Canny lass

Personally? Are you name-dropping again!

You're welcome, Heather. It filled a few hours of a grey, rainy day for one confined to barracks waiting for the Covid vaccination to come my way. The Trotter's do seem to be an interesting family and I'm posting the entry from Burkes Family Records, compiled in 1897, where you (and anybody else interested in the family) can see the development from Robert, the father of the three Dr Trotter(s). It's Robert who is the subject of the main entry and as spouse names and children's names are entered there are lots of ways forward for research. Burkes records the geneology of the junior houses of British nobility so Robert wasn't just your ordinary, every-day kind of guy and as you can see (bottom of page) the family had its own coat of arms.

Hi again, Heather, I had a look at various documents to see if I could find any son named John for Dr James Trotter. He does not appear to have had a son of this name from either of his marriages. Both wives were called Jane which complicated the matter. I believe John is a brother. John Erskine Mar Trotter, to give him his full title, appears as the five year younger brother of James Trotter, then aged 8, in the Scottish census of 1851. He is the youngest in the family. In 1861, when John EM. Is 11 yo, James has started studying medicine but is still living at home with his parents. According to the historical info given by Wetherspoons for their Red Lion Public House in Bedlington, James “Trotter came to the town in 1864, where he joined forces with his brother as a GP”. However, seven years later in 1871, John E.M. is still a medical student in Scotland so it wasn’t him who came to Bedlington with James. I can, however, see from the census records and the medical register that it was his older brother, Alexander who was his partner. Like his brother, John remains at home with his parents during his studies but later, after qualifying and registration in 1879 he followed his brothers to the Bedlington Area. The earliest record I can find for him in the area is in The Medical Register for 1883 when his address is given as Bebside (he was probably the doctor for some of my relatives!) – just across the River Blyth from Bedlington. The same register shows his brother James in Bedlington and his brother Alexander in Blyth, all very close to each other. In 1890 James and Alexander appear in Ward’s Directory where they appear not only as doctors but also as councilors on the Northumberland County Council. John E.M. isn’t mentioned. Then, in 1894, John E.M. turns up again in Kelly’s Directory but now living at Choppington, Scotland Gate, which puts him nicely in the vicinity of the crime. His brother Alexander is still in Blyth. 1897, just one year before the murder he is recorded in the prestigious Burkes Family Records and has a daughter, Isabel. (That should help if you're looking for descendents). Six years later, 10 July 1900, John E.M. is initiated into the St Cuthbert Lodge of the Free Masons in Bedlington , contributing the princely sum of 17 shillings and 6 pence. His address on initiation is still Choppington. (A penned entry in the margin notes death on 3 February 1908) He appears to have continued living in the Choppington/Scotland Gate area, as entries in The Medical Register 1903 and 1905 testify, presumably until his death. I’m quite sure this is ‘your’ Dr. John Trotter. If you’d like any of the supporting documentation let me know.

Time to give the grey matter an outing once again: 1. Of which instrument was the sackbut a forerunner? 2. Which Riviera fishing village was an independent republic from the 15th to the 17th century? 3. What are young grouse or partridge called? 4. Who invented the steam turbine in 1884? 5. What is your philtrum? 6. Arch, whorl and loops are all part of what? 7. Which fruit was discovered by Christopher Columbus in Guadeloupe in 1493? 8. Which spice is made from the outer covering of the nutmeg? 9. What did goalkeeper Gordon Banks reputedly put on his hands to improve his grip? 10. What are auctioned at Tattersalls? 11. What record was a chart-topping hit for Showaddywaddy in 1975? 12. What is the smallest independent state in the world? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Flamingos can only eat with their heads held upside down. Answers on Thursday!

That explains it! I thought it was a bit odd having ab Easter egg on display all year.

If you are interested in the changing face of Mental Health Care, Heather, have a look at the topic ‘John Stoker Letter’ posted in History Hollow by John H Williams in December last year. The topic concerns the dog breed Bedlington Terrier but a few posts in it goes off at a tangent related to the development of mental health diagnosis and treatment. This came about because the son of a Bedlington Vicar was 'committed' to the 'madhouse' taking with him a dog of this breed.

It must have some relevance for the area if it's nothing to do with just Easter. Any idea what?

