Brown is the second most common name in Scotland and is also found frequently in England and the USA as well as other parts of the world. It might be thought that a name such as this, which was spread so widely, would not have a specifically Scottish pedigree. But the Broun family (spelt thus) has a crest recognised by the Lord Lyon King at Arms and is included in the list of clans and families maintained by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. They also have a recognised tartan.
The French "Le Brun" appeared early in England (around 970) but did not arise in Scotland until the 12th century. Walterus Brown was involved with the church in Glasgow in 1116 and Richard de Broun and others with the same surname signed the Ragman Roll in 1296 when all the nobles and landowners were forced to swear allegiance to King Edward I of England.
A long line of Browns, which can be traced for 850 years, is the Brouns of Colstoun in East Lothian. The first of the line may have been Sir David le Brun who gave the land and witnessed the charter founding the Abbey of Holyroodhouse in 1128. These Brouns claimed that they were originally descended from the royal house of France - their arms bore the three gold lilies of France. The Broun arms registered with the Lord Lyon has a lion rampant holding a French "fleur de lis".
The Brown clan motto is "Floreat majestas" which means "Let majesty flourish".
Friday, May 16, 2008
Census inconsistencies explained
Often I'm puzzled over obvious inconsistencies in the census materials as I search for ancestors in England and Wales. Recently, I found the following on a Canadian genealogical site:
How old? The Age recorded on the census: The general rule in the 1841 census was to round down the age of adults to the nearest 5 years. This general rule was not always followed. Some ages were rounded down to the nearest 10 years, while others were recorded exactly. On the other hand, some people simply did not know their exact age. When the age of consent was 21, it was not unusual to find people lying about their age in order to rent accommodations, get married or similar adult privileges. At the same time, the age of a child may be falsified if that child was a worker and did not want to loose their job. For these reasons, the age recorded for an individual should always be treated with some caution.
Ah, now I see!!!
How old? The Age recorded on the census: The general rule in the 1841 census was to round down the age of adults to the nearest 5 years. This general rule was not always followed. Some ages were rounded down to the nearest 10 years, while others were recorded exactly. On the other hand, some people simply did not know their exact age. When the age of consent was 21, it was not unusual to find people lying about their age in order to rent accommodations, get married or similar adult privileges. At the same time, the age of a child may be falsified if that child was a worker and did not want to loose their job. For these reasons, the age recorded for an individual should always be treated with some caution.
Ah, now I see!!!
Great Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Owens
Great Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Owens worked in the Welsh iron industry and lists his job in 1841 as, "Baller." Here's the description for that job:
Baller ; iron industry worker
"When the metal begins to melt it is the business of the puddler to watch it from time to time until it is ready for what is technically called BALLING, i.e. dividing the metals into separate balls or quantities or puddle-rolls; which having been done, are handed over to the shingler, who has the direction of a large and heavy hammer worked by steam or water power, and the rough hot metal is, by repeated blows brought to a more compact form for the rolling mill."
From the Employment Commission reports 1842
Baller ; iron industry worker
"When the metal begins to melt it is the business of the puddler to watch it from time to time until it is ready for what is technically called BALLING, i.e. dividing the metals into separate balls or quantities or puddle-rolls; which having been done, are handed over to the shingler, who has the direction of a large and heavy hammer worked by steam or water power, and the rough hot metal is, by repeated blows brought to a more compact form for the rolling mill."
From the Employment Commission reports 1842
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Great Grandmother, Isabella Brown
My grandfather, Thomas Davis' mother was named Isabella Brown. She and her parents were born in southeastern Wales. Here's a bit of information on the origins of the name, Isabella:
Gender: Feminine
Language: Spanish, French, and English
Etymology:
Isabel is the Spanish/Latin form of Elizabeth, the English form of the Hebrew name, Elisheva, or Elisheba. Originally it meant "My God is Bountiful," "God of Plenty," "Consecrated to God," "Oath of God," "God is Satisfaction," or "God is Perfection."
