fatal heroism to their doom into a narrow valley bristling with Rus-sian artillery. They were supposed to stop Russians making off with British cannon in a different valley. Or remember the evacuation from Dunkirk 1940 of almost the entire British Expeditionary Force along with a few thousands of allies, 338,226 in all. Much fighting equipment had to be abandoned to Germans but men were saved because most had discipline enough to wait their turn for evacuation by ship, steadfast in ranks some-times shoulder deep in water. They were to win on another day. [The 1940 Dunkirk Veterans Association, Canadian branch, as its final act 24 Aug. 2000 handed over its colours and artifacts to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Once 300 members Canada-wide, only 50 still survive.] Canada too mourns a disaster; the 1942 Dieppe Raid ill-planned by others and since touted a necessary prelude to invading Europe. It still rankles: see Robert.
The name Roland emerged from elements hrod, fame, and landa, land or territory, having been a personal name of Germanic [Frankish] origin. After Normans had taken it into England it spawned a goodly number of derivatives, two surnames being Rolland and Rowland. The latter may have developed as late as the 17th century; in time however for Will Shakespeare to employ the name in four plays no less, especially in As You Like It. As a matter of fact, the -ow- treatment became more common thereafter. The Irish were content with Rodhlann. Apart from Rolanda, French feminine Rolande has been used occasionally in English-speaking countries.
In Lower Canada, Jean Baptiste Rolland (1815-88) was a merchant and manufac-turer. He got Rolland paper mills going and eldest son Jean Damien succeeded him as president and also became president of Banque d’Hochelaga. Roland, Man., about 110 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg was originally Lowestoft. The name of Roland Mc-Donald, pioneer and lumber merchant, was substituted for both rural municipality and seat. Settlers came from Ontario and the British Isles late 1870s.
We are grateful to Rolande Marie “Robbie” (Deshaies) Reevie, mother-in-law of #1 son Duncan and to Marie Lucie Rolande (Bazinet) Wallace, #2 son Stephen’s wife, for this chance to revisit a powerful medieval epic.
RONALD The Frankish name Reynold came from ragin meaning advice, decision, and wald for ruler. Normans brought it to conquered England. The name is linked to Ronald from Old Norse Rognvaldr, which various Vikings brought into Scottish islands and parts of the mainland and into northern England. Because of the Norwegian and Danish raid- and-settle situation, the Viking name was taken into Old Irish as Ragnall which looks very close to its Norse original. In Scotland the Nordic form changed to Gaelic Raonull then Ranald and finally to Ronald.
This isn’t the only name that invaded England from both south and north. Nor-mans had been northmen who plundered, then occupied France in such numbers they were given a duchy. Some of their names were Frankish originally, others Norse, both Germanic nonetheless.
Ronald became a Scottish export. From 19th century’s close the name was spread to other English-speaking countries. Its height of fashion in the UK was 1920s and ‘30s, in the USA ‘40s and ‘50s. British actor Ronald Coleman (1891-1958) had an influence because he was on a movie screen as early as 1919. So did 40th U. S. president Ronald Reagan who earlier had made many Hollywood B pictures he came to regret during a second career in politics. When governor of flakey California it hadn’t really mattered. “Rompin’ Ronnie” Hawkins b. 1935 backwoods Arkansan gone international, settled in Toronto and since ‘58 this honkeytonk legend has been father figure to Canadian road-house rockabillies. His Juno ’82 was for country music male vocalist of the year.
Ronald Joseph Wallace b. 1916 Halifax as #4 son of Uncle Tom, was a semi-pro middle and light-heavyweight boxer, wartime naval officer, optometrist in his father’s footsteps, Liberal member in the Nova Scotia legislature, mayor of Halifax 1980-91. He and my brother-in-law Dan Hanington served together in Escort Group 6 on operations in the English Channel part of the Second World War. Cousin Ron, like his great, great grandfather Thomas, dresses well. Ron’s one of a family of 15 children. About 120 attended their 1996 reunion in Halifax. The remaining sisters out of seven early in 2007, are Ruth in Halifax and Eleanor in Vancouver. Ron is last to survive of eight brothers.
ROSEMARY Rosemary is a bad translation: it should be rosemarine. The Latin name of the herb in question is ros marinus, seadew. Enough of the English concluded ros meant rose, then somehow coaxed mary from marinus. The evergreen shrub is a perennial of the mint family and stands a couple of meters high. Rosemary has light blue flowers; its fra-grant leaf makes seasoning while its oil goes into medicines and perfumes. Psychologists of Northumbria University in Northern England 2002 established that rosemary oil waft-ed on 132 volunteers increased their alertness and long-term memory by around 15 per cent although rosemary didn’t affect working memory. Ottawa’s Angela Hewitt wrote The Citizen from London: “I rarely perform an all-Bach piano recital (a huge task for the brain) without inhaling some beforehand. During a marathon performance of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier I will put a Kleenex, scented with a few drops, inside the piano.” It’s supposed to prevent male baldness, and is being investigated by Alzheimer researchers because ancient Greek students wore garlands of it while sitting for exams as a memory enhancer.
Rosemary is the symbol of constancy and evocation. Ophelia: “There’s rose-mary, that’s for remembrance.” [Hamlet iv: 5]. It was a favorite of ancient Greeks and Romans, growing wild as it does among rocks and in dry scrub on limestone hills over-looking Mediterranean coasts. It seasons Easter lamb and other important dishes. The International Herb Society had it Herb of the Year for 2000. [Brenda] Cole’s Notes on gardening in Ottawa Citizen warns not to plant it in moist shade.
Although introduced as one of the flower names 1890s; short form Rose, long a name on its own, can also be a symbol for the Virgin Mary. In medieval documents lati-nate Rohesia commonly appears for Rose. There was Old Germanic Rozzo, where Rose is short for girls’ names having something to do with hros, horse, or hrod, fame. Do not forget relatively modern coinages such as Rose plus Anne, Rose plus Marie, etc. Rose is also the short form of Rosemary, Rosalind and Rosamund and other such. Pet form Rosie first appeared 1860s and became an independent first name especially in America.
Rosemary was most popular 1935-55. Canadian singer/movie actress Deanna Durbin b. 4 Dec. 1921 Winnipeg and Nelson Eddy soon dueted in the sicky-sweet film Rose Marie. U. S. jazz singer Rosemary Clooney out of northern Kentucky also helped in the ‘40s and ‘50s. After her marriage to exacting Jose Ferrer failed she went on drugs. That and meningitis behind her, a hefty Clooney now in her 70s and backed by a band still honeyed audiences. In language lab three decades ago I happened upon her singing fine French. The Grammy Hall of Fame holds recordings of hers and gave her a lifetime achievement award. Clooney d. June 2002.
My second oldest sister Rosemary Lavinia (Wallace) McDonald b. 1924 Saint John, N.B., is an artist in Halifax, only sibling with a degree, earned mid life.
ROSS Simple names can have complex ancestry. The Gaelic topographic ros, head-land, gave a clan its name. This is an ancient and large family situated along the northern coast of Moray Firth. Probable ancestors were of the same stock as O’Beolin abbots of Drumcliffe in Ireland. Theirs in turn was Cairbre, a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, high king fl. early 5th century. A once clerical grouping [hereditary abbots of Apple-cross] was nonetheless warlike and a powerful earldom by the 13th century. That’s why the first recorded chief Fearchar was known as Mac an t’sagairt Son of the Priest. He was knighted 1215 for helping Alexander II put down a local revolt, a chronicler writing: “he mightily overthrew the king’s enemies…cut off their heads and presented them as gifts to the new king.” Rosses formed part of Moray province under Celtic mormaers [high stewards] but carved out their own earldom beginning 1234. The later Ross & Cromarty County echoed them. Munros of Easter Ross, with whom we have a relation-ship through my mother’s people, served these earls. The 8th chief, Robert Munro laid down his life for them. MacDonald Lords of the Isles came far to defeat Rosses in the 14th century, taking over as earls for a while. Munros continued in service.
There are families of Ros and Roos in England although their names come from places there and in Normandy. A few old names have been conveniently modernized to Ross. In Cornish Ross means a redhead or someone of ruddy complexion. It might also mean a red horse through old Teutonic roots but German “fame kind” is somehow bound up with Robert-hood. The Scots name Rose means promontory, cape in Gaelic; wood in Irish, moor in Welsh and Cornish, and then there’s a Clan Rose after a lordship of Ros near Caen in Normandy although Bain thought its clan name is from the flower. Off-shoots of Scottish Ross number well in Ulster although those in Dublin and County Cork more likely are English in origin. For a while some Rosses in Ireland of Scottish root switched names to MacAndrew.
A couple of Scots were in the crew that Thorfinn Karsevni sent 1010 to explore Vineland. Jean Rotz of Dieppe put out an atlas 1542 with one of the first drawings of the mouth of the mighty St. Lawrence River. His father was David Ross, one of many Scots migrants to France, traditional friend of Scotland. Scots were most evident in ports of Brittany and Normandy. So now you know two of many hints that Scots had a constant Canadian connection, one that can challenge any other ethnics from Europe. Trickle be-came torrent with founding of Nova Scotia 1621 [far larger then] and cession of New France 1763. They fanned out all over, to new frontiers exploring and looking for furs, then settling in as merchants, educators and administrators. Sixteen Scottish bankers ran Quebec not that long ago.
The name Ross was among them all. We know because some fur traders wrote books of history, of flora and fauna, or penned reams of correspondence from remote-nesses. Among them Charles Ross (c.1794-1844) was acknowledged “a good Classical scholar”. Last century Sinclair [another northern clan] Ross b. 1908 on a Saskatchewan homestead wrote several novels and 18 short stories, many of them to do with oppres-sion of small-town prairie life, introducing the reality of hardship and dust.
Captain Sir John Ross (1777-1856) was another arctic explorer who failed to find a Northwest Passage to the Orient. The second of three Ross expeditions spent four win-ters locked in northern ice. It was his nephew Commander Sir James Clark Ross who found the Magnetic Pole 1831. He went on his uncle’s three northern voyages and three with William Parry between his uncle’s. Sir James commanded the 1839-43 antarctic expedition of the Erebus and Terror, and captained the Enterprise 1848-49 on the first search for Sir John Franklin and his two ships gone missing while seeking the Northwest Passage. In recent years some frozen grave remains were found. The question was raised: did lead used to seal tinned foods adversely affect Franklin crews? [And what about lead in wine and liquor decanter glass?]
Rev. James Ross (1811-86) was president of the Presbyterian theological semin-ary in two of its Nova Scotia locations before merger with Dalhousie College. He was both principal and professor of ethics and political economy at Dal until the year before he died. James Ross (1835-71) was a pioneer journalist in the northwest, a teacher, and chief justice of Louis Riel’s provisional government of 1870.
Other Rosses include fur traders, a naturalist, financier, industrialist, major rail-way builder, plus premiers and lieutenant governors. Sir George William Ross (1841-1914), whose premiership 1899-1905 ended 34 years of Liberal rule in Ontario was made senator, Liberal leader in Canada’s Upper House, well remembered as public speaker non-pareil. Sir Phillip Dansken Ross (1858-1949) among other things owner of The Ottawa Journal talked the governor general into putting up hockey’s Stanley Cup.
Ross as a first name is not unusual. Ross Garrison was a husband of Honey Sell, happily remarried in Campbell River, B. C. My wife’s niece was b. 1947 Catherine Mary Small in London, Ont.
ROTHERY A surname rooted in rother, an ancient word that has diminished to dialect in England. A rother beast as late as 1698 was described an ox-like animal. Some church records in Yorkshire show the surname Rothera while matching census records reveal Rothery. The more familiar family name Rutherford is a ford for oxen. Rotherforth is another. Rother is also an obsolete form for rudder. “The Barke abandoned of her Rother, ranne whither the wind carried her.” 1632. A couple of English surnames have Rother as an element evoking River Rother in Yorkshire. Rivers Don and Rother merge at Rotherham city & district. Prof. Basil Cottle, medievalist and names expert, sees old British as well as Old English roots in the place name. Bodies of water in the British Isles have tended to retain their ancient Celtic names.
Rothery might be in some cases an import as well. A royal name among Lom-bards who conquered northern Italy was Rotheri. Lombards became bankers, money-lenders and pawnbrokers of early Europe. They never turned their backs on a deal but interest due on a loan had to reflect the risk and so one of high rate was said a Lombard Loan. The term endures today for one with unusually high interest. Sufficient of these merchants and bankers settled in 13th century London – they were important financiers to the English crown – that a street there of banks and financial houses is still called Lombard in their memory. The first Lombard came to Ireland in the 13th century and Lombard there grew into another word for banker. Named for that first family is Lombardstown in County Cork.
Two Rothery brothers originally from Yorkshire were serving the British Army in India early last century. There they decided to move their kinfolk to Canada as soon as they could manage because world war clouds were gathering. Rotherys originating in Lambton vicinity overseas spread widely throughout our West, beginning with a small log house with sod roof in Saskatchewan. Frank, born London, England, was a wartime RAF pilot who made a career in the RCAF, retiring in the top con-com rank of warrant officer 1st class. He d. Ottawa 29 June’03 and wife Fran eight days after. These were adoptive parents of William Alexander Stanislaus Rothery b. 1948 Vancouver. Big Bill was sub-stantial spouse here of our #3 daughter Caroline. After two decades together they broke up. Billo was a good son-in-law, mechanical advisor, repairman and host. He’s a grand-father several times over through his son Paul from a previous marriage. Paul and the former Heather Napier are raising a family in Tennessee.
ROXAN[N]E My oldest sister Margot told me Daddy read Cyrano de Bergerac to Mummy while she was waiting to give birth to #3 sister Isabel. In Edmond Rostand’s 1897 verse/drama this hero loves his cousin preciéuse Roxane. He feels his large, sabre-hacked nose keeps him out of the running so he puts his own versifying to work for the suit of Chretien de Neuville, good-looking but shallow. The real-life Cyrano lived 1619-55, braggart and dueler yes, and also writer of romances.
Roxane the name has its own tragic background. If we journey via Latin Roxana and Greek Roxane we encounter Persian Raokhshna meaning brilliant one, new dawning. This was a suitably glossy name for the daughter of Oxyartes, a Bactrian baron. Alex-ander the Great married her 327 BC to consolidate his position in Persia. Borders change over millennia as we fast-forward to late docunovelist James Michener who in his 1992 autobiography told of organizing a caravan to ruins of ancient Balch where Alexander mar-ried “the beautiful Afghan girl Roxana, making her queen of the known world”.
Embracing Power can exact a sorry price. Roxane caught Alexander trying to throw himself into the Euphrates River when he found himself mortal after all, dying of fever 323 BC. A mid-1998 edition of New England Journal of Medicine carried an article by a team of historians and Maryland University researchers saying it was typhoid fever he had caught. Other stories have proposed he drank himself to death, was poisoned, had an inflamed pancreas, or a fatal dose of malaria. After Alexander died Roxane gave birth to his posthumous son, Alexander IV, and they became embroiled in wars of succession fought by the Diadochi, Alexander’s Macedonian generals and administrators. Cassander (358-297 BC) imprisoned royal mother and infant at Amphipolis in Macedonia. Both were murdered 311 BC.
Raokhshna had been violently jealous, legend has it, and stabbed her rival to Alex-ander’s affections. Nathaniel Lee wrote a play about this 1678. A story claims that ac-tresses playing Roxana on at least two occasions actually knifed a “rival” actress during the play because of jealousies off stage. Roxane is the heroine of a 1724 novel by Daniel Dafoe. Deserted by her husband, this Roxane becomes a toney courtesan but dies a peni-tent after imprisonment for debt.
Variants Roxanne and Roxanna are encountered regularly, more popular in Amer-ica than in other English-speaking countries. Roxy for short was frequent enough to be-come a name on its own. Faulty back-formation of high-profile Roxane [supposedly from Rox and Anne!] started 19th century compounding of such names as Rose Anne and Rose Marie.
Isabel Roxanne Wallace b. 1926 Saint John, N.B. is, others have told me, some years retired in Halifax. She is my older sister next in age.
RUTH Our oldest son was prone to observe that some person was “lacking in ruth”. This Middle English word [out of either Old English or Old Norse] meant pity. Reaney & Wilson found a William Ruth in Lincolnshire of 1180 and another in 1275 Norfolk. [After centuries a question nags: had they been as compassionate as their name? Perhaps, for their times, because people do meet the challenge posed by how they are known. See Names Can Influence You, near page 37.]
The Old Testament Ruth may mean companion: that is perhaps jumping to con-clusions. This Gentile Moabite widow turned away from her own people to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, also widowed, with these appealing words: “Entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go” [Ruth 1:16]. Ruth is the eighth book of the Hebrew Bible, set in the time of Judges about 1000 BC. So says Macmillan Encyclopedia 1986 but Columbia Encyclopedia 5th Ed. 1993 notes it has been suggested that this highly popular idyll dates before or after their 6th century exile. Because it contained words that came into use later, Ruth was either edited or probably even composed sometime in the period 450-300 BC. A female collector of names says Ruth means compassionate, then gratuitously inserts beautiful. In Bethlehem Ruth became wife of the Hebrew Boaz making her an ancestress of David.
Ruth as a first name has always been popular with Jews but the Moabite’s stayed unrecorded in England until after the Protestant Reformation. It appealed to Puritans seeking new horizons because Ruth had left her homeland. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810-65) published a novel 1835 that helped the name along. Ruth occupied the minds of such 19th century poets as Wordsworth, Thomas Hood, and a Mrs. Hemans. Ruth was most in vogue 1890-1920 especially in the USA and remains in steady use.
Ruth Augusta (Wallace) Graham b. 1921 Halifax, was my Dad’s goddaughter. This sixth daughter of my Uncle Tom is blessed with zany humour that inspires reminiscent smiles many decades later and almost half a country away. She married widower Bruce Graham Down East late in the afternoon of their lives. The late Father Edward Granville SJ observed 60 something Ruthie brandishing her bridal bouquet triumphantly on high as she made her way along the aisle to marriage altar. My oldest sister Margot used money Dad left her to fly Ruth and Bruce to her British Columbia home for a visit. Eleanor, Ruthie and Ron 50 days into 2007 survive a family whose 12 other siblings are deceased.
Sweyn Thorsson was first chief of Viking settlers that formed a clan that would take its name from old baronial lands of Ruthven [pronounced rivven] in Angus, Scotland. Sweyn’s grandson Sir Walter was first to assume it ca. 1235. In the 15th century the family took on the hereditary position of sheriff of Perth and Ruthven was made a lordship. Sir William’s grandson Patrick led the gang that murdered David Rizzio, secre-tary to Mary Queen of Scots in 1566. One of nine children of James V born out of wed-lock was Adam, prior of the Charterhouse who died 1606. He’d wed Janet, daughter of William Ruthven (1541-1584) 4th Lord of Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie. In 1582 the lord kidnapped James VI and held him 10 months. That got him beheaded and John Ruthven, 3rd Earl murdered 1600 at home by followers of the king. This was known as the Gowrie House Affair. The earldom was no more and the name Ruthven banned in these words by parliament in 1600: “that the surname of Rithven sall now and in all time cumming be ex-tinguischit and aboleissit for euir.” Even then politicians were apt to change their minds, lifting this ban in ‘41. Ruthven is supposedly from Gaelic for a place of redstone or red earth e. g. their infamous Huntingtower on Ruthven Castle in Perthshire.
MacLysaght’s names in Ireland has Rut from a Norse word meaning red. A Rothe family established itself in Ireland’s County Kilkenny 14th century among its Ten Tribes. Its name more recently shifted into Ruth and Routh. We can’t ignore George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948) baseball’s Sultan of Swat.
RYAN Nowadays in North America Ryan is reserved for girls. My grand nephew Ryan Patrick Riddell, twin of Jessica, was born to my niece Janet née McDonald at Halifax 1978. Despite having ranked eighth among surnames of Ireland 1890, its derivation remains unsure.
The Old Irish word rian goes back to a form ren found in Rhenos, Rhine River. So Ryan might be the name of an ancient Celtic sea/river deity as with the Rhine. Or Ryan may come from the traditional Gaelic name Rioghan. Hanks & Hodges, off Oxford Uni-versity Press with their First Names book 1997, link it to O Riain, descendant of Ryan. They say its ri element means king. Ryan’s obscurity frustrated Professor Basil Cottle who mentions the “tremendous frequency of Ryan” in his introduction as sole reason for putting it in his Penguin Dictionary of Surnames.
A Dr. Ryan, late professor of early and medieval Irish history, Dublin’s Univers-ity College, thought Rian, like Niall, is so old that its meaning was lost before records began. His colleague Prof. Shaw thought rian once di-syllabic like trian thus has nothing to do with ri for king. There’s perhaps a case Rian the personal name meant someone who puts or marshals things into order. Promptly putting things out of order are those Irish names ending in rian or genitive rein.
