SO, Whats in a Name anways?

As of late, I have been researching my ancestry. I think that we all reach a point in out lives where we wonder "Where Did I Come From?" (and not in the birds-and-bees sort of way). This question has plagued me for years. Different members of my family have said different things about "what we are" and I decided to find out for myself. My journey started a couple of years ago with a visit to the genealogy room at the Henderson County Public Library in Hendersonville, NC. (or as I say, "When I lived in the mountains") They have a room specially designed for library users to sit and spend hours tracing their roots. Thats where I began. Well, actually, thats where the thought began. Records of living people are kept confidential in most cases, so the best start for me was to speak with my family. I knew the names of all of my grandparents, and I knew a couple of my great-grandparents, but that was about it. After about a week, it slipped my mind... Until late this fall. I started wondering again--and started searching again. I joined ancestry.com (they had a special) and began my search. After a week or so, not only had I gained a lot of information (both records on ancestry.com and then webpages of people who have gone before and done research) but I had met several cousins in the process! What a small world it is. Bob, a cousin who lives in North Georgia (and who I was strangers with until this research) is a couple of generations older than me and has been researching our family for a while. He had in his records a letter written by my great-great grandfather that explained "Where we came from". In my own words, Here is what I learned....(oh ps, this is about the MEREDITH part of my family) Sometime in the 1760's three brothers left Wales for the United States. Their names were John, Charles, & William Meredith. (the Welsh spelling of my name is Maredudd or Meredydd--and the correct pronunciation is mu RAY duth) The naming system was patronymic, which means that all Meredith's are not related. Patronymic naming systems basically make the son's last name his father's first name. It's really complicated and interesting, and I don't want to go into it. Google it if u care.

John Meredith settled in Virginia and started a family there. His ancestors, according to my great great grandfather Virgil, were the "brained ones int he family". One of his children was Judge Meredith, who "filled Talmage's pulpit while he was touring Europe". Talmadge was a famous Presbyterian minister.

Charles Meredith settled in North Carolina, and most of his offspring began working in the rail road.

William Meredith (my ancestor) settled into South Carolina and lived there until after the Revolutionary War. He served in that war with distinction (as an officer). After the war he married and settled into Franklin County. One of his children, John (my ancestor) along with three of his brothers moved into Wilkinson County, Georgia in the spring of 1802 and settled on the Oconee River at Toomsboro. They were one of the few original settlers of the county. My family stayed there and eventually, my great grandfather (who worked on the rail road) moved to Montgomery, AL and became a foreman for the ACL, or the Atlantic Coast Line rail road.

That story is much abbreviated, but you get the idea.

Since I found out that I am of Welsh heritage, I have looked into Welsh society. My family (which is descended from Lord William Meredith) settles in central and southern Wales. The family had a tartan, but in Welsh society, tartans and kilts were not quite as important as they are to the Scots--all though they were quite important.

The Welsh spelled kilt "cilt" and many Welsh still honor tradition and wear their cilts today--especially in formal occasions. This is a photo of both our "Meredith" tartan and what a welsh cilt looks like. (The blue tartan to the left is the example of a cilt, the yellow and navy tartan to the right is the Meredith tartan. The very green one below is a more "modern" Meredith tartan. I like the classic one better.)

Why blog about all of this, i dunno. Hope you aren't bored.