John this is fascinating stuff, loved reading it. And ironic too--I just finished reading Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent and am obsessed with it--it's a memoir about her experience living in Iceland (coming from Australia (!) as an exchange student) and the second half is about being haunted by the story of Agnesm Magnusdottir, the last woman executed in Iceland in the 1830s. Very similar themes--servant girl, most likely a foster child, accused of killing the man she served (in a twist from your Scotland story). Such an amazing read and beautifully written, I'm a bit obsessed.
Also love the ties to the destruction of the commons to migration and repeated destruction of others lands, etc. I was also curious about the place-name Pit- in the tenancy your ancestors had--you may know but those are Pictish place-names, and may have referred to a distinctive type of land use/farming that the Picts were known for. Aberdeen is prime Pictish territory (I studied them in grad school in Scotland), so your celtic roots having ties to finnish, etc. are all non-indo european language speakers. So cool! :)
It’s depressing, but alas not surprising, to see these themes recur over and over throughout recorded history all the way to the present day.
Yes, my family name and my roots are likely more Pictish than Celtic, but DNA analysis of Picts in unclear so far. Certainly, the area where they lived was right in the middle of the Pictish - it’s usually called a kingdom, but the society may well have been matrilineal, so queendom? - of Fortriu. I would love to know more about this deep ancestry, and about your research!
And yes, my ancestors lived in Pitsligo Parish. The parish was created in 1632 in a spit from Aberdour after the pastor of Aberdour railed in a sermon about "the three Pits of Hell: Pittulie, Pittendrum and Pitsligo" Ha! those damn Picts…
Amazing history, John. You teach so much through your exploration of your own history, and a horrendous murder of a young woman long ago that resonates today. I also appreciate the etiology of immigration patterns and what they can lead to - for all of us whose ancestors weren't indigenous here in the United States.
Your piece reminds me of the fascinating interactive article in the NYT a few months ago about world migration, with info gathered from social media. It showed how we are still using our entire planet community as a workshop to adapt and create a more healthy situation for ourselves and our progeny. Whidbey Isle, here, looks pretty good, as on an outer edge of the frey we can be.
John this is fascinating stuff, loved reading it. And ironic too--I just finished reading Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent and am obsessed with it--it's a memoir about her experience living in Iceland (coming from Australia (!) as an exchange student) and the second half is about being haunted by the story of Agnesm Magnusdottir, the last woman executed in Iceland in the 1830s. Very similar themes--servant girl, most likely a foster child, accused of killing the man she served (in a twist from your Scotland story). Such an amazing read and beautifully written, I'm a bit obsessed.
Also love the ties to the destruction of the commons to migration and repeated destruction of others lands, etc. I was also curious about the place-name Pit- in the tenancy your ancestors had--you may know but those are Pictish place-names, and may have referred to a distinctive type of land use/farming that the Picts were known for. Aberdeen is prime Pictish territory (I studied them in grad school in Scotland), so your celtic roots having ties to finnish, etc. are all non-indo european language speakers. So cool! :)
Thank you, Freya!
It’s depressing, but alas not surprising, to see these themes recur over and over throughout recorded history all the way to the present day.
Yes, my family name and my roots are likely more Pictish than Celtic, but DNA analysis of Picts in unclear so far. Certainly, the area where they lived was right in the middle of the Pictish - it’s usually called a kingdom, but the society may well have been matrilineal, so queendom? - of Fortriu. I would love to know more about this deep ancestry, and about your research!
And yes, my ancestors lived in Pitsligo Parish. The parish was created in 1632 in a spit from Aberdour after the pastor of Aberdour railed in a sermon about "the three Pits of Hell: Pittulie, Pittendrum and Pitsligo" Ha! those damn Picts…
What a great weaving of personal and societal history, John!
I just added a footnote with a link to your piece on Anglo-Saxon identity, which I now realize I was subliminally channeling!
Thank you so much, Nia. You do this so well, too!
Amazing history, John. You teach so much through your exploration of your own history, and a horrendous murder of a young woman long ago that resonates today. I also appreciate the etiology of immigration patterns and what they can lead to - for all of us whose ancestors weren't indigenous here in the United States.
Thank you so much, Kirie. As a commenter wrote elsewhere, “Everything the whites did to black & indigenous people, they first did to each other.”
Wow! What a find. I can only imagine how disconcerting it would be to read your name in this way!
Love the piece, my friend.
Thank you, Holly!
Your piece reminds me of the fascinating interactive article in the NYT a few months ago about world migration, with info gathered from social media. It showed how we are still using our entire planet community as a workshop to adapt and create a more healthy situation for ourselves and our progeny. Whidbey Isle, here, looks pretty good, as on an outer edge of the frey we can be.
Thank you, Don. I’ll see if I can find that NYT article.