Family Names

I’ve written a few times before about the origin of family names. This time, I’d like to first explore some of the various “rules” and timing of family names in general. Then I’ll look at the four family names coming from my parents and my wife’s parents. Finally, I have some new information about my wife’s maiden name (i.e., her father’s family name - VanDeCar).

 

Surnames

There is a great article in Wikipedia about surnames (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surname). It gets into a lot of detail which I’ll not attempt to replicate here. But there are a few types of surnames that are involved in the family history below that I’d like to refer to.

Patronymic surnames – These are some of the oldest and most common type of surnames where the surname is based on the name of one’s father. There are examples in many different countries/cultures, such as the Scandinavian (Peterson = son of Peter), Scottish (MacDonald = son of Donald). There is another whole article in Wikipedia just devoted to this topic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymic).

Occupational surnames – These developed in different countries at different times, but they are very common in the English-speaking world where they developed around the Middle Ages. Some good examples that come to mind are Smith, Baker, Miller, Shoemaker, Cook, etc.

Toponymic surnames – These are derived from locations or things in nature. Examples include such things as Washington (town/homestead of Wassa family). Some of these names are habitation (place) names, others may be topographic (geographic features).

 

Examples from my family and my wife’s family

My father’s surname was Russell, my mother’s maiden name was Pierpont, my wife’s mother’s maiden name was Wright, and my wife’s father’s surname was VanDeCar. Let’s look at each of these in turn.

 

Russell – I’ve addressed this name on a couple of occasions before (see https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/04/genealogy-story-my-norman-ancestors.html and https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-russell-family-name.html). The origin of this toponymic surname is during the time of the Norman occupation of northern France, where a man with the name Hugh became the baron of a small town called Rozel or Roussel – thus becoming Hugh de Rozel or Hugh de Roussel (literally Hugh of/from Rozel/Roussel). This is a good example of the toponymic surname convention used by “royalty” at the time since Hugh was a baron. The family went to England during the Norman invasion of 1066, where the “de” part was dropped and the spelling modified to Russell and there was later a Russell clan in Scotland. The Russells in the US are from various immigrants from both the English and Scottish lines.

Pierpont – I’ve also addressed this name before (see https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/04/genealogy-story-my-norman-ancestors.html). Another man, also Hugh and also a baron, had a castle in Normandy (just 15 miles from the town of Rozel). But he took this toponymic family name not from a town, but from the well-known stone bridge which was in front of the castle. In French this would have been “Pierre” (stone) “Pont” (bridge), so he was Hugh de Pierrepont. This name with that spelling is still found today with some of my distant French cousins. When Hugh’s grandson went to England as part of the Norman invasion, they dropped the “de” part and the name became Pierrepont and that name may still be found there today. As the family spread throughout England, there were variant spelling including Pierpont, Pierpoynt, Pierpoint, and others. These variations can also be found throughout the US as there were several individuals who immigrated here at different times. My mother’s family is descended from John Pierpont who came to New England around 1640, but there is also a branch of Pierpoints who are the descendants of Henry Pierpoint who came to Maryland around the same time.

Wright – this is an example of an occupational surname that originated in England several centuries after the toponymic names above. There are more specific occupations that had separate names – such as Cartwright or Wainwright, but this is the more “generic” occupation from that time period.

VanDeCar – this surname originated in the Hudson River Valley in the mid-1600s (see http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2017/03/genealogy-story-vandecar-family.html). At the time this was part of New Netherlands and was occupied by the Dutch. The Dutch prior to this time used a patronymic naming system where surnames had a suffix of “sz” (short for son of) or “je” (short for daughter of) leading to such names as “Feytje Claesz Van Schaack” (my wife’s great*7 grandmother). The oldest ancestor in the male VanDeCar line that anyone has been able to trace was Dirk Van Der Karre/Karr/Kerr (1637-1727) (there were several alternate spellings), Since Van Der Karre (and its many more recent derivatives such as VanDecar, VanDeCar, Vandecar, etc.) is only found in the US, it was presumed that the adaptation of this name which means “from/of the Kerre” was from that time period. But no one had been able to find anything back in the Netherlands named “Kerre” (or Karre or Karr) from which it might have been derived as a toponymic surname.

 

Some new information

I recently became aware of a posting that someone had made on a message board which stated “An early American ancestor of mine, Dirk van der Kerr, was always presumed Dutch. But recent DNA tests show matches with the Scottish Carr (Kerr) family. Looks like some of the Carrs left Scotland for Holland.”