History:
Isabel, the Spanish form of Elizabeth first developed in Provençe. It spread out from Spain to France, and then to England during the Middle Ages. The two names were considered interchangeable until the 16th century. Isabel had long been a popular name. It was a royal name since 1308 when King Edward II married Isabella de France (although she arranged for his murder). Two other queens (wives to King John, and King Richard II) as well as numerous princesses also bore the name Isabel. It was highly popular in the 13th and 14th centuries in both England and Scotland. Isabella, the Latinate form, caught on in the 18th century. The French form Isabelle (and its diminutive Belle) spread to England in the 19th century.
Isabella Brown, I imagine, was named after her paternal grandmother, Isabella, who was born in Scotland in 1792. The odd thing is, Isobel is the usual Scottish spelling of the name. Since the younger Isabella was born in Wales in 1865 and not in Scotland, it seems the family must have decided to use the then popular latinate form of the name.
Gender: Feminine
Language: Spanish, French, and English
Etymology:
Isabel is the Spanish/Latin form of Elizabeth, the English form of the Hebrew name, Elisheva, or Elisheba. Originally it meant "My God is Bountiful," "God of Plenty," "Consecrated to God," "Oath of God," "God is Satisfaction," or "God is Perfection."
History:
Isabel, the Spanish form of Elizabeth first developed in Provençe. It spread out from Spain to France, and then to England during the Middle Ages. The two names were considered interchangeable until the 16th century. Isabel had long been a popular name. It was a royal name since 1308 when King Edward II married Isabella de France (although she arranged for his murder). Two other queens (wives to King John, and King Richard II) as well as numerous princesses also bore the name Isabel. It was highly popular in the 13th and 14th centuries in both England and Scotland. Isabella, the Latinate form, caught on in the 18th century. The French form Isabelle (and its diminutive Belle) spread to England in the 19th century.
Isabella Brown, I imagine, was named after her paternal grandmother, Isabella, who was born in Scotland in 1792. The odd thing is, Isobel is the usual Scottish spelling of the name. Since the younger Isabella was born in Wales in 1865 and not in Scotland, it seems the family must have decided to use the then popular latinate form of the name.
Celts descended from Spanish Fishermen study finds
A team from Oxford University has discovered that the Celts, Britain's indigenous people, are descended from a tribe of Iberian fishermen who crossed the Bay of Biscay 6,000 years ago. DNA analysis reveals they have an almost identical genetic "fingerprint" to the inhabitants of coastal regions of Spain, whose own ancestors migrated north between 4,000 and 5,000BC.
The discovery, by Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, will herald a change in scientific understanding of British-ness. People of Celtic ancestry were thought to have descended from tribes of central Europe. Professor Sykes, who is soon to publish the first DNA map of the British Isles, said: "About 6,000 years ago Iberians developed ocean-going boats that enabled them to push up the Channel. Before they arrived, there were some human inhabitants of Britain but only a few thousand in number. These people were later subsumed into a larger Celtic tribe... The majority of people in the British Isles are actually descended from the Spanish."
Professor Sykes spent five years taking DNA samples from 10,000 volunteers in Britain and Ireland, in an effort to produce a map of our genetic roots. Research on their "Y" chromosome, which subjects inherit from their fathers, revealed that all but a tiny percentage of the volunteers were originally descended from one of six clans who arrived in the UK in several waves of immigration prior to the Norman conquest. The most common genetic fingerprint belongs to the Celtic clan, which Professor Sykes has called "Oisin". After that, the next most widespread originally belonged to tribes of Danish and Norse Vikings. Small numbers of today's Britons are also descended from north African, Middle Eastern and Roman clans.
These DNA "fingerprints" have enabled Professor Sykes to create the first genetic maps of the British Isles, which are analysed in Blood of the Isles, a book published this week. The maps show that Celts are most dominant in areas of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. But, contrary to popular myth, the Celtic clan is also strongly represented elsewhere in the British Isles.