Supporting Cottle’s attitude is the fact that Ryan in County Tipperary is almost four times more numerous than the second competing name there. O Maoilriain, declared MacLysaght, is correct in the home territory of the sept of Ryan formerly Mulryan. It is abbreviated now usually to O Riain even though this name actually rightfully belongs to a small sept in Leinster. In the face of all these conjectures scholarly and otherwise, I could not bring myself to tell a proud Ottawa youngster that his name doesn’t really mean king.
Canada has had benefit of three Ryans outstanding in journalism in the last couple of hundred years. Claude Ryan b. 1925, recent Liberal leader in opposition in Quebec’s national assembly, previously was publisher 1964-78 of small but influential Le Devoir. Its daily circulation has been at best 50,000 and usually less. Quebec decision-makers formed the habit of at least seeing what this chisel-featured Irish/French-Canadian wrote on any matter before acting because he gave every issue in the province his best thinking. This merited due respect if not always agreement.
William Thomas Carroll Ryan (1839-1910) well experienced in both soldiering overseas and journalism in Ottawa and Montreal, reacted to Quebec anti-Semitism after the Dreyfus affair in France by becoming inaugural editor of Canadian Jewish Times 1897 and furthermore a serious student of Hebrew. The Times was the first English-language Jewish periodical in Canada. John Ryan (1761-1847) pioneered newspapers while New Brunswick was being formed, then in 1807 started up the weekly Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser, the Old Colony’s first newspaper. Royal Gazette meant he was the King’s Printer there as well.
Various Ryans have achieved U. S. prominence in several fields, among them W. Nolan Ryan b. 1947 Refugio, Texas, big league right-handed pitcher for almost 30 excep-tional years. With the Houston Astros 27 April ‘83 he broke the strikeout record at 3,509, defeating Montreal Expos 4-2 at home. Ryan’s record seventh no-hitter came in a 3-0 win over Toronto’s Blue Jays 13 May ‘91, striking out 16 batters. He’s done Advil TV ads. USAF general John Dale Ryan (1915-83) served in bombers over the European Theatre in the Second World War and took part in Bikini Atoll atomic bomb testing. Commander-in-chief Strategic Air Command ‘64-67, he then headed America’s Pacific region air forces before becoming chief of the American air force ‘69-73. Ryan Phillippe [pronounced FILL-uh-pee] age 25 in 2000 is an Internet star after the 1999 movie Cruel Intentions.
Use as a given name began away from Ireland, a Ryan Smith not being named in England until 1939. The first name appeared in the USA early ‘40s. Ryan O’Neal b. 1941 who starred with Ali MacGraw in tear-jerker Love Story 1970 about a young wife who dies of cancer now has leukemia himself. His daughter Tatum is an actress. David Lean’s compelling film Ryan’s Daughter was screened that same year set against a back-drop of ruggedly beautiful western Ireland a-stirring in the Great War. Late Robert Mit-chum the he-man instead played a bookish cuckold who forgave her. Freddie Young OBE won one of three Oscars filming it in 15 gruelling months.
SADLER Derived from Old English sadol, a sad[d]ler was a maker or seller of saddles. This has led to such English surnames as Saddler, Sadle[i]r and Sadlier. The spelling -dd- is rarer today. Usually of Cromwellian origin in Ireland, it does appear on records in both Dublin and County Cork almost a century before. As a first name it turned up somewhat regularly in the 19th century, only once in a while since. Of course horses are gone 75 years in Canada as significant means of transportation. Sadlers as such in Ottawa-Hull have dwindled to two, only one bothering to list also in French. The surname Sadler has shrunk to a half column in the phone book.
Sir Ralph Sadle[i]r (1507-87) was long an English diplomat to Scotland beginning with numerous missions for Henry VIII. Sir Ralph avoided the persecuting Roman Cath-olic monarch Bloody Mary, then became agent for powerful William Cecil in the reign of Elizabeth I. He took official messages to the captive Mary Queen of Scots and in 1584 began a reluctant year as her guardian.
Sadler came into our family when John Munro [my great, great, great grandfather on my mother’s and her mother’s side] married Susannah Seidler 1794 in the Old Dutch [deutsch] Church on Brunswick Street in Halifax. Seidler was later anglicized to Sadler. The wife was of German immigrant stock, which began arriving in Halifax as early as 1750; a year after the city was founded. The groom, then aged 25, was Founder Father of Nova Scotia Munros. Susan gave him 12 little Bluenosers at Portuguese Cove to sea-ward of Halifax. His successful son George also married another Sadler, Rebecca, in 1825.
Sadlermiut Sadness
Sole entry in my 10-volume Encyclopedia Canadiana 1967 is Sadlermiut: its actual meaning mysterious. Atop Hudson Bay is Southampton Island whose earliest known inhabitants were Stone Age Sadlermuit, possibly last sad remnant of the great Dorset Culture. Inuit bands shunned them. Dysentery brought ashore from the whaler Active in the winter of 1902 killed 51 of 56 isolated Sadlermiut there during the winter of 1902-03. The remaining woman and four children were removed to a mainland tribe. By ‘07 there were just two children left with nothing heard thereafter. So hard to accept: for decades some anthropologist or other has been squatting in almost every Inuk home.
ST. JOHN Generally pronounced sin-jen; this name honours Saint John the Evangelist. Roman Catholics have used it since 1880s more as middle name. Just the sound of it has introduced since 1960s the phonetic names Sinjon, Sinjun. St. John or Singen is a County Tipperary family in Ireland, there since the 13th century and much hibernicized. Two of the Co. Wexford branch around that time were bishops of Ferns. Another example of what has happened to St. John is St. Clare, which remember decayed into Sinclair. It also names a Scottish clan.
St. John was the Apostle whom a dying Jesus told to take care of Mary, Mother of God. John, with his brother St. James [the Greater] and St. Peter were felt Apostles closer to Christ. They accompanied Jesus to Gethsemane and saw His transfiguration. John is known as Evangelist, Divine or Beloved Disciple, but Jesus had called these bro-thers Sons of Thunder. John is by tradition author of the Fourth Gospel, three letters, and Book of Revelation although being just the one author for these five books is disputed.
William Charles St. John (1807-73) was printer, publisher and proprietor of Har-bour Grace Weekly Herald in Newfoundland throughout its life 1842-54. St. John’s A Catechism of the History of Newfoundland 1885 was meant to be a school text but was thought scholarly. His son, Charles Henry St. John (c.1830-1925) wrote books of verse, some “…written at first to be spoken aloud/ In a hall, to a friendly, uncritical crowd.”
Uncle Basil St. John Carew (1901-80) and his priest son of the same name b. 1937 Halifax honour the Apostle with their middle name. St. John Green from Canning, N. S., was a monocled hankie-in-sleeve-type naval intelligence officer on the Flag staff in Halifax when I was starting there as a lowly midshipman 1949. The last time I saw him he was even foppier as Canadian naval attache to Sweden, visiting Halifax ahead of the call there of a Swedish training cruiser.
My wife was born in St. John’s, Nfld., and I in Saint John, N.B. However, both honour John the Baptist. The Saint in John is spelled out to differentiate this New Brunswick city from St. Johns, Que., and St. John’s, Nfld.
St. John’s, capital of the Old Colony, got going 1497 according to popular folklore on the June 24 feast day of John the Baptist. Certainly Europeans were using it by the early 1500s. However, St. Augustine, Florida, claims to be North America’s first perma-nent European settlement dating from 1565. When Newfoundland entered Confederation 1949 St. John’s supplanted Quebec City as Canada’s oldest. While Sir Humphrey Gilbert landed 1583 and took possession of Newfoundland in the name of Queen Elizabeth I, a companion described St. John’s as “very populous and much frequented” even if serious colonizing had never been sanctioned. It was the rendezvous for fishermen from the Grand Banks. The well-sheltered little port was invaluable during Battle of the Atlantic 1939-45. Brother-in-law Dan Hanington served for a while on the Newfie-Derry trans-Atlantic convoy run. My oldest sister Margot as Dan’s young wife managed to find a place to live in that war-crowded capital and did war work while Dan was based there. After Confederation my wife was among earliest of these new, retroactive Canadians to sign up as a nursing officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. With generations of fishing in her blood, she easily netted me.
Saint John, New Brunswick, birthplace of Margot, Rosemary, Isabel and Howie Wallace, got its name from a river emptying into Bay of Fundy. Champlain et al sailed into harbour on John the Baptist’s feast day 1604. French and English forts came and went around the harbour. The city began in earnest with Parr Town in 1783 being settled by United Empire Loyalists. It was named for Governor Parr of Nova Scotia at his re-quest. A huge chunk of that colony had been broken away to form N. B. In two years Parr Town and Carleton district were joined by royal charter into a City of Saint John, first in Canada to be incorporated. Saint John absorbed neighbouring community Portland by 1889.
In the latter days of sail, Saint John built a great fleet of softwood vessels for fast transoceanic commerce. A round trip to Australia would just about use her up but her cost had been more than met. When Montreal and St. Lawrence Seaway freeze up, Saint John and Halifax compete as ice-free ports. New city class frigates for the Navy have been coming out of Saint John Drydock and a Quebec yard.
I remember vividly a rickety wrought-iron-cage creaking slowly up and down within a very tall one, this being a dated elevator in the building of Saint John’s daily Telegraph-Journal & Times-Globe. At least its black paint gleamed. I was brought downtown to the Wallace Advertising office there when I must have been newly three. Every one – Mummy, Daddy and a pleasant brown-haired young man with military mustache – was absorbed in work. I’ve been prone to interrupt people since.
SAMUEL The Hebrew Shemuel, he has hearkened, we rephrase to “God has heard our prayers”. It’s also understood to be a short form of Hebrew sha’ulme’el, meaning asked of God. His long barren mother Hannah had said: “Because I have asked him of the Lord”. She fulfilled her vow by handing him over to the priest Eli [whom see]. When the boy reported to Eli three times thinking the priest had called him, Eli realized it was the Lord who wanted Samuel. Eli told the lad to lie down and on the next call reply: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” And that is what happened. Young Samuel was last of Judges and first of Prophets. The Authorized Version has two books in his name but Roman Catholic and Eastern churches identify them as 1st & 2nd Kings. At any rate they’re the main source for history of the Israelites 11/10th centuries BC.
Samuel was a rare name in the Middle Ages and remained so in England clear through to the 17th century when Puritans latched onto it. Non Conformists took it up 17 to 19th centuries. That is why English surnames Samuel[s] and Samwell aren’t exclus-ively Jewish. It’s family name of the viscounts Bearsted.
A Huguenot called the Father of New France, Samuel de Champlain (c.1567-1635) New World explorer and colonizer was promoted lieutenant general of New France 15 Oct. 1612. He continued its first governor until 1629.
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-84) compiled a general dictionary, not the first but one well seasoned with his own opinions. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was a poet who brought us The Ancient Mariner and drug trip Xanadu. Samuel Goldwyn was Holly-wood Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer mogul 1924 after running Goldwyn Picture Corp. Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) holding out for more money from MGM, twinkled to the press: “Mr. Goldwyn is an artist.”
Artist of another kind was the late Slammin’ Sam Snead, PGA Tour record holder of 81 official golf victories and another 14 on the Senior Tour. He won one event a record eight times. His 27-year span from first to last victories in one tournament makes another, and being the oldest victor at 52 years, 10 months, eight days makes a third record – all accomplished in Greater Greensboro [North Carolina] opens. He won three Canadian opens.
For early Canadian content there was Sir Samuel Cunard (1787-1865) Haligonian who pioneered trans-Atlantic passenger service in a big way. [On Halifax’s shipping beat late 1940s we pronounced it C’nard whereas these days its q-nard. Cunard’s gave me a Christmas present of a 40-overproof quart of Doorly’s Macaw light rum, which shattered social editor Fran Harris when she drank neat from a paper cup.]
Lewis Samuel (1828-87) late of England, USA and Montreal settled in Toronto 1854. He and brother Mark expanded a wholesale hardware business into the steel firm Samuel, Son & Co. Lewis was a founder of Holy Blossom Temple, instrumental in get-ting its first permanent building, and congregation president almost non-stop 1862-85. Son Sigmund founded a Canadiana gallery under his name in Toronto.
New Brunswick Liberal Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (1818-96) served in the Assem-bly there and supported Confederation. At Charlottetown 1864 he at first confined him-self to the subject of Maritime union. He wound up holding a couple of portfolios in John A. Macdonald’s federal cabinet before being appointed lieutenant governor of his province 1878.
Across the Pond, Sam was short for Samson more often than Samuel due to medi-eval scarcity mentioned earlier. Irish render it Somhairle. In the USA Samuel was fairly well used until the 1920s but generally throughout the English-speaking world Samuel is pretty steady. Steady’s the kind of impression left us by Raymond Samuel Riddell, wed to my niece Janet née McDonald in Halifax. A captain in heavy helicopters, he joined the law firm in Halifax of Janet’s brother Robin back in the ‘70s.
SARAH “And God said unto Abraham ‘As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai but Sarah shall her name be'”. [Genesis 17:15] Sarai might have meant con-tentious in Hebrew whereas Sarah meant princess. God deemed the latter more befitting the beautiful wife of Abraham because of all that was to come. When she was 90 she bore Isaac even though she had laughed off a divine prophecy about it.
Towards the end of the 4th century in the Scete desert of Libya, Abbess Sara for 13 years was persecuted constantly by an evil spirit who sometimes became visible to her. Saint Sara always prayed for strength to continue a struggle she felt God had set for her, never praying to have this evil presence driven off.
Sarah (Jennings) Churchill (1660-1744) was childhood friend of HRH later Queen Anne of England. She married John Churchill 1677 who for generalship on the Continent was made 1st Duke of Marlborough. On Anne’s marriage 1683 Sarah became lady of the bedchamber. She had influence when Anne succeeded to the throne in Ought Two until they differed over Whig cabinet appointments. She was finally let go in 1711 and the Churchills went abroad. After he d. in ‘22 she oversaw completion of their palace of Blenheim, arguing bitterly with its architect and most of her kin. Winston Churchill wrote a multi-volume history of ancestor Marlborough.
Mrs. Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) b. Sarah Kemble was first a child actress who then married another actor, William Siddons. She was leading London star of her day, Lady Macbeth her great tragic role. The famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was noted for her melodious laugh although her on-stage weeping was even better. Parents wished fervently that their children would sound that nice in laughter or tears.
A native of Brooklyn, N. Y., who’s a veteran of a couple of marriages, of Broad-way and of Vegas, is tiny Sarah Lee Stadelman. She has lived her last 17 years Ottawa and wrote her memoirs Walk-Ons and Bit-Parts at age 83 for publication by Penumbra Press in 2000. When 39 she became a Roman Catholic 1956 and has devoted the rest of her life to devising special theatricals strongly spiritual. American Sarah Michelle Gellar, age 26, is television’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and did movies I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2 and Cruel Intentions. And there’s Weight Watcher in TV ads, Sarah Margaret (Ferguson) b. 1959 London, England, duchess of York. His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Royal Navy officer, married this commoner in ‘86. Their marriage broke up although they seem somehow to stay under the same roof. Easier for both to raise their two daughters? The Sarah out of South Africa is the world’s largest vivid yellow diamond at 132.42 carats and $27 million.
Haligonian Sarah McLachlan, when 34-year-old new mom in Vancouver was just-ly famous for her all-woman concert tour Lilith Fair. Father of then two-year-old girl India is Ashwin Sood, her drummer. They married in ‘97. Twenty independent hair stylists across Canada judged Sarah Best Style in 2000. The 139th and final show in Edmonton ‘99 drew 15,000 fans. She wanted to start a family and meanwhile was appointed officer of the Order of Canada at the start of Year 2000. See Lilith under Eve. McLachlan was sued by music producer Darryl Neudorf for copyright and royalty matters concerning her ‘88 debut album Touch. He lost and the court ordered he pay about 60 per cent of her legal fees although he had already filed for bankruptcy. Sarah, Ashwin and India with nanny part of the entourage toured some 40 places in the U. S. and Canada during the summer of 2004. Sarah said she could write a whole book about playgrounds. [Meanwhile under Ancestors in this Catalogue find John Wallace and a brief mention of the development in Oshawa, Ont., of McLaughlin Carriage/ McLaughlin Motors/ McLaughlin Buick/ General Motors.]
Crossover singer Sarah Brightman “around 40” late 2000, starred in Cats and Phantom of the Opera, and acted Mrs. Andrew Lloyd Webber six years. She grew up in Britain eldest of six, began as a teen-age dancer. Her duet with blind Italian Andrea Bo-celli sold 5 million records worldwide. Lynn Saxberg in Ottawa Citizen wrote that Time to Say Goodbye “blended classical and pop influences into a gooey, sentimental blob that stuck with listeners.” We saw her on TV draped over Bocelli who stayed calm.
My Great Aunt Sarah Isabelle (O’Neill) Grace, later Mrs. E. C. Champion, went by name of Belle and sometimes, my oldest sister writes, Sarbelle. She was our Grandma Lavinia (O’Neill) Carew’s younger sister perhaps by a decade. Ann was oldest and these three girls remained good friends. To single parent Mummy and kids, Aunt Belle was a fairy godmother. Her acts of generosity extended to Widow Lavinia Carew’s other off-spring and to their families.
Belle was widowed just two years wed to Tom Grace. He had some connection with a family owning the Grace steamship line although a commercial traveler himself. Daughter Adele was a year old when, looking in on her after a trip, he collapsed dead of heart failure across her crib. Aunt Belle proceeded to educate herself for the working world, Adele being absorbed into brother-in-law Frank’s and sister Lavinia’s home for however long this would take. All this was going on around twilight of the 19th century.
Belle took nurse’s training and worked for a while in New York. For the Great War she went into the Canadian Army to nurse at Camp Hill military hospital in Halifax. Somehow she met a Quaker from Pennsylvania, a widower with three children, happily became Mrs. Ed Champion, and took off with him. My conforming Grandfather Frank Carew was scandalized; saying it was tantamount to desertion on her part. When we wed 1952, my Navy nurse also had to leave the Service: Belle’s departure may well have been legit. Grandpa Carew was killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917 while mustering volunteers to batten down a vessel in the face of a burning ammunition ship close by, which blew. A third of the city was flattened.
Bland Uncle Ed Champion was in Steel and we became minor beneficiaries of his wealth. Apart from Christmas and like loot for us genteel poor, Belle dickered with Reeve Granville Mosher of Glen Margaret. The result was a storey-and-a-half Cape Cod cottage in which her Carews for years summered their families. Author Mazo de la Roche was a ‘Thirties fad, thus the families called the place White Oaks of Jalna. Belle had the house wired but a two-seater outhouse had such a splendid view of orchard and cove that she’d ensconce herself there with a book, door swung wide, during visits from their retire-ment home in Freehold, New Jersey. All good things come to an end: Granville Mosher took back White Oaks for youthful son Bubby’s impending marriage.
Aunt Belle d.1952 and was laid out in Uncle Basil and Aunt Kathleen’s dollhouse of a parlour at then 125 Cambridge St., Halifax. My new wife and I came by. A nose shaped like a yacht’s keel rose imperiously from the coffin. She and Lavinia had projected certain grace and dignity for dumpy ladies, and were admired hugely by circles of esteem-ed women. [I don’t remember hugs from either of them.] My oldest sister Margot and then Mummy visited Belle and Ed in the States on occasion. Rita treated Belle like the princess her formal name means. Margot recalls her quiet, well-modulated manner and voice. The child in me recalls reverberating snores, a-snarl under canted bedroom ceilings of White Oaks. Before Belle’s stirring performances, snore to me was just a word seen in books. Now I too rend the night!
Grandpa Frank must have really had his hands full coping with four daughters before any sons arrived, the more so with sister Ellie and in-law Belle also manoeuvring about him under full spread of canvas, with Adele tiny reinforcement? Grandma Lavinia, by comparison, seemed to me serenity itself. Read my Carew manuscripts for Margot’s vivid memories.
SEAN John looked like this in Irish Gaelic. The route was Latin Johannes to Anglo Nor-man Jehan to Sean pronounced Shawn which, by the way, is how they spell it in Ulster. This is a name common in Ireland but parents without a drop of Irish blood are choosing it without the acute accent on the -a-. Some even spell it Shawn the way it sounds, others use Shane. Irishmen Sean O Casey (1880-1964) playwright, and Sean O Foalain (1900-91) author, enhance the name. Sean Con-nery b. 1930 had the role Cdr James Bond OO7 on the screen until long in the tooth. Be that as it may, Englishwomen late ‘98 voted him sexiest male in the realm. Sean Garrison b. 1978 London, Ont., now of Salmon Arm, B. C., is Honey (Small) Sell’s #2 son from a previous marriage and my wife’s grand nephew. Sean’s wife Shannon bore daughter Bail-ey in ‘98, another great grandchild for Kay and Fred Small.
