The Kenneys are a Scotch-Irish family. They came to America in the early 1700s, settled first in Pennsylvania, then moved south to Virginia before moving west. Capt. James and Margaret (Frame) Kenney were early settlers at Daniel Boone’s settlement in Boonesborough, Kentucky. The Kenney farm, Stonerside Farm in Bourbon County, is still an operating horse farm of…
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Swan Etymology
The word swan has descended unchanged from the Old Saxon word swan or suan. The Old English and Middle English forms were also swan. The Old Saxon form derived from the proto-Germanic *swanaz. The Old High German forms were swan, swan(a) and swon, the Old Norse form was svanr, and the Middle Dutch form was…
Birth Brief
In the Middle Ages members of noble families often had birth briefs prepared, showing that a person was noble in all branches, and therefore acceptable for a noble marriage. The most famous form of birth brief was the Seize Quartiers, showing that all of the person’s 16 great great grandparents were noble. Today, the idea…
Swanström Coat of Arms
The Swanström coat of arms was assumed (I believe) during or shortly after World War I, perhaps about 1918, and certainly before 1942 by my great uncle Hugo Ferdinand Swanström (1886-1971). The arms might be older. No records exist of the arms assumed and borne by Swedish commoners, so the arms could have come down…
A Prayer
All-Knowing Zeus,Give me what is best for me,Avert evil from me, though it be the thing I prayed for;And give me the good which from ignorance I do not ask.