ABCs & Our Family Trees: Letters N & O

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 hand at chronicling the origins of our families’ surnames.

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This is the thirteenth 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 M names, let’s now address the letters N and O:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Service

It is Week 19 in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks’ writing challenge. This week’s writing prompt, Service, is timely because in a couple of weeks is Memorial Day, a day we remember our fallen soldiers and sailors, those who gave everything to protect others and our country.

During this time of tribute, I would like to acknowledge our direct ancestors who have served in the wars fought on American soil. “All gave some; some gave all.”

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Fire

It is Week 15 in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks’ writing challenge. This week’s writing prompt is Fire.

Nearly every human culture/religion has a god/goddess of fire. Ancient Egyptians had Ra and Sekhmet, the Romans had Vulcan, and the Greeks had Hephaestus. Agni is the Hindu god of fire, while the Celt god Áed’s name literally means “fire.” In Oceanic mythologies, the fire gods/goddesses include Gedi (Fijian), Pele (Hawaiian), Auahitūroa (Māori), and Ti’iti’i, (Samoan). While Native American nations have  Xiuhtecuhtli (Aztec), Huracán (Mayan), Haashchʼééshzhiní (Navajo), Kananeski Anayehi (Cherokee),

Then, there was Prometheus, a Titan who defied the Greek gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity. The fire that Prometheus bestowed upon humanity has been both a blessing and a curse. Without fire, humanity would not have been able to advance, and civilization as we know it would not have come into being. But fire is also the great destroyer, and lives have been lost because of its flames.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Water

It is Week 14 in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks’ writing challenge. And trust me when I tell you, this week’s writing prompt, Water, was much harder than I first believed.

I thought about the men in our combined families whose professions were on the water. However, as I had previously written about the mariner men in our families’ trees, I needed another option.

I then considered the surname Water or Waters. Surely, with 12,000+ people in our combined families’ tree, there must be at least one Water/Waters within the branches. There was not. Really?

At this point, I was at a loss and had no clue about whom to write. I needed an idea…fast, so I went back to our ancestors’ list and perused the names again. Suddenly, a wave of inspiration washed over me. Instead of limiting myself to Water/Waters, maybe I should cast a wider net: What about “bodies of water” surnames instead?

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Luck

It is Week 11 in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge. This week’s writing prompt is Luck.