SEIDLER, see Sadler.
SELBY The surname is traced mainly to Nottinghamshire and the place it recalls is in Yorkshire. The earliest Selby turning up in records thereabouts is William de Selebia of 1175. Hugh de Seleby follows 1219 and Robert Selby 1395. Selby itself is a place in the West Riding of Yorkshire and means a willow tree farm all right, or more likely indicated a farm overgrown with sallow, which meant short, scrubby willow bush.
The prime source for Selby by history and geography has got to be Old Norse selja. There is also Old English sealh from Germanic salhaz, cognate with Old High Ger-man salaha. Remember that Angles came across the North Sea and penetrated northern Briton in such numbers that their tribe back in north Germany ceased to exist for all intents and purposes. That was going on roughly halfway through the 1st millennium, fol-lowed near its end by invading Danes who almost swallowed up everything.
Selby is a community on Selby Creek, 22 kilometres north of Napanee, Ont. A water powered sawmill flourished there but waterpower failed through effects of defores-tation.
Selby Burt b. 1949 Old Perlican, Nfld., married Catty, Catherine Louise Walsh that was, senior daughter of my wife’s deceased young sister Biz. Recently scholars spe-culated that some early Old Colony families didn’t die out or abandon some outports as thought. They had clung onto the Rock for centuries unsupported from and so unrecord-ed in the Old Country. With such old names as Selby and Burt did something of this kind happen in Old Perlican? After all, that fishing harbour dates from the 1500s. Some early maps show it Pelican. It became involved in France-England wars, French destroying the settlement 1696. It was rebuilt and in 1775 Methodists came, Old Perlican one of the first Newfoundland communities thus ministered.
SHANE This anglicization of Irish Gaelic Sean [see] yields the Northern Irish pronun-ciation Shane. In recent times it has become popular as a first name for girls. Surname [Mac]Shane from Mac Seain is equivalent to Johnson. MacShanes in Ulster and Louth are a branch of the O’Neills; the Westmeath family Shane is an O’Farrell branch, and MacShane was taken up by Fitzmaurices in Kerry. The late names authority Mac-Lysaght thought these families extinct.
Tom Small’s #1 son is Shane Brody Kenwell b. 1985 London, Ont. He’s my wife’s grand nephew.
SHANNON The name evokes an Irish river most sacred in pagan times, its name im-plying old river. As a name for boys it is partly the anglicizing of Seanan or of surname O Seanain, supposedly translating as little old wise one. In Ireland sometimes Shanahans, Shinanes and Giltenans have taken up Shannon instead which makes the name obvious in all four provinces. Anyway Shannon is the longest river in the British Isles at 386 kilo-metres and empties into the Atlantic. Shannon’s good for naming girls as well as boys. In Canada, Shannonville is a community on Salmon River about 12 klicks east of Belleville, Ont. A cannery there depends on many surrounding, fertile farms.
Shannon Rothery is daughter of Bill Rothery from a previous marriage. Shannon Garrison is married to Sean out in B. C, grand nephew of my wife.
SIMON A bit of a muddle is Simon, albeit a well rounded handle well worth having. Battlers, liberators, helpers, Olympians, ugly babies, saints, sorcerers and sinners have borne renditions of Simon over millennia. Roots can be Greek, Hebrew, Roman, Norse, Norman, English and Scots. What kind of a Simon today can be extracted from such a tangle?
The New Testament rewards us with a couple of Apostles, a so-called brother of Jesus, His hosts leper and Pharisee, a hide-maker, a magician, and he who was fingered to help Christ carry the Cross. Other Simons lie among holy pages. Simon of Trent, aged two, it had been alleged was ritually murdered by Jews, and then canonized by the Church. Pope Paul VI following careful investigation, exonerated elders executed long ago, declared their innocence and forbade Catholics from praying to this particular Simon.
Simon has variations and diminutives by the bagful although Simonel got lost along the way. Simpson is most common. Simone is female. Hebrew Shimeon comes from a word for hearkening. Scholars however note possible influence of a Greek name from a root word meaning snub-nosed so here comes the alternative meaning little hyena, found in early writing as a nickname for a homely human baby!
Rendering of the English Bible over the centuries has evolved a protocol of sorts: spell it for the most part Shimeon or Simeon in the Old Testament, Simon in the New. One of the Twelve Disciples was Saint Simon Zelotes a.k.a. the Canaanite. Zelotes shows probable linkage with the Zealot sect. However, great popularity of the name Simon in Middle Ages is due more to sainted Simon Peter, Rock of the Church. Helping Jesus with His Cross was Simon of Cyrene. St. Simeon, son of Cleophas, was crucified AD 107. English pilgrim Simon Stock (c. 1165-1265) joined Carmelites who were driven out by Saracens. From Great Britain he greatly enlarged the order and revised its rule, penetrating France and Italy.
Major flaws in the medieval Church were the Inquisition and selling indulgences, benefices or other ecclesiastical offices. Julius II in 1503 outlawed such sales and of reli-gious articles that had been blessed. The term simony dates to beginnings of Christianity when Samaritan sorcerer Simon Magus tried to buy powers of the Holy Spirit from the Apostles. The father of Judas Iscariot was a Simon.
Sir Simon Fraser of Tweedale fought for Sir William Wallace, Scotland’s Patriot, and suffered the same hideous death penalty 1306 devised for Wallace. Lord Lovat of Fraser in 1707 at age 80 was last peer to be hung, drawn and quartered. His son Simon Fraser was out for Battle of Culloden Moor 1746, but later was pardoned and restored. It took him only three weeks to raise a regiment of 1,600, the 78th Foot, Fraser’s Highland-ers, to campaign in Canada against the French. Then he took his rebuilt Highland unit into the American Revolution there to fight for the Crown.
Liberator Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) freed much of colonial South America. You see his statue in Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. I’ve handled currency called Bolivars. He’s been rated 72nd among many millennial greats. Simon Fraser (1776-1862) was fur trader/explorer of, among other things, the British Columbia river he hurtled down and which was subsequently named for him. [Simon Fraser Uni-versity opened a campus 1965 Burnaby, B. C., with each academic unit four months.] Nova Scotian Simon Newcomb (1835-1909) was said to be America’s most important astronomer the century before last. One of his positions was superintendent, U. S. Nautical Almanac office. Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Napoleon of Crime”, Professor Mori-arty, was inspired by his character.
Ms. Mary Simon aged 52 mid-1999 is Canada’s first ambassador for circumpolar affairs. In her childhood at Kuujuaq roughly 1,600 km north of Montreal our new arctic ambassador got around by dog sled and lived in a tent when it was 30 below outside. She involved herself in Inuit affairs at 20, first woman in the council of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association. Major concerns among eight nations linked on the roof of the world are their environment, and freer trade among themselves rather than in-country, north/south mindsets.
Simon Whitfield, age 25, of Kingston, Ont., and Victoria, B. C., was fair-haired boy in both senses being first to win gold on introduction of the triathlon event to the Olympics and first Canadian gold medalist at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Austral-ia. In one hour, 48 minutes, 24.02 seconds he swam 1.5 kilometres, cycled 40 km and ran 10 more, from back in the pack, starting his final kick with 300 metres to go. He could have competed for Australia as a dual citizen but declared, “Canadians are the nicest people in the world.”
The Scots nickname Simmie [sounded as shimmy] was spoken by familiars to Lord Lovat of Fraser who led British [including Commonwealth] Commandos in the Second World War. Simon Wiesenthal b. 1908 Austria was a Nazi hunter who founded the Jewish documentation centre 1961 Vienna. Israeli, West German and other govern-ments co-operated in varying degrees as the centre tracked more than 1,000 war criminals. Canada is called Paraguay North since so many took refuge here with relative impunity.
Paul Simon b. 1941 American singer and songwriter [some will fondly remember gifted young Simon & Garfunkle] continues to liberate for us rare and distinctive music of other lands.
Old Norse Sigmundr meaning victory protector and Old German Sigmund long have complicated the Simon story. Simund was a popular Anglo Norman name after the Conquest of 1066. John Wycliffe’s 14th century Bible used Symound for Simon Peter. Everything has wound up in Simon today, surviving English symbol of so many lan-guages and cultures. Simon Arthur Hanington b. 1980 Halifax is my nephew Brian’s older son here. He’s trying out many options, one of them haute cuisine.
SMALL This is one of those handy little words of remote German ancestry. In Old English, between roughly 400-1100 AD, smael meant small, slender, thin. In Middle English 1100-1500, small had been refined to usually mean slender, narrow. Thus any narrow stand of trees was a smallwood. Add Joey in 1949 Newfoundland and you get a late blooming Father of Confederation.
Small in Ireland in addition to being a name from England also covers Begg by translation of Irish Gaelic beag meaning small. Kielty and Quilty on the green isle come supposedly from caol for slender so Small does for both of them at times.
Ambrose Joseph Small b. 1867 managed and owned opera houses in Toronto and acquired a theatrical chain stretching to the West Coast. He sold the chain to Trans-Canada Theatres for $1,700,000 with a million paid down 1 Dec. 1919. He vanished within 24 hours and, although murder was suspected, the mystery remains unsolved.
Today my 1983 Gage Canadian Dictionary says to begin with that small is not large echoing my English Oxford Concise and now the 1999 Oxford Canadian which rules not large or big. My American Webster’s Collegiate, 3rd Ed., gives priority to small being less than the usual amount. More than the usual amount is the Small family, late Fred and my wife’s oldest sister Kay in London, Ont. They had 11 children, 26 grandchildren and in 1999 three great grandchildren. Ethan Connor McDonagh b. 10 Feb. 1995 London is the chunky guy we met! Now he has a little sister and brother.
SMITH Because of a general need for either swords or ploughshares, and horseshoes for the better off, a smith figured in almost every community. Weird things can happen to a name so prevalent. One poor lad in 1858 was named Smith Follows Smith and the year 1931 brought forth a Smythe Smith. This occupational name is not only a blacksmith but it indicates a metal worker and a farrier [horse shoer] as well. Some farriers treated sick horses. Early smiths went by Latin faber, which also became a surname. MacGowan is the Irish smith. Nearly all MacGowans in County Cavan have changed their names to Smith. O Gowans have nothing to do with smithing but some have taken the English name regardless.
Professor Basil Cottle calls Smith “the primate and patriarch of our surnames, its form unchanged for 1,000 years.” There’s a smithyful of spelling variants to indicate spe-cializations within the trade; but Cottle thinks the -y- spelling with -e- ending in Smythe “usually both ignorant and affected”. Smythe Road in Ottawa, by the way, is supposed to be pronounced Smith according to that family. It’s the commonest last name in com-bined England and Wales, in Scotland and in the USA. In 1890 it ranked fifth in Ireland and now tops all foreign names there although again many Smiths are really MacGowans. It is the family name of five peers. For how Smith and satellites fare in Canada, look at all those pages of them in your phone book.
There are many distinguished Smiths in the history of Canada – baronets, knights, leaders of government and industry, authors and educators. One with the longest shadow was Sir Donald Alexander Smith (1820-1914) 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, man of fur, finance, railway and regiment. For the South African War beginning 1899 he formed and maintained Lord Strathcona’s Horse of mounted riflemen out of his own deep pocket. In all 7,300 Canadians went to the Boer War, 5,200 of them into battle. Casual-ties were 88 fatal, 252 wounded, 136 fatally ill or from accidents. Disease dealt with Ca-nadians severely in this our first expedition of fighting men abroad, all volunteers.
Sir Donald like all Scots had deep reverence for letters. His family couldn’t afford to educate him in the law so he put this dream away to start as an apprentice clerk 1838 in Hudson’s Bay Co., undergoing plenty of hard lies in frontier fur trading. When making monumental bundles of money eventually, he generously gifted McGill University, became chancellor 1889 and founded Royal Victoria College in ’96 there for higher edu-cation of women. He was raised to the peerage the following year and in ‘99 was made lord rector of Aberdeen University and its chancellor 1903.
There are so many Smith worthies; somewhat of a contrast was William Alexander Smith (1825-97) from Nova Scotia who changed his name on or after California gold fields to Amor de Cosmos saying it meant lover of the universe. He owned The Victoria Colon-ist 1858-63 and founded The Standard only keeping it a couple of years. He had political ideas very similar to those of Nova Scotia hero Joseph Howe with strong and urgent views on responsible government, undeterred by Authority’s attempts to suppress him. When British Columbia joined Confederation he was holding seats simultaneously in both provincial and federal governing bodies. When dual representation was abolished he quit premiership of B. C. in ‘74 just two years into office but hung onto his Commons seat until ‘82. He was no flake; his ideas were thought good.
I felt sorry for another Nova Scotian, Sidney Earle Smith (1897-1959) law dean at Dalhousie University in Halifax, then president of University of Manitoba for a decade, principal of University College and the next year, 1945, president University of Toronto where he coped admirably with postwar expansion. In ‘57 he was persuaded to become secretary of state for External Affairs in Diefenbaker’s cabinet. Raucous parliamentarians and carping media went into such a feeding frenzy over this mannerly academic that he died in office.
There are a slew of British and American generals and admirals over the centuries named Smith. Pause for a moment before Marine Gen. Holland McTyire “Howlin’ Mad” Smith (1882-1967). He relieved U.S. Army Maj.-Gen. Ralph C. Smith of command of the 27th Division on Saipan 1944 for not being as gung-ho as a leatherneck. Tactful pun-dits do admit to “differences” between U. S. marine and army tactics.
A refreshing character was Private Ernest A. “Smokey” Smith of Seaforth High-landers from Vancouver. The nickname Smokey recalled his fleetness in high school track & field. He avoided joining his hometown New Westminster Regiment for the Second World War because too many of his former teachers were serving in that unit. He liked soldiering and he liked fun. He was promoted nine times and busted in rank to private nine times. In northern Italy in October 1944 Canadians were forcing a bridgehead across the Savio River when counter-attacked by German tanks and soldiers. Smokey got both Panzers with his anti-tank PIAT and killed several attackers with automatic weapons. The Germans retreated not aware the last able bodied soldier of a Seaforth tank-hunting team opposed them. Later, word came that Smith was to come out of the line. A decoration never entered his head: he thought he was in trouble again. There were 54 nations in the Commonwealth for HM the Queen’s golden jubilee 2002. Smith age 90 late 2004 was last of 94 Canadian VC winners still on the right side of the sod.
“…A smith smites and his honoured name rings down the ages like an anvil.” [Cottle]. Our Smith is a wordsmith, smiting keys of computers to fashion words and artwork into deft communications to The Great Unwashed. His business card displays an anvil. David Alexander Smith b. 1963 Ottawa is second husband of our #2 daughter Catherine Anne who like her grandfather Howard Vincent Wallace but for other reasons cut short a brilliant career in advertising. She returned to high school to acquire missing science subjects, then graduated magna cum laude from Ottawa U. as a B. Sc. in occu-pational therapy. Meanwhile Dave put in all-nighters at his electronic forge.
SOPHIE This is the French version of a name that came long ago out of the Greek word sofia, wisdom. Sophie prevails today in the English-speaking world as well, although other forms appear in many tongues of Europe whether Romance, Germanic or Slavic.
Beautiful, clever at times, and powerful women have been Sophias. There may even be a tenuous link to Middle East goddesses of fertility well before Aphrodite of the Greeks, or Venus. An ancient Jewish variant was Ashtaroth. Archaeologists normally expect monotheism when digging in Israel. They keep finding another presence on aged household altars they unearth. The female figurine they happen upon has come to be known as Sophia whose precise role back when is open to much debate!
The Byzantine empress Sophia for all intents and purposes ruled her country several years with Tiberius II Constantinus also in harness. Her plot against him was uncovered 578 and she was so thoroughly removed from public view that we don’t know when she died.
Hagia Sophia, that huge masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, was raised speed-ily 532-37 in Constantinople by Justinian. Under conquering Turks, this domed basilica called Church of the Holy Wisdom was initially a giant stable for their cavalry, then a mosque eventually cornered by tall, graceful minarets, and now a museum although much had been effaced. Often it has been miscalled Saint Sophia. Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, was once the Roman town of Serdica. Its 6/7th centuries churches include St. Sofia. Sofiya, as Bulgars call their city, was destroyed by Huns in the Roman twilight; was taken over by Byzantines, then Turks, and liberated 1878 by Russians.
Sophias were martyrs in Rome, Sicily and Thrace back in the 1st Millennium, mak-ing a name worthy for the baptismal font. It was prominent in Russian, Hanoverian and Prussian courts centuries ago and roused sympathy in the English people as you will see.
Sophia Paleogus wed 1472 the founder of the Russian Empire, Ivan III the Great. She’d taken refuge in Italy when Turks took Constantinople and now brought architects and artists with her to the court of the first csar of the Slavs. So Byzantine culture as well as religion secured a good foothold there. Sophia Alekseyevna (1657-1704) was regent of dim-witted Ivan V of Russia jointly with Peter the Great. Peter prevailed in their power struggles, forcing her to take the veil and imprisoning her 1698 until she died.
The granddaughter of James I of England was Sophia von der Pfalz (1630-1714) Sophie of the Palatinate, widow and electress of Hanover and, significantly, Protestant. Her son George Louis was crowned George I of Great Britain and Ireland; a move of the British parliament after neither William III nor Queen Anne had issue. So George I had a Sophia for mother, another for sister, and Sophia Dorothea for wife. He sent her to pri-son for life after alleged infidelity. He arrived in London for throning 1714 flanked by mistresses. The English weren’t all that glad to see His Majestic Harshness. He never bothered learning their language, returned to the Continent and carried on leading his wars.
Sophia was a popular choice in England of the 17/18th centuries. Sophia Weston was heroine of Fielding’s novel Tom Jones 1749. Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake (1840-1912) got British legislation allowing women to be medical doctors.
In the 21st century Italian movie star Sophia Loren b. 1934 a Scicolone shows us how to grow old and stay beautiful. Also she could act. Another Sophie plays through bad stuttering. She’s 26-year-old Sophie Gustafson, Swedish golfer with six victories in Europe and Asia who won a seventh last May in her second year on the USA tour. A public relations boss, 34-year-old Sophie Rhys-Jones and Prince Edward, earl of Wessex and viscount Severn married at Windsor 19 June 1999. Her Royal Highness, Countess of Wessex, is Sophie Wessex in professional circles while he goes by Edward Windsor. Their children will not be HRHs.
Sophie Elise Hanington Belton b. 2000 Burnaby, B. C., is first issue of Owen and Fiona, my nephew Mark Hanington’s attractive older daughter. Sophie Gauvin b. Montreal 1964 is a francophone of failing health in Ottawa who was honorary member of our Wallace family several years ago.
STANISLAUS/STANISLAWA Saint Stanislaw, Stanislaus (1030-79) was patron saint of Poland. A nobleman elected bishop of Cracow 1072, he excommunicated unjust Bole-slaw II; dramatically halting services whenever his king entered the cathedral. Boleslaw murdered Stanislaus in the midst of his saying Mass in a chapel outside the city. Another sainted Pole was Stanislaus Kostka (1550-68) lavishly devout Jesuit novice who died age 17 in Rome.
Stanislaw I Leszczynski (1677-1766) was twice Polish king and then duke of Lorraine. A cultured man, his court was small but distinguished. He got Jean Jacques Rousseau to draft Poland a new constitution. Stanislaw II Poniatowski (1732-98) was Poland’s last king who eventually abdicated. Konstantin Stanislavsky (1863-1938), Russian actor, was born K. Sergeyevich Alekseyev.
In Stanislaus, the second element of the name means glory but the first is uncer-tain: it may mean camp. English Stanley meaning stony field makes an inappropriate substitute for Stanislaus: the latter suggests a great position to defend [or where glory makes a stand?].
A man with many allies is strapping William Alexander Stanislaus Rothery b. 1948 Vancouver, #3 daughter Caroline’s husband in Ottawa. The feminine form Stanis-lawa is rare in these parts. My cousin Bernie Granville’s wife in Ottawa, b. Stanislawa Ryba 1930 Sydney, N. S., usually went by Stella. She d. there 8 Feb. 2007.
STELLA A byname of the Virgin Mary is Stella Maris, Star of the Sea. Thus Stella was widely accepted in USA 1870s and in England 1920s. More “modern” is Estelle, and Star[r] was noticed once again 1970s.
However, Stella wasn’t a given name before the 16th century. Sir Philip Sidney chose Stella because it wasn’t an everyday name for his series of sonnets Astrophel to Stella 1580-84. Target of his poesy was actually a young lady named Penelope. Astro-phel was supposed to mean lover of stars. In the 18th century Jonathan Swift wrote his Journal to Stella who was really Esther Johnson. Still, Esther is Persian for star. Stanis-lawa Ryba, Polish-Canadian b. 1930 Sydney, Cape Breton, had an above-average business career before accepting my cousin Bernie’s proposal. She went by Stella, had children and grandchildren and d. Ottawa 8 Feb. 2007 .
