Names - english and gaelic

Back

Our search for "McDonell" roots was delayed by the unexpected variety of spellings of that surname.  Whether in a Birth Certificate, on the 1891 Census of Nova Scotia, in a Marriage Certificate, on a tombstone, in a book, or as a signature;  the spelling of the name for persons we knew were kin would be different.  A lifetime of misspellings accustomed me to this but the scene in the family plot at St. Andrews Cemetery in Antigonish County was not encouraging.  McDonell, McDonnell and McDonald were side by side - a father and two of his children.  This confusion of surnames undermined my confidence in what I thought I had known.  The latest authority that made sense to me was this new book, containing actual interviews:   

                               Now Available

" Drummer on Foot" ,  Letters of William Duncan Cameron to "The Casket", 1912-1919, edited by Donald MacFarlane and Raymond A. MacLean, 1999,  231 pages, Soft cover.  Payment by personal check may be made to:

MacFarlane
79 Windsong Place
Meredith, NH 03253
E-mail the Editors

603.279.3288

In 1912, Commercial Travelers or Peddlers or Traveling Salesmen were sometimes called "Drummers".  As a rule they traveled from town to town by available conveyence.  Cameron's door-to-door by foot strategy inspired him to adopt the pen name of "Drummer on Foot" (or D.O.F.).  "Drummer" was published with no index, apparently due to publishing deadlines.  My need for name confirmations led me to examine every sentence for possibilities; a form of looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.   To simplify my research, I prepared a listing of the surnames found, with the given name of the most revealing entry.  "Drummer" is a journal that marks the author's progress from one community to another.  Thus, the source community name is included.  Last, the page number where the most informative surname entry was found is listed.  For fun, I invented some names (i.e. McAlexander instead of McAlastair) based on my understanding of the Gaelic naming conventions found in D.O.F.

Rather than list every given name in the book, the reader will find those of persons who were identified as Pioneers and/or whose origins were mentioned by D.O.F.  No index can replace the intuitive leap and "free association" that can come from a personal inspection of words within context of a book.  Completed on August 11, 2000, this listing may become the Index for D.O.F. and may appear in the next printing.

Revised on:  Monday, January 15, 2002

TOP