Alan suggested that Dr James Trotter had a brother who lived in the Guidepost area. I hadn't heard that but I do know there were several doctors in the family. A short while ago I posted that I'd found, in the 1911 census, one of my relatives working for Dr Robert Samuel Trotter at Brewery house, Front Street Bedlington. I have to report that this wasn't THE Dr Trotter, as later resarch has shown. Dr Trotter of 'monument' fame died in 1899. However, both he(on the 1891 census) and Robert Samuel Trotter (on the 1911 census) lived at the same adress. I'm assuming therefore that the latter is the son of Dr James Trotter.

I'll respond to that on Heather's topic.

Now, I'm not one for taking credit where credit isn't due BUT did you notice how Andy had fixed it within a few minutes of my advice/suggestion?

We can all be cerebrally challenged at times!

Have you tried twiddling the hoojackapivvy on the whotsit? Failing that a good old slap to the thingamyjig might do the trick! No need to thank me lads.

Definitely not, Heather! We love any historical challenge! Welcome to the forum. I've had a look at the names but there's nothing that rings any bells except Trotter and that's because of Bedlington's connection with Dr. Trotter. It's an interesting, if gruesome, bit of history though and nothing I've ever heard about. Thanks for sharing it.

Answers to last wek's quiz: 1. Boer war 2. Wuthering Heights 3. John Cannon 4. Goldie 5. 15 6. Patella 7. Silicon 8. Zephyr 9. Poliomyelitis 10. Barbara Streisand 11. Yearling 12. Telephone (dog and bone – usually shortened to ‘dog’) New quiz tomorrow!

I'm a bit late in asking but is it a permanent feature, all year round, or do they just bring it out at Easter? If it's all year round do you know why?

It's Friday night, it's quiz night! 1. Which war was fought between 1899 and 1902? 2. In which house did Catherine Earnshaw live? 3. Who owned the High Chaparral ranch? 4. In 1965 an eagle escaped from the aviary at London Zoo. What was its name? 5. How many players did England use in the 1966 Football World Cup Finals? 6. Which bone can be found between the femur and the tibia? 7. What is the principal chemical element found in sand? 8. Which model of car, produced by Ford in the 1960s, was named after the Greek word for west wind? 9. Which disease is prevented by the Sabin vaccine? 10. Which singer has released duets with Donna Summer, Neil Diamond and Barry Gibb? 11. What is a horse called when it is 12 months old? 12. In Cockney slang which device is referred to as a ‘dog’? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The average new-born baby spends 133 minutes a day crying. Answers on Thursday as usual,

Nice to see the park area being put to good use! It's a lovely area and a natural theatre. Well done

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. A traditionally decorated Ukrainian Easter egg 2. A bilby 3. Dairy products 4. Peter Carl Fabergé 5. The pagan goddess Eostre 6. Rebirth 7. Burials 8. Germany 9. Rutherford B. Hayes 10. To set a fixed date for Easter 11. No 12. 30 days 13. 2,589 kg (5 lb 11.36 oz) ostrich egg laid in Borlänge, Sweden 17 May 2008. 14. Pancake Day. Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are also acceptable 15. Chile 16. April 16 17. Maundy Thursday 18. United Kingdom 19. Shrove Tuesday 20. Spanish 21. Hot cross bunnies. New quiz tomorrow!

Confused, Vic? What I'm trying to say is that "sack" has never meant wine. In more modern day parlance, wine is a noun and sack is the adjective that describes the wine as being dry. The modern day name would therefore be HONEY DRY FARM. This just doesn't sound right for a farm name. Mind you, neither does Honey Sack Farm. I'm hoping John can let us see the original of those three handwritten words.

Here it is - the Easter special with lots of easter related questions, a few extra and a special bonus question. Happy Easter to everyone: 1. What is pysanka? 2. What do Australians use to symbolize Easter instead of a rabbit? 3. According to tradition, Hot Cross Buns are made without which ingredient? 4. Who was the jeweler famous for making ornate Easter eggs for the Russian royal family? 5. From what does Easter get its name? 6. What is the Easter egg supposed to symbolize? 7. In 1592 a British monarch banned the sale of hot Cross buns on any day except Easter, Christmas and on one other occasion. Which occasion? 8. From which country did the concept of the Easter bunny originate? 9. Which American President rolled the first, annual White House Easter egg? 10. What was the main objective of the Easter Act of 1928 which never came into force? 11. Is the Easter Bunny ever mentioned in the Bible? 12. The period of fasting before Easter is called Lent. What is the duration of Lent? 13. What is the weight of the largest (real) egg on record? 14. What is the more popular/common name for Shrove Tuesday? 15. Easter Island belongs to which country? 16. Easter fell on which date 2017? 17. What do we call the day which falls 3 days before Easter? 18. Which country introduced the tradition of Hot Cross buns at Easter? 19. What is the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday or Shrove Tuesday? 20. Pascua is the name for Easter in which language? 21. BONUS question: What do you get if you pour boiling water down a rabbit hole? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The world’s largest Easter egg weighs in at 5,000 lbs. it stands 31 ft tall and 18 ft wide and can be found near our good friend, Vic, in Alberta, Canada. It took 12,000 hours to make and is actually a jig-saw rather than a sculpture, as it’s made from 3,500 pieces of aluminium.