In contacting this individual (whose mother’s maiden name was spelled VanDecar), I learned that the family had done some y-DNA testing (which traces the male line only as the DNA is from the Y chromosome). This y-DNA testing can go back farther than the typical DNA testing which is looking for common segments of DNA on multiple chromosomes. And this testing revealed that there were a number of individuals in Scotland in the Kerr family who were in the same haplo-group, i.e., who shared that portion of the Y chromosome. This is an exciting discovery!

If correct, this means that when Dirk gave his surname as “Van Der Kerre” he meant Dirk “from the Kerre (clan)”. So, the derivation history of the name was “de Ker” (Norman meaning “from Ker”) to “Kerr” (Scottish surname of the Kerr clan), to “van der Kerre” (Dutch meaning “of the Kerr clan”) to today’s “VanDeCar” (or VanDecar or Vandecar) with the sound equivalence of “Car” and “Kerre”.

There is an excellent Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Kerr) which has the whole history of this clan/surname and which includes the following information:

·        Name has several variant spellings including Kerr, Kear, Carr, Carre, and Cares

·        “Name stems from the Old Norse jkarr which means marsh dweller, and came to Scotland from Normandy”

·        “During the reign of David I (1082-1153), Hugh de Morville, Lord High Constable of Scotland [note that Morville was another town quite close to Rozel and the Pierrepont castle in Normandy], granted lands to the Norman family of William de Ker (William from Ker).” Believed to be the Normandy town of Criel, renamed Criel-sur-Mer in 1902.

This means that the name is not a patronymic surname, but rather is a toponymic surname after the town of Ker in Normandy (just like the Russell surname) – albeit with a rather complicated path from Normandy to Scotland to The Netherlands, and finally to the Americas.

Isn’t history fun?!

[maps of Rozel, etc. in Normandy]

Rozel

Saint Saveur-de-Pierrepont

Criel-sur-Mer

Christmas 2021

My Christmas letter is a little later than usual this year. The past several weeks have had a number of unusual things going on, so I’m more behind than I’d like to be. Last month the well went dry (that we’d only put in 4 years ago), so we had to get a new one drilled. We had this one “witched” by a friend and got the best flow we’ve ever had (10 gal/min) at 310’ instead of the 700’ for the last one. Then we tried to get the oil stove in the basement going and it wouldn’t so we needed to have it serviced. Turned out that our daughter had let it burn out at the end of last winter and some of the sludge from the bottom of the tank got into the supply line and it needed to be blown out. Ah, the life of being a homeowner!

Now on to my usual topics…

Family

Family is obviously the most important aspect of our lives. The arrangement this year was that we would take Ethan down to FL for three weeks at the beginning of the summer, then Chris and family would bring him up when they joined us for our family vacation at Pinebrook. At the end of that week, they would take Isaiah back with them and we’d pick him up several weeks later. So, I got to take two short trips to FL as neither of the boys are old enough for the airline to let them fly on their own.

We only had a few inklings that our time at Pinebrook would be a little different this year. As always, that week in mid-July is the time for several family milestones – our anniversary on the 17^th, Asher’s birthday on the 18^th, Donna’s birthday on the 19^th, then Asher’s spiritual birthday on the 23^rd. With our week there starting on Sunday, the 18^th, we missed our anniversary by a day, but that meant that our children could surprise us when we arrived that afternoon since it was 50 years since we “tied the knot!”

Kim had stolen our address book as well as managed to find the box with all our pictures from our wedding. Three of my siblings – from CT, NY, and CA – were there and we had a zoom call from Thailand from the youngest sibling. In addition, Donna’s brother and his new significant other from MI (whom we had not met in person before) were there. But perhaps most unexpected were Doug and Kay Robinson from MI – the best man and maid of honor from our wedding – who had met at our wedding and gotten married just 5 months later. We also had many from our church who had made the trip to Pinebrook (about an hour from our home) to join us for the celebration. It was a great afternoon! There is a picture from our wedding as well as one of me with my siblings below. I’ve also included a picture of all of us at Pinebrook so you can see how the grandchildren are growing! (They are now 17, 15, 11, 11, 9, 8, 7.)

We continue to have a video call with Chris and family almost every week so we can talk to him and see the rest of the family on a regular basis. We really appreciate having this sort of involvement. And, of course, we see Kim and family every day.

Homeschooling and more Family Stuff

When I wrote last year, we were just a few months into homeschooling our four PA grandsons. We are now into our second year and the boys are in grades 6, 4, 4, and 2. So our days are pretty busy keeping them all on track, reviewing their submissions to ensure that they understand the material, and helping with the technology when an assignment requires a picture/video of their work. They finished last year with all A’s and are doing even better this year. Yes, it’s a burden on our time and means that it’s hard to take time off for the two of us, but this is an investment of our time that will have huge benefits.