STEPHEN Greek Stephanos means crown but sadly the first Christian martyr was crowned with rocks! He was probably a Hellenistic Jew, earlier among seven deacons whom Apostles made responsible for distributing alms to the needy in their Christian fold. He kept a charitable eye on its Greek-speaking widows in Jerusalem and helped out with preaching. Stephen decried Mosaic Law and Temple as something temporary, to be superseded by teachings of Christ. He reproached his listeners for killing Christ: he was stoned to death around AD 36. His preaching had highlighted growing differences bet-ween Judaism and this new Christian community considered blasphemers. His feast day is observed Dec. 26, so as to honour this first martyr on the day following celebration of the birth of Christ.
Saint Stephen I (975-1038) was initially Duke Najk or Bajnok meaning fighter before crowned first king of Hungary AD 1000. He’d been baptized Stephen 995 and ruled Magyars after his father died 977 but had to consolidate the country. He was known as Apostle of Hungary for converting, by force when deemed necessary, Black Magyars [pagans] into White Magyars [Hungarian Christians] in the unifying process. He was canonized patron saint of Hungary 1038. Obscure but culturally valuable was Russian missionary Stephen the monk. From Rostov he headed southwest of the Urals among the Ziane. He devised an alphabet for his folk, translated liturgy and part of the Bible into their tongue, and got several schools going. He d. 1396 Moscow.
Stephens in Ireland can be from Norman Fitzstephen, from Irish Gaelic Mac Giol-la Stiofain, devotee of St. Stephen, and English implanters called Stephens. The Stephen-son family in County Limerick, Elizabethan planters though they had been, went so Irish they proved outstanding patrons of Gaelic literature. Stevensons are Ulstermen.
Other Stephens: a pope, an English king, a csar of Serbia, an English saint, an Irish poet; and Stephen the Great, prince of Moldavia, who held Turks at bay by trickery and then by tribute – but Russia was lurking.
St. Stephen Harding (c.1060-1134) was an English monastic reformer from whose abbacy Cistercians date their order. Trappists came along in the 17th century. Today differences between them are not great: twice I retreated a few days to Trappist Oka.
Sir George Stephen (1829-1927) left Scotland for Montreal textiles and a fortune. He was president Bank of Montreal 1876-81, which proved handy for railway acquisition and construction of Canadian Pacific Railway. Stephen once again was railway president, CPR’s first, 1881-88. He became Baron Mount Stephen in ‘91. That made him a railway baron, eh?
Henry Herbert Stevens b. 1878 Bristol, Eng., engaged in Vancouver commerce then devoted 30 years to the House of Commons. He held a succession of ministries; broke with Prime Minister R. B. Bennett to form a Reconstruction Party for the 1935 election. Its platform was also conservative, and small-business oriented. When he emerged the sole successful candidate, he kissed and made up with Conservatives. In ‘52-53 he was president of Vancouver’s board of trade.
Alexander Maitland Stephen (1882-1942) left Ontario to knock around the West then was badly wounded overseas in the Great War. He taught in Vancouver and led social reform. He composed four volumes of verse, two novels, two classroom plays and put together two poetry anthologies.
“Humans are not the end result of predictable evolutionary progress but rather a fortuitous cosmic afterthought, a tiny little twig on the enormously arborescent bush of life, which if replanted from seed, would almost surely not grow this twig again.” So wrote Stephen Jay Gould b. 1941, paleontologist/evolutionary biologist who has studied amazingly varied fossils of British Columbia’s Burgess Shale. He has also written on the decline of the .400 hitter in baseball.
Stephen Lewis b. 1937 son of CCF leader David Lewis taught in Africa and led NDPs in Ontario’s legislature. Joe Clark made him Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations ‘84 and he has held other UN posts, the latest to do with Aids. Film director Steven Spielberg b. 1947 Cincinnati, who shocked us with Jaws 1975, was rated among top 100 individuals of the 2nd millennium thanks to quality films. His Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan lead a list compiled by broadcast critics of best movies in the ‘90s. They also named him that decade’s top moviemaker. Steve Maclean b. 1954 Ottawa went to York University to be a physicist and became a Canadian astronaut. He was third such Canadian to go into space on a Discovery shuttle mission. Ottawa named a park after him.
In the Carew family it is claimed the names Stephen Patrick have been used in every generation in Halifax, five, since our Founder Immigrant, a Stephen Patrick who d. there 1877, “not old”. Kin Tale XXI is about my Uncle Steve when a youth.
Stephen seems somehow familiar in other languages: Stéphane or Etienne [French], Estevan [Spanish], Stefan [German, Danish], Stefano [Italian], Stephanus [Swedish], and Steaphan (Scottish]. Pishtika, a Magyar pet diminutive for Stephen, was applied by one of our 1956 Hungarian refugees, Dr. Janos Furesz, to #2 son Stephen Gregory Wallace b. 1956 Ottawa. Normally that’s Pishta. Baby Stephen talked and sang at naptime, eyes roving, hands and feet a-moving; “one t’ousand leetle games!” was John’s admiring com-ment. More about our Ste is in Kin Tales XV, XXXVI and XL.
STUART French form Stuart is usually selected of late for a forename while Stewart tends to be a surname. Steuard is rare, Steward is East Anglian. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, brought her version from 16th century France. On the other hand Stewart may hark back to Old English stigweard, sty ward. From perhaps a keeper of a pigsty the title swelled to keeper of a manorial household and then a royal house.
Royal Stewarts began as hereditary stewards in Brittany before joining the Con-quest of England. Their ancestor was Alain, seneschal of Dol. The former Bretons had links with Flanders and were related to William de Graham also destined for Scotland. Shropshire was a major gateway to Wales where Normans were still quelling the natives in the 12th century, and there a Wallace adventurer hooked up with a son of the sheriff, Alan Fitz Walter, who’d just been offered the hereditary post of lord high steward for the king of Scots. Wallace wound up in Scotland with stature and land while his new lord ac-quired more titles and eventually the royal house of Stewart. That dynasty began ruling Scots 1371 and the English 1714.
The high stewards had changed their name to Stewart early and remember it was Mary Queen of Scots (1542-87) who Frenchified it to Stuart. She also was responsible for the word caddie. While growing up in the French court Mary had young men of cadet families carry her sticks. Her golfing itch was to cause a fatal scandal. For more glimpses, see Mary.
Stewart and its variants were ranked sixth in Scotland 1958 and barely into Ire-land’s top 60 back in 1890. Today it’s still one of the more plentiful names originating from away: more than 90 per cent of such families live in Ulster. It’s family name of earls of Galloway in the southwest corner of Scotland who are chiefs of clan. Prince Charles is high steward of Scotland via the distaff line back to Walter Fitz Alan, first to bear Stewart as surname. Earls of Galloway a.k.a. lords lieutenant of the Stewartry of Kirkudbright are the clan’s senior line. Their forbear John Stewart of Bonkyl, younger son of the 4th high steward, was killed in action 1297 fighting alongside Sir William Wallace. Royal Stewart tartan continues the favorite of folk south of us judging by apparel available at chain stores and seen on the street. In all, more than 40 different Stewart checks are known. George IV wore a Royal during his state visit 1822 to Scotland.
James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart (1833-64) was a brilliant Confederate cavalry major general in the U.S. Civil War, “eyes & ears” of his commander in chief Robert E. Lee unless of course carrying out raids. That is when Lee lacked his eyes & ears and lost Gettysburg 1863. Golf lost flamboyant 42-year-old American Payne Stewart 1999 and five others when his Learjet’s cabin pressure and oxygen failed en route to Dallas from Orlando, Florida. On auto pilot several hours the plane finally crashed near Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Stuarts were prominent explorer/fur traders in British Columbia, others knighted, one being Sir James Stuart 1st Bart. whom Lord Durham 1838 appointed chief justice of Lower Canada. John Stuart (1740-1811) Church of England priest came north during the American Revolution to be rector of St. George’s, Kingston, and chaplain to the legislative council in later years. He was recognized father of the church in Upper Canada while possibly its first schoolmaster.
Sir Campbell Stuart b. 1885 Montreal recruited an Irish Canadian regiment for the Great War then became involved in war propaganda. His wartime contacts landed him senior management posts in major London dailies afterwards. He was a director of the Times for more than 30 years and when war broke out 1939 was back doing propaganda. He was a great Canadian history buff. Lieutenant- General Kenneth Stuart (1891-1945) supervised final Canadian preparations for invasion of northwest Europe 1944. When Gen. H. D. G. Crerar was given the nod instead for the operation, Stuart stayed in London as chief of staff Canadian military headquarters. He retired during the behind conscrip-tion crisis.
Early in the 19th century Stewart and Stuart both were first names, remaining in balance until the 1950s. In the USA Stuart hit its high in the ‘60s; Stuart peaked in England the following decade but has faded. Stuart Foster b. 1984 Ottawa is my cousin Bernie Granville’s grandson and certainly wasn’t fading when last I saw him.
SUSANNAH Joachim’s wife in the Old Testament was falsely accused of adultery with a young man after she had given a couple of elders the brush off for coming on to her. Young prophet Daniel trips up their false testimony and it is they who are stoned to death instead. This all happened about 600 BC. She is patron of persons falsely accused. The tale had appeal but Protestants rejected Book of Susannah, 13th chap. Daniel, Septua-gint version Old Testament, relegating her story to Apocrypha.
New Testament Susanna ministered to Christ [Luke 8:3], being among gratefuls whom Jesus had healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Saint Susanna was a highborn niece of Pope Caius. Pagan Emperor Diocletian (245-313) had her scourged and beheaded when she refused to marry his adopted son because she was dedicated to Christian religious life.
“Help me Lord to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church or closet nor exercised only in prayer and meditation but that everywhere I am in Thy presence.” This was a frequent prayer of Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) youngest of 25 children and mother of 19. One of them was John, founder of Methodism; another was Charles, well-known hymn composer.
The first name was popular in the Middle Ages and later, say Hanks & Hodges. French use Suzanne, which English now try. More than one surname authority says Susanna wasn’t used much as a medieval last name, Professor Basil Cottle saying it was popular 17th century on. English vernacular Susan has always been most common of this name group, including surnames. Movie star Susan Hayward (1918-75) did her bit as has essayist Susan Sontag, age 67, who won her first National Book Award 15 Nov. 2000 for her novel In America. It’s based on 19th century stage performer Helena Modjeska.
The Hebrew name Shushannah came from shashan, lily, but in modern Israeli it also means rose. Such a distinction did not exist for Susannah Seidler (1794-1869) who in the New World became wife of Founder Immigrant John Munro. Seidler relatives in the Halifax area, German immigrants as early as 1750, early converted their name to Sadler.
SYLVESTER Saint Sylvester, pope 314-35, had one of Christianity’s strongest and most pervasive heresies to confront. From Alexandia the priest Arius began the argument that Jesus Christ was supernatural but neither quite human nor quite divine, a notion he parroted from Lucian of Antioch. Arianism survived in one form or another among one folk or another into the 7th century at least, Germanic tribes spreading it around.
Sylvester began his pontificate 314; a year after Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. Many new churches were built including St. Peter’s Basilica and St. John Lateran in Rome. There were other saints of name. Italian nobleman Sylvestro Gozzolini (1177-1267) started Silvestrine monks at Monte Fano near Fabriano 1231. This order came to be known as Blue Benedictines from the colour of their habit.
Sylvester II (c. 945-1003) was first of the French popes although he also studied in Moorish Spain. He was learnéd and helped Christianize Poland and Hungary. Of him Dietrich of Reims wrote 1390: “The Romans hated this excellent pope for his great know-ledge and wisdom and for this reason slandered him as having practised the devilish arts.” The next two Sylvesters were anti-popes 11/ 12th century.
Silvester comes from the word silva for wood and means forest dweller. Its short English form is Sly. The name was common among early Christians, and has been going along quietly since the 16th century. Several versions as surnames have survived, their ancestors in the 13th. The -y- spelling has dominated since the 18th. In parts of Europe New Year is celebrated in St. Sylvester’s name, his feast day being Dec. 31.
Joshua Sylvester (1563-1618) was an English poet whose translations of Guil-laime de Salluste, seigneur du Bartus, inspired poet John Milton to write his grand opus Paradise Lost. James Joseph Sylvester (1814-97) was a brilliant Jewish mathematician who influenced profoundly the higher maths in Britain and the USA.
My Great Uncle Sylvester Redmond was two years younger than his sis-ter, my late grandmother Polly (Redmond) Wallace, when they were orphan tots aged 2 and 4 in Quebec City c. 1860. It bothers me that he has disappeared without some wisp of memory to bequeath us his character. My late Uncle Joe Wallace’s middle name Syl-vester honoured this son born in Canada to Irish immigrants struck down so soon. My late cousin Louis Wallace had Redmond as his second name.
Margaret Mary Silvesta “Sylvia” Carew (1893-1972) was my cheery, doting awn-ty. She had the misfortune to be born Halifax Dec. 30, a day before St. Sylvester’s feast and wound up wearing his name thanks to her clever, overbearing Aunt Ellie Carew. My Carew great aunt, it is alleged, instructed my Grandma what to call each of her children.
SYLVIA There are indications of friskiness in the byname of my maiden aunt Sylvia Carew. A sylph was an elemental spirit of the air without a soul but more aware of pre-sent and future than humankind. Sylvanus was a rural deity, half man half goat. Rhea Sylvia, nature goddess, was mother of legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
So much for mythology.
Sylvester comes from silva, wood, and means forest dweller. It became the name of several popes; Saint Sylvester I, pope 314-35, had the first pontificate free of persecu-tion. Out of the woods, so to speak. In fact, Emperor Constantine I built the Lateran and other churches for him. My Great Uncle Sylvester Redmond and Aunt Sylvia’s formal name Silvesta honoured him. Uncle Joe Wallace, poet of Canada’s blue-collar workers, got Sylvester as his second name in memory of his Redmond uncle orphaned at 2.
In Gascony St. Silvia eschewed luxury and conveniences to the extent of washing her fingertips only before taking Communion. She spent her nights reading scripture and commentaries and d. between 395-409. She is shown in art with a small earthen dish; Ms. Elderbroom thinking it alludes to her “wonderful parsimony in the use of water”. Odour of Sanctity in reverse! Another Sylvia was a 6th century saint, mother of Pope Gregory the Great. Pope Sylvester II (c. 945-1003) first French pontiff is claimed the only dis-tinguished pope of the 10th century. There was an anti-pope of name in each of the fol-lowing two.
William Shakespeare wrote noblewoman Silvia into his comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona completed 1594. His song to this major character Who Is Silvia? composed in the golden age of English music is still sung 400 and more years later.
Who is Silvia? What is she,
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair and wise is she;
The heaven such grace did lend her,
That she might admired be.
Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness.
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness;
And, being helped, inhabits there.
Then to Silvia let us sing,
That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing,
Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.
Other English poets and playwrights have addressed themselves to Sylvia al-though its greatest fashion was in Britain 1930s, reflected a decade later in the USA. Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was a depression-prone American confessional poet and novelist who ended her own life at 30, gassing herself in her oven in‘63 after literary husband Ted Hughes (1930-98) left her for another. He bore blame of feminists word-lessly for 35 years. His Birthday Letters described as “a sort of answer in verse” was named Whitbread book of the year – he recently dead. Today Sylvia’s words of alienation and self-destruction and her fatal deed are still absorbed by impressionable young; that ancient “girl from the forest” much changed.
Upbeat however is speed skater Sylvie Daigle b. 1962 Sherbrooke, Que., youngest of five daughters and a physical education grad. She won Olympic gold and two silvers at Calgary, a gold in short track at Albertville’s 3,000 metre relay, and silver for that event at Lillehammer.
Anyone from the 1960s should remember Sylvia Tyson raised in Chatham, Ont., who teamed with husband Ian as folk music icons. They went their separate ways and she was CBC radio & TV host of Touch the Earth, Heartland and Country in My Soul. Sylvia’s a member of Canadian Music Hall of Fame and of the Order of Canada. Age 60 in 2000 she’s treading the boards on tour delivering a monologue without even a guitar to prop her up!
TABATHA appears to be another spelling of Tabitha that came from Greek and Arama-ic languages of old. The name generally means gazelle foretelling a child of grace. A cur-rent German version is Taberia. An English nickname, become obsolete, is Tabby. In the New Testament Tabitha meant either doe or roe. [A Greek equivalent in the Good Book is Dorcas much favoured by Puritans and Dissenters although today encountered rarely.] Tabatha is one of two middle names carried by slim little Melissa Davey from Kamloops, B.C., companion in Calgary of our third son Christopher.
TAMMY If from Hebrew Tamar this name originated in an everyday word that meant date palm. That tree meant much to peoples of the desert. There are three Tamars in the Old Testament, the daughter of Absalom described as “a woman of a fair countenance” [2 Sam 14:7]. Tamara is also its Russian version. Tammy is otherwise a pet name that stemmed from a diminutive of Thomas [see] made feminine in form, such as Latinate Thomasina or contracted Tamsin. An actress was Tammy Green although perhaps her stage name. Through Tammy Zavitz we remember an attractive granddaughter of my wife’s late older brother John French. She was killed in a car accident 1986 when 14. Her mother Bonnie, John’s daughter, saw her struck down. Tammy was in a coma almost a week. Her mother held her in death. John Harder, husband of Cecily our youngest, has a sister out west called Tammy.
TERRANCE Terence, Terrance and Terrence have several origins. Terrance is the usual way of spelling the name in America, Terence in Britain.
Why it turns up in Eire is due to a traditional Gaelic name Toirdhealbhach with the label of instigator sometimes rendered in English as Terence. Terence itself came from a word for prompting. Another meaning, shaped like god Thor, is hard to reject with all those Vikings plundering then settling Ireland. However Hanks & Hodges dismiss the Thor theory as “probably no more than folk etymology”.
A high king bore the name and died 1156. A shortened form today is Tarlach pronounced tor-lakh, but this long has been anglicized as Turlough. Terence in another anglicization on the Emerald Isle occasionally embraces [Mac]Turley and Torley, names found mainly in Counties Armagh and Down. Several prominent Irish families are sur-named Terry from various origins.
The old Kentish surname Terry meaning people rule has Germanic roots, Theu-doric being a good example of a name common on the Continent. It turned up in Old Eng-lish but most Middle English bearers were German and Flemish merchants come to stay. Terry out of French Terri indicates an Anglo-Norman family tied in with city and county of Cork in Ireland from the 13th century. Sometimes Terry gets mixed up with Theodore, French form of a Greek name, gift of god. The root given most prominence is Latin name Terentius. Where that came from is uncertain but we do know of Roman comedy play-wright Publius Terentius Afer b. ca.185-95 BC Carthage. He was a bright slave of Roman Senator Terentius Lucanus who brought him to Rome, educated him and freed him. Afer died c. 159.
Some minor early Christian saints were named Terentius. Hanks & Hodges con-clude the Terence group a “learned back-formation from the supposed pet form Terry”. In other words, Terence sounds more couthful than Terry and so had to be invented. How very human! Clues are out there to support that argument. Canadian hero Terry Fox (1958-81) planned to run across Canada to raise money for cancer despite an artificial leg. The valiant youth made it deep into Ontario before the disease penetrated his lungs.
Terrenceville, Nfld., is a fishing/farming settlement at the head of deep-set Fortune Bay on the south coast. Terence Bay, facing the broad Atlantic just round the corner from outer Halifax harbour, has had its struggles. The village managed to keep going by its women producing homespun articles and men making wooden souvenirs for touristIngrid’s mother, Bernadettes. Among scarves and ties on display were little outhouses. I can picture some tourist ar-riving home: ” I just knew you’d love this souvenir shithouse from Terence Bay, eh?”
Terrance Grant Turner b. 1982 London, Ont., is my wife’s grand-nephew and #1 son of Joan Margaret (Small) Turner. Great ball player jeopardized by severe leg injury on a trampoline in 2000 and a fisherman like dad Gary.
TESSA Either this is the short form of Theresa [see] or a name that originated in Italy no longer found there. Pet forms: Tessie or Tessy. In casual, modern Greek the word tessa can mean the number four although actually spelled TESS-ay-ra. Tessa Marie Mertens Wallace was born10 a.m. Thursday, 25 February 2010 in the Montfort hospital, Ottawa. Parents Ingrid Mertens and Eli Wallace soon had her tucked into their sunny home on the outskirts of Wakefield, Que. At birth she weighed eight pounds, eight ounces with beginnings of her mother’s light brown hair, great looks and promise of tallness. Ingrid’s mother, professional photographer Bernadette Mertens from British Columbia, visited to give a hand over arrival time. It was also the first grandchild for our son Stephen and ecstatic wife Lucie as well as our first great-grandchild. By the way, Ingrid had some school acquaintances called Tessa with the clincher Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and partner winning a 2010 Olympic gold for figure skating.