"Although Celtic countries have previously thought of themselves as being genetically different from the English, this is emphatically not the case," Professor Sykes said. "This is significant, because the idea of a separate Celtic race is deeply ingrained in our political structure, and has historically been very divisive. Culturally, the view of a separate race holds water. But from a genetic point of view, Britain is emphatically not a divided nation."
Origins of Britons:
Oisin
Descended from Iberian fishermen who migrated to Britain between 4,000 and 5,000BC and now considered the UK's indigenous inhabitants.
Wodan
Second most common clan arrived from Denmark during Viking invasions in the 9th century.
Sigurd
Descended from Viking invaders who settled in the British Isles from AD 793. One of the most common clans in the Shetland Isles, and areas of north and west Scotland.
Eshu
The wave of Oisin immigration was joined by the Eshu clan, which has roots in Africa. Eshu descendants are primarily found in coastal areas.
Re
A second wave of arrivals which came from the Middle East. The Re were farmers who spread westwards across Europe.
Roman
Although the Romans ruled from AD 43 until 410, they left a tiny genetic footprint. For the first 200 years occupying forces were forbidden from marrying locally
This article is interesting because when I participated in the National Geographic genome project and had them analyze my DNA, they told me that my ancestors did, in fact, originate in SPAIN. No wonder Spanish architecture is my favorite!!!
The discovery, by Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, will herald a change in scientific understanding of British-ness. People of Celtic ancestry were thought to have descended from tribes of central Europe. Professor Sykes, who is soon to publish the first DNA map of the British Isles, said: "About 6,000 years ago Iberians developed ocean-going boats that enabled them to push up the Channel. Before they arrived, there were some human inhabitants of Britain but only a few thousand in number. These people were later subsumed into a larger Celtic tribe... The majority of people in the British Isles are actually descended from the Spanish."
Professor Sykes spent five years taking DNA samples from 10,000 volunteers in Britain and Ireland, in an effort to produce a map of our genetic roots. Research on their "Y" chromosome, which subjects inherit from their fathers, revealed that all but a tiny percentage of the volunteers were originally descended from one of six clans who arrived in the UK in several waves of immigration prior to the Norman conquest. The most common genetic fingerprint belongs to the Celtic clan, which Professor Sykes has called "Oisin". After that, the next most widespread originally belonged to tribes of Danish and Norse Vikings. Small numbers of today's Britons are also descended from north African, Middle Eastern and Roman clans.
These DNA "fingerprints" have enabled Professor Sykes to create the first genetic maps of the British Isles, which are analysed in Blood of the Isles, a book published this week. The maps show that Celts are most dominant in areas of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. But, contrary to popular myth, the Celtic clan is also strongly represented elsewhere in the British Isles.
"Although Celtic countries have previously thought of themselves as being genetically different from the English, this is emphatically not the case," Professor Sykes said. "This is significant, because the idea of a separate Celtic race is deeply ingrained in our political structure, and has historically been very divisive. Culturally, the view of a separate race holds water. But from a genetic point of view, Britain is emphatically not a divided nation."
Origins of Britons:
Oisin
Descended from Iberian fishermen who migrated to Britain between 4,000 and 5,000BC and now considered the UK's indigenous inhabitants.
Wodan
Second most common clan arrived from Denmark during Viking invasions in the 9th century.
Sigurd
Descended from Viking invaders who settled in the British Isles from AD 793. One of the most common clans in the Shetland Isles, and areas of north and west Scotland.
Eshu
The wave of Oisin immigration was joined by the Eshu clan, which has roots in Africa. Eshu descendants are primarily found in coastal areas.
Re
A second wave of arrivals which came from the Middle East. The Re were farmers who spread westwards across Europe.
Roman
Although the Romans ruled from AD 43 until 410, they left a tiny genetic footprint. For the first 200 years occupying forces were forbidden from marrying locally
This article is interesting because when I participated in the National Geographic genome project and had them analyze my DNA, they told me that my ancestors did, in fact, originate in SPAIN. No wonder Spanish architecture is my favorite!!!
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