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Sunday, March 08, 2009

Scottish And Huguenot Ancestry?

Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

Uncle Dallas told me the Mallernees were Huguenots exiled from France for refusing to be Catholic.

But, at the Huguenot web site, the name, "MALLERNEE", is not listed among the official registry of Huguenot family names.

The closest thing I can find is, "MALLE", whose geographical origin in France is unknown.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to communicate with Uncle Dallas, so the Mallernee family's connection to the Huguenots remains a mystery.

I did find a good genealogical Internet Message Board where the Mallernee family's ancestry is discussed

As for the Mallernee family surname, it is fairly easy to decipher the definition by separating the syllables and translating them from French into English.

If, like me, you enjoy crossword puzzles, then you are familiar with a frequent crossword puzzle clue, "Mal de Mer", which is French for, "Sea Sickness".

Actually, the literal translation would be, "Pain of (the) Sea".

Since the spelling of our surname varies, i.e., "Mallernee", "Mallonee", and/or "Malernee", I'll ignore the middle syllable, and just go with "Mal" and "Nee".

"Mal" means "Bad", or "Pain", and "Nee" means "Born".

Thus, my last name translates into, "Born Bad", or maybe, "Badly Born", or "Painfully Born".

Possibly, the original Mallernee progenitor was born sickly or physically deformed?

When perusing the official web sites for Spring Lake, North Carolina and Cumberland County, North Carolina, where I grew up, I discovered that the area was settled exclusively by Highlanders from Scotland!

How do you like them there apples, hey?

Can you believe I was raised up in that area with little or no knowledge of Scottish heritage?

Mama did tell me one time that her ancestors were Scots Irish, and her mother's maiden name, Dunkin, is proof of that, although there is an obvious variation in how the name is spelled.

I do remember that when I was a kid in Spring Lake School, we would be taught Scottish songs and poems, although at the time, I didn't know they were Scottish, nor did I realize their significance.

I specifically remember learning the song, "CHARLIE IS MY DARLING" (which is about Bonnie Prince Charlie), and reading the poem, "LOCHINVAR".

According to those Carolina web sites, the Scots settled this area during the early part of the Eighteenth Century, which is probably when my own biological ancestors came to North Carolina, maybe as survivors of the Glencoe Massacre of 1692.

Henderson clansmen were among the slain at Glencoe, for Clan Henderson was (and still is) very closely allied with Clan MacDonald.

Have you heard of Flora MacDonald?

She is very famous in Scottish history for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the English Army.

She came to North Carolina, but having chosen to support the wrong side during the American Revolutionary War, she eventually returned to Scotland, where she's buried, and her grave is a popular tourist attraction.

My father, who adopted me, was very proud of the fact that he was half Cherokee.

However, I am not Cherokee, for Cherokee law does not recognize adoptions unless the child was born with Cherokee blood.

In my biological family, on my father's side, the Trueblood family came from England in 1692, and on my mother's side, the Albertsons were Danish, as both her parents emigrated from Denmark to settle in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Anyway, I reckon I'm a typical American, with ancestry and heritage from many different nations and cultures.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

NOTE: "My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

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