THELMA was used first by novelist Marie Corelli for her heroine Thelma (1887) who she made Norwegian. An actress was Thelma Ritter. The name may also come from the Greek word thelema meaning a wish or act of will. Or it can be from Greek thele for wishing. For us, Thelma joins Tabatha as middle names of little blonde Melissa Davey from Kamloops, B. C., companion in Calgary of our No. 3 son Christopher.
THEODORE The Greek name Theodoros incorporates elements meaning god and gift. Theodore its French version passed into English. Early Christians popularized the name and several saints have borne it. Theodora (ca. 500-48 AD) was Byzantine empress and wife of Justinian I. She was an early champion of women’s rights. Theodore I Lascarus (c. 1175-1222) founded the Byzantine empire at Nicaea after Crusaders took Constantin-ople. Teddy Roosevelt (1858-1919) was U. S. president with a foreign policy “speak softly but carry a big stick.” Mikis Theodorakis b. 1925 Greece revived his country’s folk music and composed the film score of Zorba the Greek. Theodore is a village in Saskat-chewan remembering Theodora of a family rich in land. American physicist Theodore Maiman made the first usable laser 1960 even if he didn’t really invent it. Theodore Quinn Hanington Belton b. 4 June 2002 Vancouver 7 lb. 6 oz. is a brother for Sophie [see] and another great grandchild for my oldest sister Margot.
THERESA The Little Flower, Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, of Lisieux (1873-97) was a French Carmelite nun whose 1898 spiritual autobiography Histoire d’une âme was read widely. She was canonized 1925 with her feast Oct. 3. Lisieux became a major pilgrim-age. Her childlike humility in performance of trivialities elevated this simple nun of ob-scure convent to someone widely admired for goodness and devotion. Born in Alençon as Marie Françoise Thérèse Martin, at 15 she followed two of her sisters into the convent and nine years later was dead of tuberculosis. Miracles have been attributed to her, the greatest should be that she became known at all. She struck a chord among women.
Theresa the name is a problem. Is it the Greek name Theriso, reaper, or did it first surface in Spain and Portugal? St. Paulinus of Nola spent most of his life in Spain, but his wife by tradition came originally from the Greek island of Thera, hence her name. Teresa of Avila in Castille (1515-82) was no simple Carmelite but a sainted Spanish nun much admired as mystic and writer.
Trim Greco-Canadian soprano Teresa Stratas OBE b. 1938 Toronto as Anastasia Stratakis made all the big opera houses but her Broadway debut 1986 in Rags was short-lived despite a Tony nomination. The $5 million musical about Jewish immigrants folded after four shows. She first sang on the CBC when 12, and at the New York Metropolitan Opera at 20. Her big roles over 25 years were in La Bohème, La Traviata, Don Giovanni and Otello. Teresa dedicated her governor general’s performing arts award 2000 to her parents who disembarked here broke and unable to speak our languages.
“Saint of the Gutters” Mother Teresa d. 5 Sept. 1997 Calcutta age 87 after a life easing deaths of destitutes through her Missionaries of Charity Order. Teresa Stratas had worked for her 1981in India. The Vatican after public outcry is fast tracking sainthood for this Albanian b. 27 Aug. 1910 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia. The pope on 19 Oct. ’03 beautified her Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, one step short of saint-hood. For details on Sister Teresia Benedicta of the Cross canonized October ‘98, see Edith [Stein]. The pope sainted 476 so far in his 25-year reign.
In Irish it’s Toireasa. Some pet names are Terry, Tessie, Tracie and Zita. The-resa Agnes Mae “Dot” (Granville) Wallace (1896-1927) also d. of T. B., in Halifax. She was my poet Uncle Joe’s admirable first wife. Caroline Mary Theresa (French) Wallace b. 1928 St. John’s, Nfld., four days past feast of the Little Flower, is my admirable wife.
THOMAS In 1938 there were 18 Thomases among the 200-odd boys at Cowbridge Grammar School in Wales. In the traditional numeration, one of them became Duode-vicesimus. After all, this surname outnumbered all others in South Wales.
The name originated with Aramaic Teoma, twin, its Greek being Didymos. “Thomas, called Didymus” [John 11:16; 20:24} was a new identity for one of the 12 Apostles whose former moniker, according to Eusebius, was Judah. He became Thomas the Doubter, which may have made him more human in the eyes of many parents but not, Old Boy, in England. In the period before the Norman Conquest, Reaney & Wilson only managed to unearth one Thomas from records, a priest. There is, though, this entry in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles: “[AD]883 The same year Sigehelm and Aethelstand took alms to Rome, and also to St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew in India, that King Alfred had pro-mised when they besieged the [Viking] force in London.” Syriac-rite Christians of Mala-bar in India early claimed St. Thomas as their founder there. Bartholomew evangelized in northern India before martyrdom by flaying in Armenia.
Afterwards was quite another matter. Thomas a Becket (c. 1118-70) archbishop of Canterbury was murdered after opposing Henry II whose angry outburst: “Will no-one rid me of this low-born priest?” was taken up by four of his knights. For centuries Can-terbury Cathedral in which he was slain was a goal of pilgrims. Thomas went on to be one of the more frequently chosen names in English-speaking regions. In Italy, Saint Tho-mas Aquinas (c. 1225-74) was Dominican great gun of theology and Doctor of the Church despite being known in student days as Dumb Ox. He was just loading up. John Robson wrote in The Ottawa Citizen 12 July 2000: “[G. K.] Chesterton was an anti-modernist who saw no paradox in suggesting that the Middle Ages were the peak of human wis-dom.” Various towering Thomases bear him out.
Thirteenth-century Thomas the Rhymer, a Learmont from Berwickshire, is author of Scotland’s oldest poem The Romance of Sir Tristrem. It was said he and the Queen of Fairies were lovers and she made him a seer. His prophecies were gathered together and published for the first time 1603 and consulted before 1715 and the ‘45. Like James IV he’ll r-r-reappear-r-r at the time of Scotland’s gr-r-reatest need. A Thomas family is linked to Campbells of Argyle. Scots voted 1998 to have their own parliament.
Maurice FitzThomas was made first earl of Desmond 1329 making the house of Desmond the power in Ireland’s old province of Munster. He formed an Anglo-Norman bloc with FitzGeralds and Butlers called Geraldeans; Carews being among families under this umbrella. The FitzThomas earl even gave Plantagenet Edward III a hand against Scots. Desmonds continued kings in all but name until Henry VIII declared himself out-right monarch of Ireland early 1500s instead of customary overlordship. Thomas occurs throughout Ireland but more so in Dublin and Belfast. Sometimes it may hearken back to medieval MacThomas. Thomas is a recurring royal name.
The Augustinian monk Thomas à Kempis [Thomas Hemmerken (c. 1380-1471)] was credited with a devotional composition The Imitation of Christ; which has brought insight to many throughout 500 years. [I lucked upon it during a religious retreat in 1950s Halifax.]
St. Thomas More (1478-1535) lawyer/scholar was author of Utopia and tutored Henry VIII when boy. In 1529 More became chancellor of England but within three years resigned because Henry broke with Rome and instead put the church under his crown. Imprisonment of More in the Tower of London was followed in ‘35 by behead-ing. He was canonized 1935 and revived in memory in the ‘60s by a play and acclaimed motion picture A Man for All Seasons. In the fall of 2000 Pope John Paul II made him patron saint of politicians. That gives him a full plate because already he’s patron of civil servants, and helps with lawyers and their clerks.
King’s baker Thomas Farynor’s home and shop in Pudding Lane caught fire 2 Sept. 1666 at 2 a. m. The flames spread and raged in London four days, reducing four-fifths of the city to ash. However, it helped consume Black Plague loose there since ‘64. Thomas Gray (1716-71) composed An Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard. It drove my sisters crazy scaring up any book containing it since their Convent didn’t stock it despite requiring the Elegy for class. Gray anticipated the English romantic movement. Sample lines: “The paths of glory lead but to the grave.” “Where ignorance is bliss/’Tis folly to be wise.” Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was a Scots historian and essayist cynical about English society. He stressed importance of the individual yet drew back from liberal democratic tendencies of his age. Thomas Babington Macaulay produced 1848-61 a History of England, which described more the British Isles during the “Glo-rious Revolution” of 1688.
Scotsman Tom Morris made a hole-in-one 14 Sept. 1868 on Prestwick’s 166-yard 8th hole during a tournament, the very first recorded for posterity. And there’s always Tommy Atkins, a name long representing the average British soldier. David Alfred Tho-mas, 1st Viscount Rhondda, was an independent-minded industrialist who criticized the Boer War. As a Welsh coalmine owner he had 12,000 workers. He became Conservative member of the United Kingdom parliament; in the First World War joining the cabinet of countryman Lloyd George as controller of food. We read on some Boxing Days A Child’s Christmas in Wales by alcoholic Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-53). I think Dylan an all-too-brief reincarnation of some ancient Celtic bard, one who conquered the English language in spite of being a newspaperman. A 33-cent U. S. stamp commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth in Asheville, North Carolina, of American novelist and short story writer Thomas Wolfe. His best known novel was Look Homeward Angel 1929. He d. 1938.
There were two Thomas Thomas surgeons at turn of 18/19th centuries, each serving fur trade companies in our northwest. Thomas Thomas #1 climaxed his Bay career by briefly governing the northern department of enormous Rupert’s Land 1814-15. Thomas Thomas #2 began with The Bay 1791 but “defected” c. 1804 to its arch rival, the North West Co.
Thomas D’Arcy McGee was our first politician assassinated 1868 Ottawa, our second, Pierre Laporte 1970 Montreal.
Canadian Noah Brusso (1881-1955) of Hanover, Ont., became heavyweight Tom-my Burns although merely five-foot-seven and rarely more than 170 pounds. He slipped a lot of punches from bigger men. He became world champ 1906 in a 20-round decision over Marvin Hart at Los Angeles. Tommy lost in ‘08 to black American Jack Johnson in Australia; but not before defending against Bill Land at Melbourne, putting him away in Round 2. He won 42 of 52 bouts USA, England and Down Under, only four were losses. This was back in days when there was only one heavyweight title. When Tommy was losing his crown police stopped the bout in the 14th round, Burns’ face a bloody pulp, with Jack Johnson emerging first black champion.
Onondaga Tom Longboat (1887-1947) from Six Nations Reserve south of Brant-ford, Ont., won the Boston Marathon 1907, his 2:24:25 a record that held until the course was made easier. He became a professional runner, and d. aged 61 diabetic. Canada Post recently issued a stamp honouring him. Tom Thomson (1877-1917) b. Claremont, Ont., grew up to be one of Canada’s famous Group of Seven. He began sketching in Algonquin Park 1912, had a major exhibition Toronto in ‘15. He canoed off from his Park camp to sketch in the summer of ’17 and was found later drowned. Speculations continue rife. My wife as a child ran errands in St. John’s to Tommy Ricketts’ pharmacy two short blocks away and was fascinated with how deft at wrapping parcels was this round faced, one armed war hero. In 1917 aged 17 he’d been awarded the Victoria Cross for braving machine gun fire to outflank a German battery 1918 in Belgium, the youngest British soldier and sole member of the Newfoundland Regiment to gain this highest award for valour. Tommy, respected by all, was given a state funeral on his death 1967.
Thomas Francis Ryan (1872-1961) b. Guelph, Ont., built an American-style 10-pin bowling alley fancy enough to bring in the toffs. Gentry had trouble trundling the big ball so Tommy cut size of ball and pins into a five-pin game easier on his clientele. At first pins bounced loudly and wildly off the palm-delivered ball but by 1912 he’d devised a rubber collar for them. This not only quieted things down but pinboys didn’t need to duck so much. The game caught on throughout the land.
For a few weeks most winters of my youth Halifax was a Cinderella port. Mon-treal was frozen over; longshoremen along the eastern American seaboard were on strike so this backwater harbour, which normally came to life only in war, bustled briefly. Ocean liners were diverting here to disembark the international set. As aviation matured later they’d be jet setters. Bars aboard luxury liners stayed open round the clock for the rich and famous while passenger companies arranged to get them on their way by train or plane. As a teenage cub reporter it was my job to buttonhole them for sake of their ex-alted words.
A firm-fleshed man was picking Chopin from a lounge piano, other delayed pas-sengers pausing there appreciatively. Thomas B. Costain b. 1885 Brantford, Ont., was an internationally accepted novelist and very poised. He was back from Europe and had been to see Pope Pius XII. Costain divulged to me that His Holiness had asked him to write his next book on a Catholic theme. Ashore again, I agonized over what he had told me because my readership, mainly a garrulous, hard-drinking shipping fraternity, wasn’t dying to hear this. Sorry about that, uh, Tom. Still on my bookshelves is The White and the Rose, his history of New France, and a novel or so.
Even in 1955 passengers numbering 55,000 were coming by sea to Canada while 47,000 came by air. Sea arrivals subsequently dwindled to 26,000 while air passengers increased to 351,000. This change-about has happened throughout maritime nations of the world. Big-ship owners converted their celebrated ocean liners to cruise ships.
Stompin’ Tom Connors b. 1936 Saint John, N. B., and raised in Skinner’s Pond, P. E. I., sings of small-town Canada; recognized by an honorary degree and East Coast lifetime musical achievement award even if he turned in his Junos 1978. He accepted a governor general’s performing arts award 3 Nov. 2000; wearing black cowboy hat, clothing and boots, a wide grin and big hands stuffed in his pockets.
The 1980s showed signs of a Thomas revival in Britain as a given name while in America it was at its lowest level ever there. Surnames abound built on Tom[p]-/ Thom[p]- but Thomas as surname outranked them, having been seventh in England and Wales of 1853, 11th in the USA of 1939. Irish equivalent is Tomas, Cornish Tamsin and Scots Tamhas with Tam for short just like my Grandfather Wallace. Arabic Touma adorns our grandson MacKenzie Wallace.
Tommy Lasorda in Year 2000 became the first baseball manager to get a U. S. team to knock Cuba off the gold medal perch since baseball was made an Olympic sport 1992. Tommy, 20-season manager of the L. A. Dodgers and wearer of two World Series rings, defeated the favoured Latinos four zip with a mixed bag of major and minor league players. On arrival in Sydney, Australia, portly Thomas declared: “I’m going to manage each game like it’s the seventh game of the World Series.”
Founder Immigrant Thomas Wallace took his discharge in Canada after being a cook’s corporal in the commissariat of a fusilier regiment out of Enniskillen, Ireland. The unit was veteran of Wellington’s Peninsular Wars against the Napoleonic Empire, and War of 1812 against the USA. Grandfather’s granddad then operated a couple of farms around Oshawa; dressed to the nines when appropriate, and furnished son John’s home as a marriage gift. Eight or so Thomases adorn our family tree including Grandfather Tam who founded all us Bluenosers, and his optometrist son Tom in Halifax – If You Want To See Well, See Wallace. Helping perpetuate Thomas in our family tree is MacKenzie Tou-ma Wallace b. 1 Sept. 2000 Ottawa, firstborn to our #5 son Matthew and Lily Fayad that was. Touma means Thomas in Arabic indicating Lily’s Lebanese extraction.
TIMOTHY The Greek name Timotheus was erected from time, meaning honour, and theos, god. One who interests us was son of a Greek father and Jewish mother who became friend and companion of St. Paul. He was replacement for Barnabas. Epistles of Paul to Timothy in the New Testament contain advice and direction. Contents of the second letter are considered Paul’s last words before he was martyred under Nero. As first bishop of the Greek city Ephesus in Asia Minor, Timothy was denouncing worship of Diana, tradition tells us, when he was stoned to death by her celebrants circa AD 100.
Another martyr named Timothy was lector of a church in Egypt who refused to turn over sacred books hidden from persecutors. They brought his wife Maura to per-suade him: instead she encouraged his silence. Both were nailed to a wall and took nine days to die. Two more Timothys were martyred under Diocletian (245-313) Dalmation emperor of Rome. The bishop of Gaza in Palestine was scourged, tortured and burned to death 304 and Antiochan priest Timothy in Rome was imprisoned, tortured and beheaded 311. The Church has detailed more than 40,000 martyrdoms.
The English version Timothy didn’t materialize until the Protestant Reformation 16th century. This situation makes it hardly likely that the name spun off from any Tim- elements in surnames. All along there had been Old German Thiemmo and Old English Tiema resolving into Timm. The catch is that we don’t know what these meant. In Ire-land Mac or O Tomaltaigh perhaps from tomaltach meaning bulky have been rendered in English as Timothy instead of Tumelty in Counties Roscommon and Galway.
A useful grass for pastures is called timothy or herd’s grass. Mixed with alsike clover, it really caught hold in the pervasive construction gurry of our new neighbourhood in Ottawa’s south end 1 March 1956. Then we overseeded in Kentucky blue for appear-ances. We working dads meanwhile wore rubber boots to the park entrance postal boxes, then and there donned shoes to go into the city, reversing the process when we neared home.
Timothy Eaton (1834-1907) was an Irish-born merchant who revolutionized store practices thereby building up one of North America’s larger department store chains. He of $1.99 fame! By 1942 there were 210 Eatons stores but, according to the newspapers, Canada’s retail empire of 130 years had been long in decline. Sears bought up nearly half of its 64 stores in suburban and downtown Canada in ‘99 and kept seven named Eatons complete with catalogue and upscale merchandise. This marked a pronounced Sears move into city centres from the ‘burbs. In 2002 it pulled the plug and repackaged its Eaton ex-periment as Sears. From St-Boniface almost halfway through last century comes this skipping chant:
Don’t go to Eatons anymore, anymore
There’s a big fat policeman by the door, by the door
He’ll grab you by the collar
And make you pay a dollar
So don’t go to Eatons anymore.
Timothy O’Hea from Ireland won the British Empire’s highest award in Canada, one of few given out for valour not in the face of the enemy. A railway car was stopped at Danville Station, Que., 9 June 1866 and caught fire. It was carrying ammunition. The car was disconnected from the train and O’Hea, member of the Rifle Brigade, grabbed its key from the sergeant in charge, opened it up and called for water and ladder to control the outbreak. A serious explosion was thus averted. [Between 1858 and 1881 a few other soldiers were awarded VCs who weren’t actually fighting foes.] O’Hea returned to Ireland, left the medal with a friend, and went prospecting in Queensland, Australia, where he died 1874. His VC turned up Down Under 111 years later.
There are a couple of Timothys in the family tree, born 10 years apart in London, Ont. Timothy Walzak b. 1958 was for years metallurgist/science professor at University of Western Ontario married to Cecilia Ann Small that was, my wife’s niece. He and his family moved ‘98 to his new faculty at University of Victoria. Working near London is Timothy McDonagh b. 1968 son of Honey (Small) Sell, now of Courtenay, B. C. She’s Cecilia’s oldest sister. We met Tim at Kay and Fred Small’s with his young Ethan in tow, son of his first wife Heather (Potter). His second wife, formerly Shelley Scheckenberger, bore Emma Rose 1998. All great grandchildren of Kay and the late Fred Small.
TINA Customarily Tina has been short for Albertina, Bettina, Christina, Ernestina, Mar-tina and so on. However it has also stood alone for a century. Tina reached its zenith in the English-speaking world 1960s. Teena and Tena are variations with Tina usual.
Here’s a Christina worth a second look. She was Swedish queen from 1632 until abdicating 1654. She left her former realm disguised as a man, became a Roman Catholic at Innsbruck in ‘55 and settled in Rome. The successor she had named, Charles X, died whereupon she headed back for Sweden and throne. However, she was refused entry to Stockholm because of her change of religion. She went back to Rome, died and was buried at Saint Peter’s.
Why were religious feelings running so high in Sweden? King Gustavus II Adol-phus, preceding monarch, had entered the Thirty Years War 1630 for the Protestants and died in battle by ‘32. With him by the way was much of our Munro Clan’s warrior com-plement, serving as mercenaries but espousing his cause anyway as proper Highland Whigs. Munros are on my distaff grandmother’s side. Why Queen Christina abdicated in the first place might also have had something to do with her attracting so many foreign artists and scholars to her court. Her plum was Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French phi-losopher and mathematician. Music and literature flourished but by abdication time half of crown lands had gone to cover her majesty’ expenditures.
American Tina Turner b. Anna Mae Bullock, Nutbush, Tennessee, was still out there 2000 prancing the boards, belting out high-energy songs and still looking young. “There comes a point when it is just undignified to be a rock ‘n’ roll star,” admitted this pop diva alluding to her plan to retire around 60. That deadline came Nov. ‘99 but a world tour and yet more appearances delayed her settling down in Zurich, Switzerland. She took in $80.2 million on that tour, more than anyone else hitting the road that year.