At the recommendation of both our children, we have made the decision to start the process of downsizing and then selling the house that we’ve lived in since 1977 and move across the street to live with Kim and family. The primary motivation is that this house is two stories and requires much up/down stairs which is getting more difficult as time goes by (more on that below). We spend several hours each day across the street already, including having supper together every evening.

In preparation, we converted the finished basement there into a boy’s room by moving the bunkbeds down. So, Donna and I will have what used to be the two bedrooms on the main level (one for a bedroom and one for a small sitting room with a futon, easy chair [a lift chair] for me, and our TV). But downsizing after so many years is not easy, especially for Donna who tends to be a collector. Once we’ve emptied this house, then we’ll sell it and use the proceeds to put an addition on the other house to add a much-needed extra bathroom and a “multi-purpose” room so that Donna and I can have a get-away space where we can entertain, etc. Meanwhile, we’re trying to get the two former boys’ bedrooms ready (repainting, etc.) as Chris and family are coming up next month to help us move our bedroom set, etc. over. Changes, changes, and more changes!

Health Updates

I’ll summarize my health in just four words – head, heart, pancreas, foot. My Alzheimer’s is still stable with periodic testing. I did have a brain MRI this year to check on things. My heart is also still ticking quite nicely and is of no concern. I’ve finally reached the point where my diabetes needed more attention, so I’m now taking a daily injection of insulin. Amazing how one learns to stick a needle in oneself like that. I also had the wound on my foot re-open (I have an arthritic growth at the base of my big toe which puts a lot of pressure on that area). I now have special shoes and am working through the very slow process of getting things to heal up.

But probably the biggest concern is that Donna’s hip is giving her a lot of pain – especially going up/down stairs. She’s been to see a surgeon and is looking at a hip replacement in the spring (after we’ve gone through the holidays, the first round of downsizing, and the move to across the street). She has severe osteoporosis and the potential for a fall is part of what’s prompting the move to a single-level home.

Miscellaneous

I’ve been keeping busy otherwise with genealogy and blogging. One of my Facebook friends from high school challenged me this year to see how many of my high school classmates were related to me. So that took many hours of research – answer, about 1/3 of them! But these two activities keep my mind active.

I’d like to close with something a little different. The Wednesday night ladies Bible study at church was doing something a little unusual the past few weeks and having different ladies present the Christmas story from the perspective of the first Christmas participants. Donna was asked to take one of the weeks and present from the perspective of an angel. As part of that she wrote a poem for the occasion. She’s not as prolific a writer as I am, but her creativity and insight are much better than mine. So, here is a copy of what she wrote:

When I think of Christmas (a poem)

 

When I think of Christmas

         Just what will it be

Of tinsel, of wrapping, of bright Christmas tree?

 

When I think of Christmas

         Down deep in my heart

Of friends and of family- I long for a part

 

When I think of Christmas

         Eternity’s view

My wish is for Jesus, for each one of you

 

How great is the gift of a Savior

         The angels proclaimed Christmas day

How great is the gift of a Savior

         For our sins He has taken away

 

When I think of angels

and what they proclaimed

A Savior for us and the glory of His name

 

When I think of Christmas

         This is how it should be

His joy in our hearts for all glorious is He.

 

 

May you also think of Christmas with HIS joy in your hearts!

We love you all!

Alan & Donna

[Wedding and 50^th Anniversary]

 

 

 [Our Family]

 

Front row in age order: Aryon, Tiernan, Ilyanna, Ethan, Isaiah, Caleb, Asher

Back row: Pam, Chris, Alan, Donna, Kim

Book or Blog – which to write?

Someone recently asked me for assistance in writing a book. Like many people in my age category, books are what comes to mind when we think about writing something. But because some of his writings are about current events (Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, etc.) I suggested that a blog may be a better medium for those topics. So, he asked how to make the decision about which medium to use. Below is my answer.

This long answer is probably much more than you thought you would get when you asked what belongs in the book and what belongs in a blog. I’d like to go into a fair amount of depth in my response. In order to answer this question, one needs to examine several aspects of writing, in particular addressing the following topics: (1) who are the ones who would buy a book or read a blog; (2) who am I trying to reach with my writing; (3) how timely is what I am writing about; and (4) how will the choice of medium influence what I am writing. Let me examine each of these in turn.

 

Who would buy a book or read a blog?

Books are somewhat permanent things. They are relatively long, i.e., they are not designed to be read in one sitting. They sit on a shelf for a relatively long period, i.e., several years. And they are relatively costly, even if they only cost $5.00.

