Hi Gordon, I find it interesting that we think our family name is really important to us. My mother was a Kinsley. When I traced the family, they arrived in Newcastle from Tyrone in the 1840s. The name on the initial birth/census documents was Kinsaly, Kingsley, etc, before it settled on Kinsley around 1860. I'm assuming an illiterate bootmaker from rural Ireland wouldn't have known how to spell his name. I assume the census taker and others just spelled it how they wanted. I found just a couple of Kinsleys in Tyrone and lots of McKinleys. I guessed they may have started as the McKinleys?? My mother was surprised when I told her the Kinsley clan was originally probably from Scotland, and not Ireland.
Regards Barry ________________________________ From: Gordon Wilkinson via CoTyroneList <[email protected]> Sent: 20 August 2025 15:03 To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Cc: Gordon Wilkinson <[email protected]> Subject: [CoTyroneMailingList] Re: New Content - First Glendermott Presbyterian Church, Glendermott Presbytery, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Pew Holders & Stipend Payers 1908 Hi Barry, Yes, surnames were a late invention. We generally know who our mother is, but not always who's the father, so initially surnames (as the name would suggest) were a recognition or 'admission' of fatherhood. They may reflect the business, occupation or personal characteristic of the parent. Eg. Smith (blacksmith, silversmith, tinsmith, ...), Burnside (beside the stream) or Plowman (Farmer). During WW2, one of my friends was evacuated as a child to Wales, where she became known simply as "Sylvia Evacuee" she later emigrated to Australia post war. so the history of surnames is an interesting study. Thanks for this snippet. Gordon On 19/08/2025 11:08 am, barry woolner via CoTyroneList wrote: I found this educational. The tradition of inheriting your parents' surname is not all that old, particularly in the English-speaking world. Surnames only started appearing in England after the Norman Conquest in 1066, and many families resisted surnames for centuries thereafter, associating their imposition with feudal government and taxation. * Guest: Harry Parkin, University of Chester, editor of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain [https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/9b44b45da64fa039e1f87ca7f625643c?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&cropH=1458&cropW=2592&xPos=0&yPos=243&width=862&height=485&imformat=generic]<https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/surnames-history/105669122> Why do we bother with surnames? - ABC listen<https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/surnames-history/105669122> Download the ABC listen app to hear more of your favourite podcasts www.abc.net.au<http://www.abc.net.au> https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/surnames-history/105669122 ________________________________ From: James McKane via CoTyroneList <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Sent: 18 August 2025 22:05 To: CoTyroneIreland.com Mailing List <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Cc: James McKane <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [CoTyroneMailingList] New Content - First Glendermott Presbyterian Church, Glendermott Presbytery, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Pew Holders & Stipend Payers 1908 First Glendermott Presbyterian Church, Glendermott Presbytery, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Pew Holders & Stipend Payers 1908<https://www.cotyroneireland.com/churchrecord/glendermott5.html> Thanks again to Len Swindley for another great addition to CTI! Jim McKane Kitchener, Ontario ================================= Send a Message to the List - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> List Archive - https://list.cotyroneireland.com/empathy/list/cotyronelist.list.cotyroneireland.com Join the list by sending an email to - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To receive the Digest version, send an email to - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Unsubscribe by sending an email to - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> =================================
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