Surname/Language Glossary

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Genealogy tip for today: Surname Glossary

When the New World was first being founded and settled there were three major players. These were England, Spain and France. They all left their footprints in the sand in so many ways. In this country we are all Americans but we all have varying influences in our background. But sometimes unknowing to ourselves we will find ancestry of which we were not aware.

Across the country we see some of that in our culture-our food, our terminology, and our customs. It is also found in our names. Roughly one-third of our population was infused with French ancestry. If your ancestors trace back to Louisiana, Canada or the Northeast – you might have some Francois in your family tree.

Along the way our ancestors would sometimes anglicized their names. How they went about it can be tricky. Sometimes they would translate the French name into English: Leroux – Red, St Jacques – St James, or LaCroix-Cross. Some folks would take sound for sound but spelling it according to the language: Robert-Robar, Chaloux – Sharlow,  Primeau-Premo. Then, I am sure there are others that don’t fit either of these two categories.

The CanadaGenWeb.org has provided a list/glossary of English names that came from French surnames. If you’re working backwards, this list will be easy to use. Take your English name and go down the list on the left. It is alphabetical of the English names. If you have a French name and want the English, you may have to do a little bit more browsing of the list. It is not in alphabetical order by the French. Still it is a good tool and may solve a problem or even breakdown a brick wall for you.

It could be that you had no thought or idea that your person was actually of French descent. If you can find the French version of his anglicized name, it just may throw wide open the door that will bring those bricks tumbling down. Or be the clue of which brick to pull out so that wall will fall!!!

“History – it’s who we are; Genealogy – it’s who I am” sg

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Today in History

1397		John of Gaunt marries Katherine Rouet.
1846		President James Polk dispatches General Zachary Taylor and 4,000 troops to the Texas Border as war with Mexico looms.
1862		President Lincoln names Edwin M. Stanton Secretary of War.
1900		To combat Czech nationalism, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary decrees German the official language of the Imperial Army.
1919		California votes to ratify the prohibition amendment.
1923		Hitler denounces the Weimar Republic as 5,000 storm troopers demonstrate in Germany.
1927		A woman takes a seat on the NY Stock Exchange breaking the all-male tradition.
1931		The bridge connecting New York and New Jersey is named the George Washington Memorial Bridge.
1937		The United States bars Americans from serving in the Civil War in Spain.
1943		General Leclerc's Free French forces merge with the British under Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery in Libya.
1944		Plants are destroyed and 64 U.S. aircraft are lost in an air attack in Germany.
1945		The Red Army opens an offensive in South Poland, crashing 25 miles through the German lines.
1947		British troops replace striking truck drivers.
1955		Chase National and the Bank of Manhattan agree to merge resulting in the second largest U.S. bank.
1965		Two U.S. planes are shot down in Laos while on a combat mission.
1968		U.S. reports shifting most air targets from North Vietnam to Laos.
1976		Argentina ousts a British envoy in dispute over the Falkland Islands.
1980		The United States offers Pakistan a two-year aid plan to counter the Soviet threat in Afghanistan.
1982		Air Florida Flight 90 Boeing 737 jet crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge shortly after takeoff, then plunges into the Potomac River; 78 people, including 4 motorists, are killed.
1990		In Virginia, Douglas Wilder, the first African American elected governor of a US state, takes office.

Salmon Chase

Birthdays today

1808		Salmon P. Chase, U.S. Treasury Secretary, sixth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
1832		Horatio Alger, Jr., American children's author (Ragged Dick, Tattered Tom).
1919		Robert Stack, actor; portrayed Elliot Ness in TV series The Untouchables.
1926		Michael Bond, author, best known for his series of Paddington Bear children's books.
1929		Joe Pass, considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century.
1961		Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actress, producer (Seinfeld TV series)

Word for the Day

It takes all kinds to make the world and it shows in this week's selection of words. For the next five days we'll see words to describe people of various persuasions. These are people you may meet at work or on a train, in a park or in the house next door -- almost anywhere on earth.

Here's a fun exercise for you: find at least one person epitomizing the day's word, every day this week. With some seven billion of us around there can't be any excuse for insufficient data.

voluble

PRONUNCIATION:

(VOL-yuh-buhl) 

MEANING:

adjective: Speaking incessantly or fluently.

ETYMOLOGY:

Via French, from Latin volvere (to roll). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wel- (to turn or roll), which also gave us waltz, revolve, valley, walk, vault, volume, wallet, and helix. Earliest documented use: 1575.

USAGE:

"As Mr Barroso, a voluble sort, talked about strong transatlantic relationships and the like, Mr Obama gazed stony-faced at his shoes."
A Surfeit of Leaders; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 8, 2009.

Quote for the Day

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Several excuses are always less convincing than one. -Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963) 

Today’s Recipe

Soups for Cold Winter Days
Tortellini Florentine Soup

 

Ingredients

1 ounce of refrigerated three-cheese tortellini

2 ounce of reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 ounce of refrigerated light Alfredo pasta sauce

2 cups of shredded deli-roasted chicken

½ cup of oil-packed dried tomato strips, drained

½ ounce of fresh baby spinach

Shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

1.       In a 4-quart Dutch oven cook tortellini according to package directions; drain and set aside.

2.       In the same Dutch oven combine broth and pasta sauce. Stir in chicken and dried tomatoes. Bring just to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

3.       Stir in cooked tortellini and spinach. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until tortellini is heated through and spinach is wilted. If desired, top each serving with cheese.

ENJOY!

Now You Know!