Tina Barrett, U. S. professional woman golfer, made her best tournament score to date of 65, seven under par, 6 Nov. ‘98 on Japan Classic’s 6,338-yard Musachigaoka course. She lost the third extra hole to Hiromi Kobayashi after a final round of 205 for 54 holes, 11 under. On the U. S. tour Asian girls are crowding leader boards. Ottawa’s Tina Brown, 39 in 2000, was champion paddler out of reputable Rideau Canoe Club. Tiny Tina Michelle (Reevie) Wallace Reg.N b. 1967 Chambly, Qué., whose mother’s maiden name was Deshaies, married #1 son Duncan ‘96 Toronto. She’s one of 10 children, he of nine. Tina & Dunky work in North Carolina, golfing splendidly every chance. Among her feats Tina was women’s club champion 2003 of the golf course they live beside.
TURNER From Middle English Tournour we get lathe worker but it didn’t necessarily start and stop with somebody turning out stuff from wood, metal, bone or what have you. How about the guy or gal who was detailed to turn the spit, or one who turned out wooden measures for wine and ale, a champion jouster as in one who tourneys, the turn-hare i. e. catcher of small game, or even a turner of words from one language into another? These are just some of the reasons why today so many are named Turner. In 1853 it ranked 23rd in England and Wales combined and 30th in USA of 1939. Turner is family name of barons Netherthorpe.
Turners are sept Mac an tuirnéir of the Lamont Clan in Scotland. Clan Lamont Society of Canada collected clanspeople in Halifax 1–4 July 1999 for Nova Scotia’s year of the International Gathering of the Clans. Turners widely located in Ireland have been there since the 15th century and are from both Scottish and English sources.
Philip Turnor (c.1752-1800) was the first specific surveyor for Hudson’s Bay Co. The Arrowsmith Map of North America published 1795 London embodied his surveys as did all subsequent maps of the Canadian interior. He also left journals and a pamphlet. Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) was distinguished English painter of land-scapes and marine scenes. The misty style he evolved anticipated Impressionists. We read an essay about Turner’s Slave Ship in lower grade school.
Nat Turner (1800-31) led the revolt termed Turner’s Insurrection whereby 60 black slaves attempted to capture an armoury in Virginia. More than 55 white fatal casualties resulted before the outbreak was put down, rebels executed. It put an end to the organized abolition movement in the South and prompted tougher slave legislation.
Sir Richard Ernest William Turner (1871-1961) Quebec City won the British Empire’s highest award, the Victoria Cross, for a dismounted rear-guard action 1900 in the Boer War. He also was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He commanded a
Canadian brigade, which stood fast at Ypres 1915 during the first gas attack ever to devas-tate a modern battlefield. Later he had a Canadian division at the front but was removed.
John Herbert Turner was premier of British Columbia 1895-98, dismissed by the lieutenant governor despite some outstanding petitions. He had held the finance portfolio through five administrations, handing down 13 provincial budgets. In Charlottetown he had belonged to a volunteer rifle corps and made sure a similar corps was organized for Victoria where he was also mayor. He retired from the militia there a lieutenant colonel.
My commander during U. N. peacekeeping in Cyprus 1966-67 was Col. William Wigglesworth Turner of Winnipeg, a cordial, strait-laced gunner who retired roughly a decade later from being brigadier-general commandant of Royal Military College, Kings-ton, Ont. He wrote well of me after I covered both Cyprus and the UN Emergency Force in Egypt. John Napier Turner b. 1929 was briefly prime minister of Canada 1984 until firmly put down by an electorate his advisers had completely misread. He did remain Liberal party leader until ‘90.
Terrance Grant Turner b. 1982 London, Ont., is my wife’s grand nephew, #1 son of Joan Margaret Small that was. This ball player and fisherman severely damaged a leg on their back-yard trampoline in 2000. He’s a server and skier in Whistler, B. C.
UTA This was the name of an historic figure in Germany. The Margravine Uta, looking elegant, pert yet flinty, is one of 12 life-sized statues in Founder’s Choir. This is a gal-lery in the 13th century reconstruction of Naumberg Cathedral in eastern Germany. She stands with her husband the margrave, his hand on sheathed sword. Both radiate power, appear very real, and are most worthy examples of Romanesque sculpting of that time in Germany.
The old province of Thuringia had an eventful history. The Thuringian tribe overwhelmed all and settled down to grow into a kingdom. It fell to Frank, and to Car-lovingian, reducing from kingdom to duchy to mark. Mark graf once meant a military
governor of a border province, but later margrave became an hereditary title for certain princes of the Holy Roman Empire.
The gallery was brainchild of overseer Bishop Dietrich who wanted to memorial-ize Thuringian aristocrats who had helped establish Naumberg as an episcopal see. Fig-ures represent houses of Eckhardin and Wettin. The latter was the Bishop’s ancestral family and also that of England’s house of Windsor. Medievalist Henri Pirenne wrote of “the first characteristics of what was one day to be known as the Prussian spirit. one epitomized by the popular figures of Margrave Ekkehart and his elegant wife Uta….” She was from the Askenese dynasty further north. The contrast between Gothic in France and Romanesque sculptors of Germany makes grace and charm of the latter gratifying to behold, even in book reproductions. But at the same time these carvings are of people not to confront. From the perspective of current day commerce in North America, the Count looks every inch the well-rewarded chief executive officer of a large corporation and his wife the obligatory trophy blonde. Imagine him with well-tailored power suit, Rolex watch, and cigar. Hilla Jürissen rightly thinks Naumberg Cathedral “belongs to the jewels of romanic [romanesque] style in Germany.”
“Uta should not be confused with Ute” Hilla warns, “a very popular name in Germany at the time when [my daughter] Uta was born. Ute was the mother of Kviem-hild, the wife of Siegfried, hero of the song of the Nibelungen, one of the first texts written in German and known in particular since Richard Wagner used the story for his famous operas.”
Uta also is diminutive of Ottalie, which means rich one. Latterly there was Uta Hagen, actress and drama teacher. Uta Peppig, 1996 Olympic runner and three-time leading woman in the Boston marathon bases herself on Boulder, Colorado, and has won in Ottawa. Another Uta is a torchy night club singer.
Uta in Japanese means a poem, a song. It suffers the usual fate of a small word by also meaning a nasty tropical malady. Corrosive saliva left behind by certain mosquitos eats deep holes in the skin. Anti-terrorist police in May 1997 revealed that Oscar Ramir-ez had a really bad case while hiding in the remote Andes. He led Maoist rebels of the Shining Path in Peru.
Ut queant laxis Resonare fubris
Mira gestorum Famuli tuorum
Solve polluti Labii reatum
These are Latin words of the hymn sung on the 24th of June birthday of John the Baptist. Guido d’Arezzo (c.995-c.1050) was the Benedictine monk who took the first syllable of each line to make ut, re, mi, fa, so and la. Si [from Sancte Iohannes] came later. His new hexachord was useful for sight-readers but it took Pope John XIX’s clout to spread his several musical reforms. But for His Holiness, other monasteries would have clung jealously to their pet systems to perpetuate anarchy in Church music. Guido more likely was born near Paris and is believed to have died while prior of Avellano from 1029 on. His hexachord became the basis of later systems of solmization. Ut came to be re-placed by do, which was easier to sing. Before that happened it is more than likely that ut had the -a tacked on to make a feminine name of endearment. Uta Jürissen b. 1967 Emsdettin, Germany and who grew up in the Italian sector of the Swiss Alps is the for-mer wife of #4 son Barnaby and mother of their Clara and Gavin.
VAIL Simple names lead to complications. Old French val for valley leads eventually to Modern English Vail[e]. That name has wandered astray at times, getting confused with sources for such different names as Old French veal for calf, and veil for watchman. We have a Corps of Commissionaires from which to draw our elderly guards. A further com-plication: without the article, who could tell viel from vial?
Vail and Veale in Ireland are Norman in origin, gaelicized in County Waterford as de instead of le Bhail. Vail was thought another version of MacPhail in Waterford but MacLysaght felt this an isolated mistake. Veale has the synonym surname Calfe.
Spellings that survive as surnames in England include Veail, Veal[e], Veall and Veel. However, the majority of sources favour the name Vail descending from Middle English Val[e], valley dweller. Reaney & Wilson found a Wido de la Val of 1190 on the rolls for Northamptonshire and, a pleasant coincidence, a John Vale of 1382 on assize
rolls held at Cambridgeshire. Our oldest offspring Marita found her John Vail in satellite cities of Vancouver. Vail as in watchman over Marita and young?
VICTORIA Although this name was habitual in German aristocracy; it took our queen-empress and a Spanish queen to make it click among English commoners. It is feminine of Latin victorius. If from Victor it means conqueror. That name was taken on readily by early Christians to recall His sacrifice of life for sins of mankind.
Roman Saint Victoria was martyred c. 250 along with sister or close friend Ana-tolia; stabbed by an executioner after resisting three years of persecution. Another Vic-toria was martyred 304 Carthage after eluding a pagan marriage arranged by her parents; instead vowing chastity under protection of Christians. Huneric, Arian king of Vandals, persecuted Catholics and Victoria, wife and mother, was suspended 484 over a slow fire at Cucusa, North Africa. Cast aside for dead, she recovered saying a vision of Our Lady healed her.
A name little known in England, Queen Victoria (1819-1901) who ascended the throne 1837 eventually changed all that. She got her name from her German mother, Mary Louise Victoria (1786-1861) of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Familiars called her Victoire perhaps because French was the normal language of court and diplomacy. Next, one of the Queen Empress’s nine children was also christened Victoria, making at least three generations of Victorias. It depends I suppose on how far back one is prepared to go.
The regal name was bestowed on the largest lake in Africa, second only to Lake Superior; on stupendous falls of Zambesi River; on an Australian colony turned state; on the capital of British Columbia, and on the third-largest island in Canada’s Arctic Archi-pelago. The largest empire in world history was obviously a-building. Great Britain in 1856 introduced as its foremost military award for valour the Victoria Cross and so far 1,351 warriors have been found worthy. Until Canada devised its own awards late last century, 94 Canadians [or those serving in Canadian units] were bestowed this bronze Maltese cross on a crimson ribbon, only Seaforth Private Smokey Smith age 86 still alive.
During her reign as queen and empress, the British Empire had just about reached its zenith; or so her elaborate golden jubilee celebrations as monarch would have a world believe. Her sole alteration to habitual widow’s weeds for proceedings was an ermine collar! By that time, somehow, Her Imperial Dumpiness had become extremely popular with subjects near and far-flung. Strangely enough, her name did not reach down into the average English family until 1940s. It peaked in the ‘70s. She has been ranked 80th among the top 100 figures of the 2nd millennium.
Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena (1887-1969) became a Roman Catholic and thus ac-quired additional names Maria Christina. She was wife of Alfonso XIII, king of Spain 1886-1931 until deposed by republicans. They lost the Civil War 1936-39. That was a very nasty prelude to the Second World War, which was infinitely nastier.
The British Empire arose from England’s ever-growing overseas possessions from 16 to early 20th centuries. The origin, perhaps, was John Cabot’s 1497 discovery of ?Cape Breton Island. This did not deter Newfoundland’s entire summer of celebrations 1997 of the 500th anniversary, complete with a lively English replication of his vessel, the Matthew, touring outports and then inland Canada.
The pattern of Empire often as not followed this formula:
• mercantile penetration [Napoleon called England a nation of shopkeepers];
• uprising of exploited or more usually disrupted natives;
• inevitable British armed rescue mission;
• a search for a source to pay all those naval and military expeditionary costs;
• seizure of country in lieu of payment;
• extraction of necessary appropriations and,
• granting of stable British institutions.
So vast became holdings that it came to be said that the sun never set on the Bri-tish Empire. The globe of the world was so copiously splattered with British red that Britannia could rule the waves with remarkably short-legged warships, the passageway to India lined with safe ports of call. Tall trees everywhere with the monarch’s mark upon them to reserve them as masts, then coaling stations set up all over, followed by bunker fuel tanks. Always, it seemed, with a passed-over, gin-blotched, querulous Royal Navy commander who had heard everything under the sun, in charge.
Victoria died as the United Kingdom’s Vietnam, the Boer War, wound down. Canada had provided infantry and mounted rifle regiments, its first fighting contingents ever sent abroad. The 1884 contingent to the Nile in Egypt had involved 400 French-Canadian boatmen, not actual combatants. There was further expansion but, bled by two world wars, England hastily shed many possessions postwar and reduced herself to being just another European country near sundown of the 20th century.
Canadian geographical features and communities are named for this monarch who also chose Ottawa to be the nation’s capital. Victoria, B. C., where my oldest sister Mar-got lived of late, is leading community of them all. It began as Fort Victoria of the Hud-son’s Bay Company 1843 and became a city 1862. When the Crown colonies of Van-couver Island and British Columbia combined, Victoria was made capital 1868. There’s even a Victoria on the other side of the country in Newfoundland. Its hydro-electric plant lights neighbouring villages of Conception Bay. There are other communities called Vic-toria inland, and Victoria counties in Ontario and New Brunswick. In all more than 300 streets, buildings, features and places across a colonies-to-nation Canada have been named after this queen then queen-empress. Canada West made Victoria Day a holiday back in 1845. She’d come to the throne 1837.
Canada through the United Nations did a lot of peacekeeping in former British possessions [Cyprus and the Israeli-Egyptian borders for part of 1966-67 for me]. In cer-tain situations of unrest within former colonies in the wake of departing British, the UN flatly refused to intervene on the grounds that it already had too many such predicaments on its plate. In an early postwar film English cinema character Trevor Howard was made to rasp: “When the sun sets on the British Empire, it gets bloody cold!” Or bloody.
The Commonwealth of Nations had formed 1931 but Crown Colonies, run to a greater or lesser extent from England, are still scattered about. Naval duties took me to
Newfoundland a few grudging years from its prior Old Colony/Dominion status, to a Ber-muda wooing New Yorkers, and to fortress Gibraltar at the gateway to the Mediterra-nean, and no doubt there were others. The last important Crown Colony, Hong Kong, whose capital was called Victoria, was handed back to China 1997 amidst a truly awe-some ceremonial consumption of gin.
My wife on the Rock and I in the Maritimes grew up under strong standards of rectitude and respectability amidst ornate stuffiness i.e. lingering Victorianism. Then in Canada’s Navy we partook of parent Royal Navy’s “Edwardian” style of getting things done: a word here, a word there usually at some social function. Victoria had so deplored her son’s indiscretions as Prince of Wales that she shut him out of affairs of state. Yet Edward VII proved quite shrewd, a popular king and able representative of his realm when abroad. May history repeat itself with our latest Prince of Wales if his duty-ridden mom ever gives him opportunity to rule! He reached 50 years of age in November 1988.
So far my wife and I have lived in the reigns of King George V 1910-36, Edward VIII 1936, George VI 1936-52, Queen Elizabeth II 1952-. The Queen Mum b. 1900 is enduring and endearing widow of KG VI. Emily Victoria Walzak b. 1990 London, Ont., is my wife’s grand niece, #3 of four princesses of Cecilia Ann Small that was. They’ve all joined their dad Tim who transferred to a B. C. university post in ‘98.
VINCENT Latin Vincentius was a name inspired by the word vincens, conquering. With its We Shall Overcome attitude the name became very popular with early Christians in-cluding many saints, and long has had a following in francophonie. Saint Vincentius died in Valencia around AD 304 during Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecutions. There was 5th century St. Vincent of Lerins, and Vincent of Beauvais (c.1190-1264) also French. This Dominican friar, scholar and encyclopedist wrote three of four portions of Speculum majus, a valuable summary of the knowledge of his time. Vincent Ferr[i]er (c.1350 -1419) was the Spanish Dominican preacher who travelled over Europe. His followers matched his severe asceticism.
The work of St. Vincent de Paul (1580-1660) endures today. As a young priest, this Frenchman was captured by Barbary pirates in 1605 while headed for Marseilles. He converted his master and was set free to work among the Paris poor. He founded Lazu-rists, a society of priests and missionaries, and also began Daughters of Charity. Need-less to say he kept a kindly eye out for galley crews. In the wake of the Thirty Years War, St. Vincent directed alms to Irish and English Catholic refugees from persecution. In 1638 he sent priests to Ireland and Scotland. Their successors are there.
The name first arrived in England about 1200 and begot surnames like Vincett and Vinson. Although often encountered in the 16th century the font name was rare by the 18th. In Ireland this imported English name was well settled into Counties Limerick and Dublin by mid-17th century. In Co. Derry it has been a substitute sometimes for Mac- Avinchy. Vincent in England emerged again 1840s and remains quiet and steady, always a favourite of Roman Catholics.
Vincent Massey, Canada’s first native-born governor general, served 1952-59. He came from a once powerful farm implement family and d. in the nation’s centennial year. In the USA more blacks than whites were choosing it by 1980. This was despite the in-fluence of Islam and their recent move to novel names or unusual spellings. Another Canadian was made known to the Americas after terrorists captured the Japanese em-bassy in Lima 1996 in the midst of a diplomatic function, making hostages of staff and guests. Canadian Ambassador Anthony Vincent was forced to negotiate their demands with Peruvian authorities. He was calm and principled in the best Canadian manner so we all felt proud of him. The affair dragged on to April,’97 when Peruvian soldiery went in to resolve matters by gunfire. Vincent d. in Ottawa Oct. 1999 days before his 60th birthday. He was awarded posthumously Canada’s meritorious service medal.
Vincent was the second name of Dad (1893-1991) who, in spite of not dipping a knee in many, many decades, helped unionize Second World War refugees. This curbed exploitation of these Displaced Persons in their new life in Canada’s harsh industrial heartland. It was also forename of N. S. supreme court judge Vince MacDonald, former Dalhousie University dean of law and, much earlier, Dad’s defeated rival for the attention of a Miss Rita Carew.
VINEBERG This name means a vineyard if you equate German element -berg with a hillside suitable for growing grapevines. German white wines aren’t half bad although for reds better go French instead. So I was told and confirmed it over there more than 40 years ago. Grape cultivation is mentioned in Anglo-Saxon times and there was import trade with Romans long before they invaded Britain two millennia ago. The Old English root is wingeard and there are Latin, Norman and Anglo-Norman words preceding Middle English terminology. Today they are reflected in surnames down the centuries from the nurturing of a vine through to marketing the product.
Granted that medieval English people broke fast on bread and ale each morning: generally of an evening they went out to enjoy a sup or so of wine, both sexes in com-pany. The vine was cultivated as a luxury product in quantities sufficient for bartering. It was also imported and prisage, a monarch’s share of each cargo, was converted to a custom’s duty back in the reign 1272-1307 of Edward I Longshanks. Both father and grandfather of Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) were wine merchants and importers. From the king’s bounty, the author himself was given a daily pitcherful. Places in Essex and Cambridgeshire are called vineyard to this day, dim echoes of monasteries closed by Henry VIII, and of occasional warmer growing conditions.
Christopher Merret presented a paper to the Royal Society 1662 describing his making of sparkling wine, which means the English beat French monk Dom Perignon by 20 years. Author Tom Stevenson of A World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine suggests Perignon was trying to get bubbles out of the bottle rather than putting them in because at that time the French really weren’t all that fussy about bubbly. [Or is that, heh-heh, sour grapes?] Even Romans of old had a sparkling wine of sorts, sweet falernun, back in 1st century AD.
Wine was actually produced in southernmost 19th century Wales by an earnestly medievalizing marquis of Bute. Brits still like a passable plonk at lunch or dinner with a bottle or so of something better on occasion. Dig those trendy wine bars, although it was in a publican’s house actually that Queen Elizabeth II put her foot 1998. It wasn’t Her Majesty’s first time in a pub; the Palace hastened to reassure the great unwashed.
The British Isles look to Spain and Portugal as well as France for better reds. The Irish Ascendancy was hooked on claret from France harsh to an English palate. Our Granville forbears likely smuggled it over from the Continent. After Irish Earls and then Wild Geese were forced to take flight from Eire in centuries past, what fine reds and brandies Irish exiles like O’Hennessy subsequently perfected across the Channel for the Sassenach market. In Gibraltar and southern Spain during NATO naval manoeuvres several decades ago, I was drawn now and then to a clucking half-bottle of San Patricio.
Profound news came out of France December 1999. Its youth, or 72 per cent of them, can actually negotiate a meal without un verre de vin. That figure dropped to 30 per cent for those over 65. Eighty per cent in the survey wanted mineral water at their meal, polite conversation, an elegant table and good manners. The poll was initiated by Familles de France, which wondered if, “this signals the end of French cuisine?”
