RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2013
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
The celebration of the 180th birthday of the founding of the town of San Augustine, Texas, will be held on 26 October 2013 at 2:00 p. m. in the Museum Theater in San Augustine. Special recognition will be given to descendants of the twenty-one colonists who signed the deed, dated 11 July 1833, to purchase the land where Thomas MCFARLAND laid out the town. Names of the signers are John CARTWRIGHT, Chichester CHAPLIN, Samuel DAVIS, William ENGLISH, Claiborne GARRETT, William GARRETT, James S. HANKS, James W. HANKS(?), Alexander HORTON, Benjamin LINDSAY, Leonard MABBITT, Thomas MCFARLAND, William MCFARLAND, Elisha ROBERTS, Philip SUBLETT, Charles Stanfield TAYLOR, Edward TEAL, George TEAL, Henry TEAL, I. D. THOMAS, and Mary Richardson Davis WILSON (wife of Dr. Stephen Pelham WILSON).
Known places where descendants of these settlers lived are the Texas counties of Anderson, Angelina, Dallas, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Liberty, Nacogdoches, Newton, Panola, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Trinity, and Tyler. Descendants of Chichester CHAPLIN are also known to have resided in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. If your ancestor was one of the signers, please send an e-mail to [email protected].
Most people, even those who are not particularly concerned about tracing their family tree, are interested in the origin and meaning of their surname. Many individuals who believe their ancestors were British may find the information they seek in SURNAMES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: A CONCISE ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY by Henry Harrison. Now reprinted as a single volume, the work was originally published as two separate volumes in 1912 and 1918 in London.
Harrison’s compilation is a comprehensive dictionary of approximately 25,000 surnames found in the British Isles. For each name, Harrison furnishes the meaning or meanings, language of origin (for example, Middle English, Scandinavian, German, Celtic, or French), and the original as well as variant forms of the name. In many cases, the source or sources where the name was located is cited and, sometimes, quoted. In his “forespeech” (preface), Harrison states that he corrected errors contained in Charles Wareing Bardsley’s A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH AND WELSH SURNAMES, which was published in 1901.
The primary material is arranged as a single alphabetical roster for quick and easy reference. At the back of the book is a three-page list of amendments and additions of surnames. Besides these main rolls, the compiler provides an etymological appendix pertaining to the principal foreign names found in British directories. Since SURNAMES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM includes such a variety of names, genealogical libraries will want to have a copy in their holdings.
The soft-cover book has 622 pages. To the book's price of $49.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order #2580) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website at www.genealogical.com.