I think mine was too! However, i did get to taste a Thorntons egg ( a very small piece of) a couple of times in my childhood. My sister worked for Berthe Burns in her 'Tea Rooms in Morpeth and Bertha was very generous at Xmas and Easter when her employees recieved a small box of chocolates (Xmas) or a chocolate egg (Easter) - always from Thorntons.

Sounds lovely! ... and that’s an interesting theory, James. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we’ve had such an establishment in Bedlington! Unfortunately, I think there are a few holes in the theory. The Old English (OE) period in the development of the English language was 700 – 1100 AD. That’s more or less the period from the arrival to Britain of the Vikings through to the arrival of William the Conqueror and long before 1739. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (ODEE) there was already during that time a word for wine in the English language – win (pronounced ‘ween’). This was the same word in Old Norse and in Old High German and it seems to have been part of the normal development of the word winam in the Germanic languages – from which English is descended. At that time, English also had a word for Mead – meodu - and even this seems to have arisen as part of the natural progression of the Germanic word meduz through the same group of languages as seen in: Old High German - metu or mitu and Dutch – mede. (Point of interest: It’s from the same source that we get the word methylated). This begs the question, why did English introduce sack as another word for wine? According to the same source, ODEE, the first recorded use of the word sack, when related to alcoholic beverages, is found in writings from the sixteenth century. (In its relation to the coarse textile (sackcloth) or the bags made from it, it appears a couple of hundred years earlier). However, in relation to alcohol, the meaning of sack was very specific. It didn't relate to just any fortified wine but related generally to a specific "class of white wines from Spain and the Canaries” and the original spelling would have been “ (wyne) seck” meaning dry (wine). ODEE goes on to say that [seck] may originally have been “applied to wines of the sherry class, but later applied to others”. The Sherry connection would cover your theory on fortified wines; however, it seems that sack referred not to the wine itself but rather to one particular quality of wine – dryness. You might recognize it today as sec on French wines or seco on Spanish wines. The alteration from OE seck to modern English sack is not explained but there are, throughout the history of the development of our language, many instances of changing vowel sounds in speech which lead to changes in spelling. Too many to go into here.

Answers to last wek's quiz: 1. Domesday book 2. Cambria 3. Otter 4. He required an emergency appendectomy 5. George Bush 6. Paradine 7. Glue 8. King Hussein of Jordan 9. Egg 10. Gottlieb Daimler 11. Richard Adams 12. Dennis the Menace The quiz tomorrow will be an Easter Special! Anyone remember this one from 1950?

Not a problem! I do like a challenge and linguistics can be used to solve many historical conundrums. PS gardening questions are also welcome!

I had another look at this, but from a linguistic point of view. The English language has changed a great deal since 1739 so I was looking for similarities or changes in spelling that might have occurred. I didn't find any and the word forms have existed as written for several centuries prior to 1739. I did see one thing that got me thinking though. I know from my own experience that old handwriting can be difficult to decipher. As I mentioned above, some letters can easily be confused. Something I do is to look at the shape of words as well as the orthographic construction. Words have distinct and comparable shapes according to how they are spelled. If we consider a word as a straight line, there will be deviations upwards and downwards (rises and falls) from the line if the word contains: capital letters, which will produce a rise. The letters b, d, f, h, k, l and t will also produce a rise. while the letters f, g, j, p, s and y will produce a fall (the old 'f' and 's' had a tail. There are even some variations depending on the year of writing as hand style has also changed over the years. 'Honey' begins with a rise and ends with a fall. 'Sack' begins and ends with a rise. Using that pattern I've had a look around some old maps. I found something interesting, to me at least. A name that pops up often is Coney Garth (same pattern) just north east of Bothal It’s a huge farm with seemingly huge amounts of land. I’ve found it as far back as the OS First series 1805-1869 and a reference to it on Speed’s 1610 map as Cunny Garth. It might be worth thinking about if the hand style is difficult to read.