Unless one is already somewhat famous, the number of copies that one can sell of a book is pretty small. If the author is someone like Hillary Clinton, Senator X, LeBron James, or a popular movie star, then they can sell thousands of copies. But you and I are not in that category. The people who would want a book about us is limited to our family and friends. That doesn’t mean that what we have to say is not valuable. I wish that some of my ancestors had written a book about themselves so that I could better understand the times they lived in and why they made the choices they did. In fact, that’s why I wrote my own auto-biography – because there were so many questions that I wish I had asked my father about his life and I didn’t want my descendants to have the same unanswered questions about me. Our grandchildren and even our unborn great-grandchildren will enjoy being about to read about one of their ancestors. Only one of the books that I’ve published has sold more than a few dozen copies and that is because the author spent the last several years of his life speaking to groups about his WWII experiences and then sold a copy of his book to those who had come to hear him.

In summary, the people who can be expected to buy your book are probably people who already know you. And unless you are famous, that group of people is relatively small.

On the other hand, blogs are shorter – they are usually read on one’s smartphone or perhaps a PC and for maximum impact need to be fairly compact so they can be read and grasped quickly. Most people expect them to be either free or at least free to anyone who has a subscription to something. And they are often transient.

Because they are shorter and cheaper (probably free for most of us), the thoughts expressed in a blog entry can be widely disbursed. Who knows, perhaps one of them may “go viral” and be read by thousands. They are not “historical”, but nearly always on a topic of current interest.

Again, in summary, the people who can be expected to read your blog may know you, but one would hope that you can reach people who don’t know you well – so you need to make the barrier to gaining a reader much smaller than the investment of $5 or of the time to read a book.

 

Who am I trying to reach?

This question grows quite naturally out of the last one. A book like an autobiography has a target audience of those who want to know you – you personally. The purpose in writing such a book is so that your experiences and perspectives are not lost. The self-publishing market is full of these types of books, and they serve a good purpose – so that we do not forget about the past. I love it when my grandchildren ask, “tell us a grandpa story!” That shows that they have an interest in the past that can help guide them in the future.

But while we can also use the medium of a blog to tell stories, we can also use them to educate or to advocate. And this is a great use of this medium. A blog can be very timely – commenting on current events, pointing out the truth or fallacy of a current newsworthy story, helping to give perspective. And thus, the audience that we are trying to reach is much broader than simply those who already know us.

 

How timely is what I am writing about?

Because books are made to sit on a shelf for some indefinite period of time, they need to cover material that is somewhat timeless as well. Autobiographies are great in that we want our grandchildren or great-grandchildren or even generations beyond them to be able to still read what we have written. We want them to understand the environment in which we grew up, the challenges we faced, and why we made the choices that we did.

Blogs, on the other hand, are often about very current topics. While we can still give perspective on why we view these topics the way that we do, one should not expect that people are going to read these types of postings in the future – or at least that they will not read them for the same purpose. But to get people’s attention, a blog post needs to not only be timely, but short enough that people can read it quickly – people have many things competing for their time, so they can’t spend much time reading what we’ve written. The more timely the subject, the shorter our posting needs to be. However, there is also a place for longer “opinion pieces” that we can then refer people to if they have more time.

To judge currency, ask the questions: would I have written about this 2-3 years ago; would I still write about this 2 years from now? If it’s older than that or is apt to change in the near future, then a blog is a better place than a book. For example, writing about a current bill making its way through Congress doesn’t belong in a book – a few months from now it may have been defeated and be a moot point. But advocacy for passing/defeating it is appropriate for a blog.

 

How does the choice of medium influence me?

The quick answer is – quite a lot, and in several ways.

First, a chapter in a book can easily be 5-10 pages or more. There needs to be sufficient depth and development of the topic of that chapter so that the book is not too “choppy”. On the other hand, a blog entry should be short enough to be read on a smartphone, perhaps the equivalent of only 1-3 pages at most.

Second, the context of a chapter in a book is the rest of the book – the chapters that came before it, and the continued development of a topic in later chapters. But one cannot expect that someone is going to read a blog post in the context of other posts that you have written. But since these posts are written for reading in that interactive environment, one can include context by the appropriate use of hyperlinks where one can click on a link to see that context, to delve further into a particular issue, or to see where the facts being quoted come from.

Finally, since one expects that the reader of a blog post is likely to be someone who does not know you, it needs to be kept more impersonal. The reader is not reading it to get to know you, but rather to just quickly get your perspective on a current topic. There are times that a hyperlink to some of your personal background/experiences is ok, but keep it out of the mainline of the posting itself.