After a while the grapes confer among [Poet Al Purdy when winemaker]
themselves
begin to whisper
Marvellous bubbling secrets together
Which they may divulge
in a few weeks
Lief Ericsson discovered North America a millennium ago; calling it Vinland since wild grapes grew along the eastern seaboard. [Vines strangled my rampant back yard cedar hedge invading from the neighbour behind us.] Early religious orders vied with the climate using local grapes inured to our seasonal extremes. In Canada 20,000 acres and ever more grow wine grapes for a harvest of at least 40,000 tonnes; not counting wines made from other fruit and berries. From 100 to 150 acres are added yearly. Ontario produces more than half the total, British Columbia second. Quebec and Nova Scotia have many hundreds of acres apiece under cultivation so far, Bluenosers going so far as to hold an annual Icewine Festival. Harsh winters can devastate harvests so Ontario on two or so occasions has allowed foreign grapes to fill gaps in so called “cellared in Ontario” wines when “emergency” shortages have occurred. A storm of criticism results.
A generation ago Canada’s raw reds seemed better suited to winos guzzling from bottles in brown bags yet days were numbered for infamous katawba and other harsh products. Serious efforts were made to improve native grape varieties although develop-ing a decent grape in Canada’s hostile climate has always been a struggle. This was not helped after the Second World War by an enormous Italian-Canadian immigrant popula-tion importing boxcars of the best from Southern California to trample barefoot in bath-tubs at home.
Oblate priests pioneered B. C. wine sales. After an 1860 start in the Okanagan Valley, an actual industry in that province using native grapes of North America dates from the 1920s and French hybrids made it there by the ‘60s. Today the province has 80 wineries or more, its recent market leaders Mission Hill Chardonnay and Quail’s Gate Pinot Noir.
Commercial wines in Ontario began early 19th century and today has scores of wineries. Niagara peninsula vintners were beginning to get due recognition for a precious few strains developed over years when Free Trade jeopardized an industry still fragile in several sectors of Canada. Ontario responded by eschewing domestic grapes altogether or relegating most of their reds to cooking brands while developing European hybrid grapes. It was compete with California or perish. Concentrating on quality, they hailed 1998 their vintage year of the century thanks to a long, hot growing season.
Another silver lining to gathering clouds were our award winners vinted from grapes picked frozen on the vine. Americans thirst for luxury digestifs and we have the product! German eiswine dates to 1794 and likely earlier because of sharp winters at the beginning of that century. Now Germany is only cold enough to raise a significant crop once a decade. Icewine is expensive with Canada by far the world’s biggest producer. Grapes must be netted to keep birds away and picked in temperatures minus eight degrees Celsius or lower. They have to be kept at those temperatures until pressed. Some vintners demand grapes be 40 per cent sugar so they are picked on frozen nights by specialist labour to ensure high levels. By volume a half-bottle of icewine demands an equivalent in grapes for seven 750-ml bottles of regular wine, sugar content 12-15 per cent. Canada mainly bottles hybrid Vidal and a more expensive Riesling. If supply ever catches up with demand our product will be all the better for resting a few years. But warm winters even here sometimes can be a threat. Wine writer Geoff Heinricks warns the fastidious not to [shudder] watch the drawn-out icewine picking and pressing. An icewine harvest is celebrated Januarys at Niagara grape & wine festival’s tasting evening followed by a winery tour. A Pacific Northwest wine festival Februarys involves threescore wineries from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Don’t forget the cold Atlantic region already notorious for chapped cheeks and runny noses.
After a decade of intense cultivation, Canadian quality wines rank with Bordeaux sauternes and Hungarian Tokays. In the all-Canadian wine championships for the Year 2000, Canada’s wine of the year came from Nova Scotia’s Jost Vineyards, their 1999 Vidal Icewine. Twenty-four “professionals” did the blind tasting. Other awards – best Chardonnay was from Stoney Ridge Cellars, a 1997 Reserve Chardonnay; best red from Jackson-Trigg Vintners 1998 Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Heritage Niagara; and best dry Riesling from Hernder Estate Wines, a 1998 Riesling VQA. Peter Ward, wine columnist for The Ottawa Citizen 1973-2002 in his final column Feb. 27 wrote: “Today Ontario is producing world class wines in more than a score of wineries,” adding “Ottawa wine con-sumers are the most knowledgeable in the province if not the country.” [That, of course, was before the cruel winter of 2004-05.]
In September 2003 the European Union and Canada struck a major agreement. Canada stopped naming products after European regions, e. g. dropping the word cham-pagne from labels and substituting “sparkling wine” instead. Sherry and port don’t go on our labels either. In turn Europeans allow unlimited imports of Canada’s icewine.
In its final issue of 2004 Maclean’s devoted a page to four Canadian icewines. Among three five-star examples the magazine found 2002 Vidal VQA from Pillitteri Es-tates, Niagara Peninsula, best value at $35 for a slender, 375-ml bottle. It awarded 3.5 stars to 2003 Proprietors’ Reserve Riesling of Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate in B. C., $52.99 a bottle. Our fine red icewines are gaining popularity rapidly while fruity whites work well with fresh fruit, contrasty desserts & savouries, or on their own.
Vineberg is a surname of one only extended family in the National Capital Region of a million souls, although French surnames having anything to do with the grape remain
in good supply. I remember a French-Canadian bishop alarmed decades ago at damage being done to his flocks by “north-country wine”. Peter Vineberg b. 1947 and adopted here was first husband of our #2 daughter Catherine Anne. He since ran with sober vigour a bed & breakfast on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
WALLACE This Scottish form of the label Welsh came to mean in particular a Briton of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Walensis was the Latin; David Whyte writing it was a col-lective name for Strathclyde subjects. A Richard Walensis or Waleis later was document-ed in Riccarton, near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire between 1165-73. His great, great grandson was Sir William Wallace whose execution was so barbarous it galvanized Robert the Bruce into winning independence for a Scottish kingdom being engulfed by England.
One root of the Wallace name had come with 5th century Anglo Saxon invaders from their words welisc [or walise] and wealh, which normally meant foreigner but rea-lized of late to have also been Germanic terminology for Romanized folk. Other examples were Walloons of what is now Belgium, Welsch of the Italian Tyrol and Wallachians now part of Romania. All bordered on the Roman Empire therefore their peoples needed the Roman tongue to some degree. Today we’d say they used Latin as a second language.
Strengthening a case for calling them Romanized folk is that the conqueror made a seminal effort to cultivate key North British tribes living between the Hadrian and Anto-nine defensive walls that Rome had raised. The Antonine line bordered the highlands of what became Scotland while Hadrian’s 117 kilometres lay across untamed moors close by the border of today’s England. Roman traders were also penetrating into this military area, later known as the Lowlands of Scotland. Self-governing foederati tribes were a new concept for Rome, which wasted little time applying this scheme to certain Gaulish tribes on the Continent and even to Germanic peoples crammed against either bank of the Rhine. Refer to A People Apart at the start of this Catalogue.
Romans held Britain a few centuries but failed to penetrate to the very marrow of the British bone. Cornelius Tacitus reported: “Britons readily submit to military service, payment of tribute, and other obligations imposed by government, provided that there is no abuse. That they bitterly resent; for they are broken in to obedience, but not as yet to slavery.” The Roman departure meant not the Dark Age once thought. Now that more research has been published about post Roman society elaborate Roman forts were soon reoccupied by the Britons and Bath was both spa and river town before Romans built over it. Latin continued written by educated classes well past medieval times thanks to the Church, courts, universities and practitioners of medicine. Perhaps total assimilation wasn’t possible for a goodly proportion of so called Roman occupiers were in fact Celto/ Germanic or auxiliaries from Mediterranean areas other than Italy e. g. Syria. Romans had come to rely on Celtic cavalry so that near the end of Empire it was Britons who formed no less than a quarter of Roman army strength. We are still recovering in some respects from its decline & fall so it was and remains no disgrace to bear a name singling one out as Romanized to some degree. Walensis for an early native of Strathclyde may not have been the only label. The surname Waugh descended from Old English is found in the north of England and Lowland Scotland. The family name Latimer descended from Old French for interpreter, “latin-er” meaning a person handy with it.
The name Wallis is another root via Anglo-Normans. It points to some of many Bretons who accompanied William the Conqueror 1066 and who were rewarded with lav-ish chunks of eastern England. Bretons of Cherbourg peninsula i. e. Brittany were large-ly descendants of Britons who had abandoned the West Country of Britain to Germanic tribes pushing in after Romans pulled out. These Germanic peoples thought Roman ruins they found in Briton were either left by gods or were “the cunning work of giants”. However the Roman villa complex is argued stronger than ever as a blueprint for what evolved into the English manor system.
Until the 10th century British Celts called themselves Pretanni, Britons. Many place names in England incorporate wal as prefix or suffix. Some localities imply defence against advancing Angle, Saxon or Jute. In London Walbrook means brook of the Welsh with a parallel in Yorkshire’s Walburn. In Kent, Walmer is the mere of the Welsh; in Che-shire, Wallasey meant island of the Welsh and in Berkshire Walcot recalls cottage[s] or hut[s] of Welsh serfs [or likely slaves].
The German invaders pushed Brits back onto our present Wales and others forced on northwards, forming a wide diagonal below Pictland stretching from Irish to North seas. All this area the Germanic invaders were, for the non, content to call Welsh. That’s why now and then we encounter “Welsh” being applicable to such northerly folk. What choice had early recorders with peoples still on the move? Celts of the south holding fast in its West Country knew themselves as Ker-naw in their Kernewek language, a P-Celtic tongue. Germanic settlers called that kingdom Kern-wealh later Cornwall and folk there Kern-wealhas. [Our Halifax was founded 1749 and governed by Colonel later General Edward Cornwallis.]
In that big, tubby peninsula up Britain’s western coast we know as Wales, the hemmed-in were trying to unite several kingdoms, adapting a Brittonic word combrogos, companions, to make a nation Cymru [pronounced cum-ree]. Cymru also for a time did as well for the old kingdom of Cumbria and others further north. Cumbria, itself a good piece of the once sprawling Rheged kingdom, was annexed by England late 11th century. [An administrative region put in place late 20th century revived officially its former name Cumbria.]
The Kingdom of Strathclyde lies further northwards again and means wide valley of the Clyde River [and adjacent coasts] destined eventually to be a part of Lowland Scot-land. Strathclyde came out of the possessions of the Dumnonii tribe [it means miners] with whom Rome had a relationship. This is where we former North Britishers come to a halt. It’s where our name Wallace evolved. Strathclyde’s own language – akin to P-Celtic Cymraeg, Kernewek and Brythonic/Brittonic – would die out by the 14th century.
Strathclyde had fought Pict and Scot, Anglian, Black and White Norse; making patchwork alliances although already bled perilously by power struggles and civil war in addition to Christians vs. older beliefs. Century after century of turbulence fragmented history. All this plus its accessibility made the Men of the North in this wee North British kingdom “weak”, that is more vulnerable than were cousins in mountain fastnesses of Wales. [People of northern Wales by the way have DNA identical to those of the Bas-ques.] No matter how impregnable appeared Strathclyde’s capital on towering, encastled Dumbarton Rock; its valiant people were nigh spent. They had always beaten off the Anglians. But Vikings from Ireland joined forces with some from Danish England in a fleet of 200 longships. It came ashore at Dumbarton, capital of lofty fort, and took it after a four-month siege. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle noted for 875 “…the [Norse] force overcame [Northumbria] they ravaged among the Picts and the Strathclyde Welsh.” Few indeed are kingdoms that have endured as long, the best part of a millennium. In the first half of the 10th century Strathclyde was made subject to Anglo-Saxon kings of England; reduced to a pawn leased to Scotland due to power politics on the border. It was made a province of Scotland after death of its king, Owain the Bald who 1016-18 had helped Malcolm II defeat an English army at Carham. Heirs to the Scottish throne began cutting royal teeth first as princes of Strathclyde.
The great papatriot Sir William Wallace, classic emergent leader, kept Scotland from being swallowed whole by England. In his greatest battle Wallace and Andrew Moray [pronounced murray] led Scots against a much larger English force 11 Sept. 1297. They held off until half the English warriors had crossed Stirling Bridge then pounced on an army divided. Eventually Wallace was betrayed to the English, hung, drawn and quar-tered in London. This appalling method of execution did more to rally Scots than deter them. Wallace’s chaplain, Benedictine monk Master John Blair, wrote in Latin of their campaigns which he submitted to Pope Boniface. Minstrel Blind Harry’s epic poem drew much from the Blair biography long lost. Later on poet Rabbie Burns wrote:
Scots wha hae wi Wallace bled,
Scots wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed
Or to victorie!
Noo’s the day and noo’s the hour;
See the front of battle lour;
See approach proud Edward’s power –
Chains and slaverie!
Wha will be a traitor-knave?
Wha can fill a coward’s grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee.
Wha for Scotland’s king and law
Freedom’s sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand or freeman fa’
Let him follow me!
By oppression’s woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free.
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fa’ in ev’ry foe!
Liberty’s in ev’ry blow! –
Let us do – or die!
William Wallace, guardian then martyr, is honoured in Scotland to this day. Mili-tary pundits, peering through all the legendry, find this great Patriot was able, intelligent, resourceful, valiant and “tactically talented”. In the 19th century Scotland’s Patriot was categorized as a freedom fighter by national movements such as Garibaldi’s in Italy. The hit movie Braveheart although tampering with accepted history helped inspire Scots to vote back their parliament in a 1998 referendum. Quite a feather for the Hielan’ war bon-net of Australian actor/ director Mel Gibson.
Several early families of name owned land in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. A much later William Wallace (1768-1843) from Dysart in Fife was a notable mathematician. Im-portant branches are Wallaces of Elderslie, Craigie and Cairnhill. Plenty in Canada are worth a look, related or no. Vice Admiral Sir James Wallace (1731-1803) while governor of Newfoundland 1794-97 lacked assets to stop an unexpected swoop by a powerful French naval force that had escaped from Cadiz over the broad water. Admiral Richary and his French men o’ war roughed up Bay Bulls for four days 1786 leaving astern the village in flames. This setback did not prevent Wallace making full admiral 1801. [Sir William] Provo Parry Wallis (1791-1892) aged 22, her second lieutenant took over frigate HMS Shannon amidst an 1813 battle off Boston with captain wounded and first lieuten-ant dead. He was rewarded by bringing the Shannon and defeated Chesapeake into his native Halifax harbour. This was a showy turnabout; for the U. S. Navy early in the 1812 War tended to outgun Royal Navy warships in one-on-one engagements. And Americans fared well on some of the Great Lakes. The final sea appointment of Wallis was as rear admiral commander-in-chief of British warships along the eastern coast of South America. He attained the Royal Navy’s top rank of admiral of the fleet 1877. A bean-counter wanted him back in service until old Wallis gently reminded Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that although he was senior to all he was still a man of sail rather than steam. He d. two months short of 101.
Naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) independently formed a theory of natural selection but Darwin “somewhat arbitrarily” got credit says Canadian Oxford Dictionary 1998. [My nephew Brian Hanington and his Stiff Sentences firm of scribes gave this excellent reference book to me.] Alfred Wallace, former Devon shipbuilder, in 1894 started Wallace shipyard later Burrard Dry Dock Co. Son Clarence b. Vancouver the year before succeeded him as president 1929. He served as B. C. ‘s lieutenant gover-nor ‘50-55. Frederick William Wallace (1886-1958) son of Captain William Wallace of Allan Lines wrote of both sport and commercial fishing and great days of sail. He was likened to Will R. Bird and Thomas Raddall both of whom I met in Halifax and whose genre was outdoor adventure – “masculine” writing. A couple of Wallace academics taught in Canadian universities. Historian William Stewart Wallace wound up librarian, U. of Toronto, 1923-54. As a Great War major he had charge of our trail-blazing Khaki College overseas. Robert Charles Wallace headed universities and research bodies in Ca-nada and was made C. M. G. 1944.
Michael Wallace was an early treasurer of Nova Scotia. Northumberland Strait community [and Loyalist settlement] Ramsheg was renamed 1810 for him. This begat Wallace Bay, Wallace Bridge, Wallace Grant and East Wallace around and about. On the other hand, Wallaceburg, Ont., 27 kilometres northwest of Chatham, honours Scottish patriot Sir William. In Ireland Wallace is sometimes a synonym for Walsh but the guy who’s piper to the marquis of Sligo has the right handle. Refresh yourselves with family history with my typed manuscript R. I. P. for my Dad. Another, Scots Garb: Bed of Thistles? describes tartans we’ve worn and gory execution of the Guardian of Scotland.
WALSH Walsh[e] means Welsh, derived from Anglo-Saxon words for foreigners. Welsh academic Basil Cottle huffs: “…the AS invaders insolently called the autochthonous people ‘foreigners’…needless to say the Welsh called and call themselves no such thing and ‘Welsh’ shows the point of view of the AS invader.”
John Davies is another Welsh scholar, who put out A History of Wales in his native tongue first. He sees an attractive meaning to the Sassenach terminology – their singling out of Romanized peoples. Other examples are Walloons, Welsch and Vlachs who also bordered on the old Roman Empire and who spoke some Latin. The Welsh themselves as their petty kingdoms merged, in their native language began speaking of combrogos for companions, and Cymru pronounced cumree, for the whole country.
Walsh nowadays is reckoned a distinctly Irish name of previous Anglo-Norman association. In 1890 Ireland it was fourth from the top. It was also known in Lancashire. Walsh is family name of barons Ormathwaite. Back in 1170 Philip, David and Geoffrey Walsh may have started the name in Ireland. Many adventurers followed Norman lea-ders, riding along for sake of any plunder. Such freebooters were known collectively as “the Welshmen” le Waleys.
Perhaps an ancestor of ours was one of them. He hitched himself to a Breton at a gateway to Wales, both of them however heading off north to better things. Strathclyde Wallaces thus became minor Scots landowners through influence instead of by sword. Bretons had followed the Duke of Normandy in his 1066 invasion of England and thus by conquest were awarded generous holdings in eastern occupied areas. Now sons and sons of sons were fanning out to seek their own fortunes. So should our headline be Wallace Follows Wallis? Nope: see Stuart.
Today we know of people named Walys, Wallis, Welsh, Walsh[e] plus reangli-cized forms Brannagh, Brannick from the Irish Gaelic surname Breat[h]nach meaning Welshman. Brennagh is extant still in Connacht. Walshes were prominent on the Emerald Isle until the Protestant Reformation, 16th century. Many unrelated families in various parts have Walsh for their name and some are spelled Welsh for that’s how the name is pronounced in Munster and Connacht.
Walshes also live in England’s West Country. The name turns up in Austria, France and Germany because of the Flight of Wild Geese from Ireland, a consequence of the turning-point victory of King Billie on the Boyne 1690, an Orangeman’s annual cele-bration even in Canada. A Walsh of France provided Bonnie Prince Charlie’s ship to sail to Scotland for the rising of 1745.
James Morrow Walsh (1840-1905) graduate of Royal Military College, Kingston, Ont., served in the Canadian militia during Fenian Raids and then in newly formed North West Mounted Police 1873-83. He had dealings with Sioux chief Sitting Bull after Cus-ter’s last stand 1876, persuading him after a while to take his people back to the USA. Walsh returned to the NWMP for the Yukon gold rush and was its leader in this challeng-ing arena. A mountain of St. Elias Range is named for him and a memorial cairn raised on the site of old Fort Walsh. William Legh Walsh (1857-1938) practised law in Ontario and both Territories before becoming a judge in Alberta’s supreme court. He was lieutenant governor of the western province 1931-36.
Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh d. 1999 aged 90 was a Canadian Army engin-eer who served overseas throughout the Second World War, then took charge of war-built Alaska Highway stretching 2,575 kilometres from Dawson Creek, B. C., to Fairbanks, Alaska. He came to Ottawa to be the Army’s last chief of the general staff and in 1964 first vice-chief of defence staff. He supped Harvey’s Shooting Sherry and Hunting Port.
An historical figure of Newfoundland is Sir Albert Joseph Walsh who was vice-chairman 1947-49 of the commission government that had been running Newfoundland since 1934. He chaired the Old Colony delegation working on union with Canada and served as this new province’s first lieutenant governor April Fool’s Day 1949. After five months he resigned to become chief justice of Newfoundland’s supreme court.
Now God help us there’s this Newfoundlander, Mary Walsh b. 1952, veteran of CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, TV comedies from Down East redolent of scathing Irish humour on the Rock. Her social commentary through sundry characters has bite and her shelves display Gemini awards and her membership in the Order of Canada.
Walshes we mourn are Basil Joseph d. 1996 St. John’s age 68 of lung cancer. Twinkly eyes, nimble Old Colony tongue, and cigarette in hand; these are memories of Basil visiting us as husband of my wife’s kid sister Elizabeth. She d. there of heart failure ‘98. They were known to all as Biz ‘n’ Baz.
