ABCs & Our Family Trees: Letter M

I have always been fascinated by language, specifically where it originates and how it adapts, mutates, and relates to other languages. That is why I found the recent series of blogs by Andrew’s Kindred so intriguing. It combined my love of etymology with my love of genealogy. I was so inspired, in fact, that I decided to try my to try my hand at chronicling the origins of our families’ surnames.

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This is the twelfth installment of a series of posts documenting the etymology of many of our families’ surnames (recent and distant, direct and indirect.)

Well, since I already covered the L names, let’s now address the letter M:

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Sum Total of Our Ancestors

“[You] are the sum total of [your] ancestors. You are not limited by their limitations, but you have the potential of their accumulated sense of possibilities. And, you are a product of their stories even though you don’t know it.” ~Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Like every family everywhere, our combined families (mine, my spouse’s, our stepfamilies’, and extended) are a blend of ups and downs, highs and lows.

Throughout the branches of our family trees, I have discovered abolitionists alongside slaveholders and freemen next to slaves. I hope that by telling each and every tale, no matter how distasteful, that I might help shine a light on one of the darkest times in American history.

It is because of our families’ connections to the many sides of slavery that I found Ancestry.com’s Railroad Ties both poignant and hopeful. I hope you find this short film as moving as I have.

Interesting, Odd & Unusual Names

Hey creative writers and/or family historians!  Have you ever needed an itty-bitty bit of inspiration to kickstart your creativity?

If so, then you might want to check out these two sites. The first is Tales of a Family. Each month, blogger Ann Marie Bryant offers a weekly or bi-weekly creative writing/family history suggestion. Because of her writing challenges, I have pushed myself to include more personal narratives in my blog. For that, I thank her.

Or, is genealogy blogging more your style? Then, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks just might be your cup of tea. Each week, Amy Johnson Crow offers a new topic to help you tell your family’s stories. Although I do not regularly participate in the 52 Weeks challenges—mostly because I already have a ton of tales waiting to be put to pen, I did find this week’s prompt promising: Unusual Names.

Bring Out Your Dead

The following post deals with some seriously sad times in humanity’s history.
To help lighten up an otherwise gloomy piece, I have included a bit of British humor for your viewing entertainment.

The Black Death, also known as the Great Plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history.

In October 1347, about a dozen Italian merchant ships returning from the Black Sea, one of the key trade routes to China, docked at the port of Messina, Sicily. Many of sailors aboard these ships were either dead or seriously ill. Although the authorities ordered an immediate these ships to leave the harbor, it was already too late. Within days, the disease had spread throughout Sicily and onto the mainland. One eyewitness told this grim tale:

“Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them, the people quickly drove the Italians from their city. But the disease remained, and soon death was everywhere. Fathers abandoned their sick sons. Lawyers refused to come and make out wills for the dying. Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too. Bodies were left in empty houses, and there was no one to give them a Christian burial.”

ABCs & Our Family Trees: Letter L

I have always been fascinated by language, specifically where it originates and how it adapts, mutates, and relates to other languages. That is why I found the recent series of blogs by Andrew’s Kindred so intriguing. It combined my love of etymology with my love of genealogy. I was so inspired, in fact, that I decided to try my to try my hand at chronicling the origins of our families’ surnames.

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This is the eleventh installment of a series of posts documenting the etymology of many of our families’ surnames (recent and distant, direct and indirect.)

Now that the K names have been discussed, next up is the letter L: