Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Nova Scotias Name Reveals This Provinces History

Nova Scotia's Name Reveals This Province's History The province of Nova Scotia  is one of the ten provinces and three territories that make up Canada. Located on the far southeastern coast of the country, it is one of only three Canadian maritime provinces. How Did Nova Scotia Get Its Name? Currently nicknamed Canada’s Festival Province, the name Nova Scotia originates from Latin. Literally, it means New Scotland. Early Scottish Settlers Nova Scotia was founded in 1621 by  Sir William Alexander of Menstrier. He appealed to  King James of Scotland that a New Scotland was needed to expand national interests alongside New England, New France, and New Spain. Nova Scotia became an ideal territory for early Scottish settlers. Nearly a century later, after the United Kingdom gained control over the area, there was a massive Scottish immigration wave. Adventurous  Highlanders came from all over Scotland to settle throughout Nova Scotia. By the  mid-1700s, British military officer, general, and acting governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, invited American New England residents to relocate to Nova Scotia. This was largely due to the expulsion of the  Acadians  that left large land vacancies and created yet another Scottish population surge. The new settlers were comprised of Scots that had previously fled to New England to gain religious freedom. These descendants formed a major part of the life and development of Nova Scotia and continued to stay in the province through successive generations. Modern Nova Scotia The Scottish became the third largest ethnic group in Canada, and their heritage is celebrated throughout Nova Scotia. Community events such as  Tartan days, clan gatherings, and showings of Highlander-based films like Braveheart, Trainspotting,  and  Highlander  reaffirm ancient Scottish pride. The kinship between Scotland and Canada is incredibly strong, and Scottish cultural influence is evident throughout the province. Visitors to Nova Scotia looking for an authentic cultural experience are invited to wear a kilt, enjoy the skirl of the bagpipes from a marching band, and see the  cabar  being tossed at one of the provinces many Highland Games events. Its also easy to find traditional Scottish dishes like haggis, porridge, kippers, black pudding, shortbread, cranachan, and clootie dumplings  with a Canadian twist at local restaurants. Sources: MacKay, Janet. Founding of New Scotland (Nova Scotia). Fifty Plus, November 1993. Wilson, Norry. Scotland and Canada. Scotland.org, February 6, 2019. Unknown. The Gaelic Culture of Nova Scotia is as Celtic as You Will Get! NovaScotia.com, 2017.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Harrison Surname Meaning and Origin

Harrison Surname Meaning and Origin Harrison is a patronymic surname meaning son of Harry. The given name Harry is a derivation of Henry, itself a derivation of the Germanic name Heimirich, which means home ruler, from the elements heim or home and ric, meaning power, ruler. Like many patronymic surnames, the surnames HARRISON and HARRIS are often found used interchangeably in early records - sometimes within the same family. Harrison is the 38th most common surname in England and 123rd most common surname in the United States. Surname Origin:  English Alternate Surname Spellings:  HARISON, HARRESON, HARRISEN, HARRIS, HARRISSON, HARRYSON, HARRYSSON Where in the World Is the HARRISON Surname Found? According to  WorldNames public profiler, the Harrison surname is found in greatest numbers (as a percentage of population) in the United Kingdom, especially in the northern England regions of East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, North and Northwest. It is also a very popular surname in Australia and New Zealand, followed by the United States and Ireland. Famous People With the Surname HARRISON Benjamin Harrison - 23rd U.S. PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison - 9th U.S. PresidentGeorge Harrison - musician; member of The BeatlesChris Harrison - television actor; the host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette Genealogy Resources for the Surname HARRISON 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? The HARRISON Genealogy RepositoryFind records, family trees and more for a number of different HARRISON families, most in the United States and England. Bill Harrisons Genealogy SiteExplore Bills extensive research on his Harrison family from Staffordshire, England. The Harrison DNA ProjectOver 100 Harrison participants have joined together to use DNA as a tool to help sort out Harrison families worldwide. Harrison Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Harris surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Harris query. There is also a separate forum for the HARRIS surname. FamilySearch - HARRISON GenealogyExplore over 15 million historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Harrison surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. HARRISON Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Harrison surname. DistantCousin.com - HARRISON Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Harrison. The Harrison Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Harrison surname from the website of Genealogy Today. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. https://www.thoughtco.com/surname-meanings-and-origins-s2-1422408