| Rob Mitchell 2004-11-29, 12:46 am |
| Phil,
I love your insights! We have been told two seperate stories
concerning our family origin. One story has our origin as
"MacMitchie". The other has us as a minor clan of the "MacDonalds".
Accordingly we have been plave in either lowland or highland depending
upon which story you prefer.
My immediate family goes back to the mountains of West Virginia in the
Applacian mountains.(An area settled by many Scots due to the similar
topography and climate.) Family common names are Robert, Edward, Earl
and Lawrence. Robert being the most common name used.
I understand exactly what you mean about language being isolated and
preserved in rural areas. In the mountains of East Tennessee and rural
appalacia many old English phrases are preserved as local dialects. I
believe you would find a visit through the area quite entertaining.
Best Wishes,
Rob Mitchell
"Chess One" <innes8@verizon.net> wrote in message news:<4Hjqd.1135$_C2.320@trndny01>...[vbcol=seagreen]
> "Rob Mitchell" <robmtchl@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
> news:b78177d4.0411272046.47772df1@posting.google.com...
>
> Rob, I just met a couple who have returned to the States after sailing over
> [north, Newfoundland] and then to Falmouth. They had intended to eventually
> 'barge' in France, but were waylaid by Cornish hospitality, and various
> sailing people in Falmouth offered them their houses while away, including
> the master of the yacht club who went off to Bermuda for 'a while'. They
> said they were immediately assured they were 'not in England' when in
> Cornwall, and while intending to stay for 6 weeks, ended up staying free
> [moorings too] for a year, before successfully escaping to France.
> Mysteriously such things as visa-extensions and such poor Saxon-stuff
> piratically dissapeared, while very good French wine flowed! <g>
>
>
> Pronouns are different than other etymologies. There is a place-name
> "Mitchell" in celtic-Cornwall eg. And incidentally half a dozen non-Gaelic
> stem-words with Anglo-Norman origins, and some Anglo-Saxon ones, to further
> confuse the issue.
>
> Scots origins of family names may indeed be split, and might depend on which
> period your family was in Scotland. Many names changed spelling when
> families came to the US, and indeed, its not imposible that you might be a
> McCall. I wonder if they came over during the Clearances?
>
> If your name is very old and also has a Gaelic origin, you could trace it
> back to Ireland. My own family name split in about 950-1000, into Innes and
> Hamish Clans, phonetically the same, but the stem~ was originated in Irish
> family names which are currently, Innes, Ennis, MacInnes, Guinness,
> Maginnis, Ynys, Inish, and so on. There are also a few hereditary titles
> which supplant last names over time, so a Scots Innes would also look for
> "Roxeburghe" eg.
>
> Mitchell [spelt variously as Mitchel, and even the francaphone Michel] is
> also very established in England since perhaps Elizabethan times.
>
> I am no particular expert on the Clans, but one means of tracing a
> particular clan branch may be to research any honour-names your family may
> use or have used, often used as a middle-name, and probably from the male
> side. My line has the name 'Wallace' held by a male-child this past 600
> years, eg.
>
> Once more, depending when your family came to the States, it may be good to
> also look at Nova Scotia family trees. I once heard a Scot exclaim that
> records are better kept here in the New World than in Scotland [he was
> talking about traditional music, its tunes and words, saying that unlike
> Ireland there was insufficent respect given it in Scotland to well-preserve
> it there.]
>
> Good hunting! Incidentally, many Inneses were Jacobites, and I do not think
> we are currently feuding with you Mitchells, though you should probably
> avoid Elgin cathedral until this is properly established ;)
>
> Be Traiste, Phil Innes
>
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