WELLAND This “land on the ?white river” comes from Old Welsh and Old English combined. It’s a place in the former county of Worcestershire, England, hard by Wales. Worcs and neighbouring Herefords have been combined. Reaney & Wilson found that in England a Thomas de Welaund was recorded 1284-85 on Feet of Fines for Surrey, and James Welland in the 1642 Protestation for Devon. They agree the name originated with Welland, Worcs.
In Canada the 43.5 km Welland Canal was begun 1824 to link Great Lakes Erie and Ontario. That’s a lift of darned near 100 metres. Today the system can accommo-date vessels up to 222.5 metres long with draughts up to 7.9 m. The canal goes all the way through Welland County, necklacing the Niagara Peninsula. City, canal, river [a.k.a. Chippawa Creek] and county all are named for the Welland River, Lincolnshire, England.
This region was first settled by Later Loyalists from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Many were Colonel John Butler’s ex-Rangers. Important battles of the War of 1812, in which my Grandfather’s grandfather fought; the 1837 Rebellion and the Fenian Raids of the 1860s happened within today’s county boundaries.
I went through the Welland Canal in the British/Canadian escort of destroyers to HM Yacht Britannia. This was during the official opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II, U. S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. USS Macon, heavy cruiser, literally bumped and scraped her way through to much eye-rolling by Canadian handlers ashore all along the waterway.
The Welland we’re most interested in is Robert Philip, retired rear admiral and half a century ago a dashing destroyer captain in the Korean War Theatre. He had also served in Canadian destroyers overseas in the Second World War. [Widower Bob, age 82 in 2000, and widow Margot (Wallace) Hanington just turned 77 were building a new home in Surrey, B. C. My oldest sister and Bob both continued keen golfers. She died in his arms in the Victoria hospital mid 2008.]
His father had worked for the Manitoba government so the Welland family lived in various parts of that province. When speaking in public Admiral Bob likes to disarm audiences by saying he’s “just a prairie boy from Oxbow, Saskatchewan”. His mother of English immigrant stock was an Amos [pronounced Aymose] from thereabouts.
After the war Commander Welland ran the junior officer technical and leadership course in Halifax with Dan Hanington one of his students and both families became good friends. I worked on publicity for Captain Welland’s naval air station Shearwater open house where I was told motor traffic to the station for the event stretched back 10 miles. I also sacrificed three weeks of annual leave to publicize HMCS Venture, his new officer training establishment in Esquimalt, B. C. “Rattling Robert” had launched the Venture Plan from Naval Headquarters in Ottawa and in only nine months was formally taking command on the Coast as first C. O. Our late Lieutenant-Commander Charles McNair came back from lunch at the naval officers’ mess in Ottawa. He heard that bean counters had redone their sums and found that Venture, now going full blast, wasn’t needed after all. But it continued. Even a navy endures malicious rumours: Venture grads in the hundreds have over decades served proud everywhere in Canada’s fleet and the Navy was proud to have them.
WENDY In the early Middle Ages a Slav people dwelt in an area bounded by rivers Oder, Elbe and Saal. Germans called them Wends and made them target of conquest, sup-pression and even crusade 6 to 12thcenturies. Wends were not totally absorbed, more than 300,000 survive today in eastern Germany. Their two Slav dialects are nearly Czech and nearly Polish. They call themselves Srbs. German names Wendelburg, Wendelgard and older Wando and Wendi allude to these people. Feminine Wanda is used in Poland. Wenda is a recent coinage evoking both Wanda and Wendy. Wendell hails from German personal name Wende, wanderer. That’s what happens when you’re over-run. Old Eng-lish Wende is a dweller by a bend, Wenn a dweller by a burial mound or hillock. A wenn could mean a wart even then.
Wendy didn’t become widespread until 1920s England and didn’t peak until the ‘60s. The USA followed suit modestly by the ‘70s and all areas went flat in the ‘80s. Was an expanding fast-food chain of this name to blame? Are roots of Wendy in Old Slav or Old German? Neither! Margaret Henley greeted her grown-up acquaintance “fwendy-wendy”; inspiring J. M. Barry to call a “little mother” character Wendy in his play Peter Pan 1904. Wendy Joan Pite Reg. N. b. 19 Oct. ‘44 Victoria was my nephew Mark Hanington’s first wife, mother of their Fiona, Andrew and Kyla.
WILLARD An Old English personal name meaning bold resolve is just the handle for a realtor in the Boston area. The name also reflects Old German Widelard brought to Eng-land by Normans. Reaney & Wilson reckon more Willards descend from Norman Wide-lard. Breakdown of perhaps occasional Old English Wilheard goes wil- meaning will, desire joined to second element -heard for hardy, brave, strong.
Willet[t] [which see] is normally a diminutive of William but does for Willard as well, although Willard is chosen as first name more often in USA than UK. New Englan-der Willard Hoyt must be 80-ish if he’s still top o’ the sod. He was a realtor, previously wartime U. S. merchant marine officer, and former husband of my next older sister Isabel. She’s a long retired secretary in Halifax after some leisure years in Virginia Beach and, before that, living in Cambridge, Mass. and working usually in Boston.
WILLETT See also Willard. Late Dan Hanington’s mother was Mary Arbuthonot Wil-lett (1885-1932) of New Brunswick. Willett relatives temporarily in Nova Scotia had me over as a kid to play with theirs. Syd, a sapper half-colonel in Halifax militia, was hulk-ing, good-hearted, twinkly-eyed, a bottle-a-day scotch man. He was Dan’s uncle and for part of the Second World War had been engineer of a Canadian Army contingent in the colony of Newfoundland. My oldest sister Margot, newly wed, worked there 1943. After the war, Syd and son George went back to open an engineering firm operating out of St. John’s. There I renewed acquaintance during a naval trip, hoisting a few with them be-times at Buckmaster’s Field officers’ mess where everybody, it seems, drank triples!
WILLIAM At first the name was feared then it was hated but soon became most popular of all font names in England. That’s power for you. Vilja meaning will and helma for hel-met made the Old German name Willahelm. Teutonic W- and Celto-Romanic G- were in-terchangeable, so early on William was latinized to Gu[i]lielmus. From the process we get English William and French Guillaume.
William the Conqueror brought the name forcibly into England 1066 and, with son and successor William Rufus, begot a huge trend. Listen to William Camden, name com-piler 1605: “This name hath been most common in England since King William the Con-queror, insomuch that on a festival day in the court of King Henry II [1133-89], when Sir William Saint-John and Sir William Fitz-Hamon had commanded that none but of the name of William should dine in the great chamber with them, they were accompanied with a hundred and twenty Williams, all knights.”
For details on Scotland’s first great patriot, Sir William Wallace (c1272-1305), look at Wallace in this Catalogue.
In 1307 Austrian authority Gessler made William Tell shoot an apple off the head of Tell’s small son with an arrow. His aim is good this time and also when he ambushes and kills Gessler later. Swiss independence follows. [Ruined for many English speaking North Americans is Rossini’s opera William Tell. Its strident overture was theme for the radio series of my childhood The Lone Ranger which graduated to film and TV. In Pav-lovian reflex, its music makes one want to cry out, “Hi Ho Silver, Away!” and gallop off with Tonto into a western sunset. Tonto was native acting success Jay Silverheels (1919-80) a. k. a. Harold Jay Smith from Six Nations Indian Reserve, Ontario.]
In 1477 William Caxton printed the first book in the English language. It is enti-tled The Dictes and Sayingis of the Phylosophers. William Hogarth (1697-1764) was a London artist and engraver, moralist and satirist known for his series The Harlot’s Pro-gress, The Rakes Progress and his best, Marriage `a la Mode among other valued works. He was also an art theorist commanding respect. The Great Commoner was William Pitt the Elder (1708-78) 1st Earl of Chatham. He emphasized constitutional rights. Son Wil-liam (1759-1806) entered Parliament 1781 and at 24 became prime minister 1783. Wil-liam Herschel (1738-1822) made a telescope, catalogued stars and was rated an astrono-mer. He was also musical.
The pet form Billy likely is Irish out of Gaelic. The surname Williams broadcast throughout Ireland is Welsh and also noteworthy as not having been pressed into service as synonym for any Irish name. MacWilliam[s] out of Mac Uilliam well known in north Ulster is a branch of the Scottish MacFarlane clan. Williamson usually from Scotland is also numerous in Ulster. In County Down MacWilliam has stood for MacQuillan: rare Fitzwilliam of southeast Leinster doesn’t.
Eventually William as a first name was superseded in popularity by John. In 1853 it was third commonest surname in England and Wales combined, fourth in USA of 1939, and was occurring in Scotland clear north to the Shetland Islands. It’s the family name of barons Forres.
Scotsman Willie Park won the world’s first professional golf tournament, held at St. Andrews, Scotland 17 Oct. 1860. A former caddie, Wullie led a field of eight including Old Tom Morris and won again ‘63, ’66 and ’75 and four times was runner up. Brother Mungo also took an Open and, soon enough, so did Willie’s son Willie Jr.
Early in the 20th century the given name declined first in England and then USA, but blacks there of late were fond of Willie. Recall that Shakespeare, Thackeray, Blake, Wordsworth and Yeats were Williams, and Wm. Faulkner (1897-1962) was a successful New World inker of novels. In the Great War my Dad encountered him in the Royal Flying Corps.
William, imported from England and Wales, is ranked third among surnames of Canada and USA. In fact, if all variations were bundled up even Smiths would be out-numbered. William Gray founded The Montreal Herald 1811. The daily’s presses ground to a halt 18 Oct. 1957 after a run of 146 years. Montreal’s oldest daily had long been shaky. It inspired a Canadian movie comedy, thinly disguised. Towards the Herald’s end a five-alarm fire was in progress in the metropolis and its entire newsroom was a-clack with reporters batting out stories. Managing editor Walter O’Hearn wandered out and with Montreal cool inquired, “Is someone writing something for the Herald?” No-body was. All had to augment poor pay by stringing for out-of-town newspapers and other media. O’Hearn later was executive editor of the Montreal Star.
American William E. Cody (1846-1917) better known as Buffalo Bill had many adventures on the Great Plains as recalled in his travelling wild west show. SS Royal Wil-liam, wooden paddle wheeler, made England 11 Sept. 1833, first ship to cross the Atlantic entirely under steam. Mind you, she had to stop every few days so that her engineers could clear salt water from boilers. The great days of sail were ebbing when Bluenose shipyards launched high seas sailing vessels in earnest. Largest wooden ship ever made in Atlantic Canada, the William D, Lawrence, 262 feet, 2,459 net tons, was built at Maitland 1872-74 with a spread of canvas totalling 8,000 square yards. She was named for her designer/builder/owner. Her first skipper was a son-in-law, the second one William Law-rence Jr. She was sailed profitably on Atlantic and Eastern trade routes. Norwegians bought her 1883.
George Williams, who founded the Young Men’s Christian Association 1844 in London, England, started North America’s first association 1851 Montreal. I stayed overnight while going across continent and back by train a century later. In the communal washroom a chunky young man slopped sink water onto his face I swear for 10 minutes.
Alone amidst downed seaman gunners of the Royal Navy; William Hall (1827-1904) braved withering fire to breach with cannon shot the mutineer defences 1857 at Lucknow, India. This earned him the British Empire’s highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. That made him first “Canadian” sailor, first black and first Nova Scotian so recognized. W.G. “Billy” Barker VC (1894-1930) from Dauphin, Man., soldiered in the Canadian Expeditionary Force overseas in the Great War and, like so many Canadi-ans including my Dad, transferred from muddy trenches to Britain’s fledgling Royal Fly-ing Corps. Billy flew over France and later with our ally Italy. He became an ace, shooting down 53 enemy warplanes. Billy won the British Empire’s highest award for valour 27 Oct. 1918. By himself in a Sopwith Snipe biplane, he attacked a German jagd-geschwader of about 60 warplanes, downing six. He also won the Distinguished Order and bar, Military Cross and two bars, as well as French and Italian decorations. He rose to lieutenant colonel. In the postwar he started a commercial flying outfit with Canada’s top ace, W. A. “Billy” Bishop VC DSO & Bar DFC with 72 kills. Businessman Barker died in an air crash at Rockcliffe air base here. Billy Bishop had various postwar business ventures and during the Second World War was an honorary air marshal until done in by exhaustion. He d. 1956 Palm Beach, Fla., only 62.
William “Bible Bill” Aberhart (1878-1943) teacher and radio evangelist was premier of Alberta 1935-43 in the first Social Credit government anywhere. I heard an incredibly hayseed Sunday morning devotional broadcast and avoided it from then on. Winnipeg’s William Samuel Stephenson (1896-1989) invented the wirephoto, first transmitted successfully by radio to New York from London, England, 30 Nov. 1924; beating a rival claim that London’s Daily Mail published the first one 27 Dec. 1927. Further, he’d gone to England 1921 to develop and market his invention. Sir William Stephenson was A Man Called Intrepid in New York for a United Kingdom at war. That involved Camp X for training spies near Oshawa, Ont. However professional historians and the intelligence community remain reserved about what authors claim for him. [The Halifax Herald & Mail regularly sent pictures to Acme photo service New York by telephone late 1940s. It took almost half an hour to transmit an image. All too often a curious long distance operator would come on the line distorting the image so everything had to start again. Still, it was necessary groundwork for developing TV. ]
Put William Shockley in a room with a problem and he’d always win. In World War II he increased the kill ratio of depth charges five times over for the U.S. Navy and improved U-boat detection. For the air corps he worked out most of the training for bomber crews. In 1956 he shared a Nobel Prize as co-discoverer of the transistor. He d. 1989 aged 79 still an odious racist and prickly. Thirty years ago Bill Boyle got together with a colleague to say, “Let’s invent something.” Whereupon the pair came up with CCD (charge-coupled device) now in everything from digital and video cameras to photo copiers to the Hubble telescope on high became these chips are many times more light sensitive than film. It even replaced the transistor in some computers. Boyle retired to Wallace, N. S. He should be in encyclopedias but at least 150 people knew enough to e-mail him congratulations on the CCD anniversary in ‘99.
Heart surgeon William De Vries and team installed the world’s first permanent heart 1982 in 61-year-old retired Seattle dentist Barney Clark. The operation took place at the University of Utah medical centre and bought Barney 112 more days. Track coach Bill Bowerman tried various cushioning materials and layering in the 1960s to give his University of Oregon runners an edge. Phil Knight, one of his former runners, proposed a scheme involving a Japanese maker. What evolved was Nike, multi-billion dollar shoe and apparel company. Bowerman retired 1999 then d. that Christmas Eve age 88.
William Carew died an infant 1856 Halifax, fifth child and first son of Founder Fa-ther Stephen Patrick Carew. This baby’s name then went to eighth child and fourth son William Patrick 1863. William Alexander Stanislaus Rothery, #3 daughter Caroline’s spouse, faced his 50th birthday in ‘98 with some resignation mollified by a big party. William Mark (1910-97) was beloved grandfather of David Smith, husband of Catherine Anne, our #2 daughter.
WILMA Of the score of diminutives of Wilhelmina, Wilma stands alone more often in the USA and Scotland than among the English. Wilhelmina appeared in England 1870. It’s the German feminine equivalent of William and also is a royal name in The Netherlands. The most recent queen of name there took the throne 1890 and ruled 50 years before stepping down. As Williamina or Wilma the name throve in Scotland and among nostalgic immigrant German families for a while in the USA. Wilhelmina by the 1980s was clearly out of fashion throughout the English-speaking world.
A Wilma continues as the wry spouse of caveman Fred Flintstone in the U.S. ani-mated TV sitcom. A real Wilma (Rudolph) Ward, single at 20, won three track golds at
the 1960 Olympics. Child #20 of 22, she threw off the effects of polio to emerge a world athlete.
Wilma Tapp was a younger, light auburn sister of brunette Phyllis. Their mother, a Fraser, died early and the widow Edie (Fraser) Grono helped raise these comely and strapping girls. Wilma married David Oland of the Halifax brewing dynasty. Mommy who was gifty, sent me with a present to their newly-established home. David wore a hearing aid so I pounded long on their door in case he’d taken it out and, yeah, because it had been a long walk to get there. Finally they answered the door and it was obvious that I had interrupted newlywed lovers. David was frowning, politely, Wilma mutely amused, and I the gawky adolescent trying to look unaware. A brief visit dragged into an eternity.
WYN Wyn comes from [G]wyn of early medieval Wales. It stands for fair and holy or white and blessed rooted in an Old Welsh vocabulary word. Wynne in Ireland not only is akin to Welsh Gwynne but covers several Irish names with the sound gee, from gaoithe, of wind. MacGee, Geehan and Mulgeehy are examples.
It was a Rowland Gwynne of Llanelwedd who proposed that leading Welshmen gather to give their oath of allegiance in 1696 to William III. Gwynne emerged fair-haired after this exhibition of his countrymen’s canny knack of going for the main chance.
Wyn also comes from Old and Middle English wine as surname then personal name meaning friend. Winn is the family name of barons Saint Oswald, Wynn that of barons Newborough. It wasn’t popular as a first name much before the 1930s. Dr. Wyn Rhys-Jones, MD in Ottawa practised later in the USA. His marriage to my niece Gillian née Hanington broke up there. Like most Welshmen, he really liked to sing.
XAVIER Saint Francis Xavier (1506-52) was one of the seven founding Jesuits. He be-came known as the Apostle of the Indies and was said to have a singular combination of profound mysticism and common sense. He died en route to China after missionary work in India, Sri Lanka and Japan, all of which involved much arduous travelling.
He was born at a castle into Basque nobility in their former kingdom of Navarre. At university in Paris he joined Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) and five others to form the nucleus of the Society of Jesus. Jesuits were a factor in the Counter Reformation al-though not established for this purpose. [My valued two years of Jesuit high schooling convinced me they had a quiet but steely kind of old-time RCMP discipline. They taught me to see all, grasp essentials, move on.]
Xavier appears to be a Spanish rendering of Basque Etcheberria meaning new house. It became a place name. The medieval Spaniards pronounced the letter -x- as “sh” but later with an -h- sound; Xavier became Javier. The name is favoured for Roman Catholic boys, and Germans have gone so far as to coin Xaviera for girls, one of them Dutch who was very naughty indeed.
The name occurs among Granville relatives we have yet to meet. Internationally famous for its co-op and community leadership program of adult education, St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N. S., has had Wallaces and Granvilles as students. Co-
educational for more than a century, its male athletes are called X-men. Xavier Junior College, a branch, was started in Sydney, N. S., 1951. My late cousin and Rhodes Scho-lar Dan Wallace was English professor at St. F. X. before becoming a mandarin in Ottawa. My late cousin Edward and his younger brother Paul Granville were multi-degreed Jebby pastors in Halifax.
YOLANDE Take Greek ion violet and add anthos flower; flavour with Latin Violante [still used in Italy] and you get Iolanthe. Given enough time this assumes French form Yolande. Provided this is the right recipe: Oxford’s Hanks & Hodges wonder if its back-ground is Germanic with all changes untraceable. Modern day Germans say Jolande.
Yolande was a prominent 13th century name. Yolande de Bar, niece of Charles V of France, became Queen of Aragon. Her princess daughter also was Yolande. Two of this name were countesses of La Marche. Yolande of Dreux became queen to King Alex-ander III of Scotland (1249-86) then married again to be duchess of Brittany. There was a Spanish Saint Jolantha; or was she St. Jolenta d. 1298 daughter of a Hungarian king? Anyway today’s version is Jolan although some Magyars make this out to be jo lany, good girl.
Americans prefer Yolanda and variants taken up by black families. Yolande is rare-but-regular in England since the 1920s. Yolande (Chabot) Connors was a fair-haired, blue-eyed francophone neighbour in Halifax of my #2 sister Rosemary when both were young Navy wives. Her late husband Tom, in whose destroyer St-Croix I sailed on NATO exer-cise Dawn Breeze out of Gibraltar, swallowed the anchor retiring to gentleman farming for a while near Kingston, Ont. Tall Yolande in those later years transformed into marathon-er then widow.
Yolande Elizabeth “Launi” née McDonald b. 1956 Halifax #3 daughter of my #2 sister Rosie got some work experience and education in Ottawa, dining with us regularly and taking lunch breaks with our #1 son Duncan at Algonquin College. Her style then was black sweater and slacks, huge mop of curls. Back in Halifax for further education, she acquired motorcycle, law degree, husbands, then a serious career in high tech. Yo became president of a Canadian branch headquarters in Toronto, now is a web site designer in San Francisco, California. She married Jan Christophe Delmar b. 28 July 1961 France, and gave birth in SanFran to their Maximus McDonald Delmar 20 July 2000, followed by twins 23 Feb. 2003 – Jacqueline Alexandra and Jackson Francois debuted at about six pounds apiece.
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