November 2009 Quiz

This month’s question is pretty simple: What is the derivation of the name “Pendleton”?

A. Gaelic: In Gaelic, “Pen” means “the top” or “summit” and “Hulton” means “hill”. Combining the two, Pen-Hulton means “Top of the hill.”

B. French: Before the middle of the 15th century, men were known by their father’s name, e.g., John’s son William would have been known as William of John. One of our ancestors had been named “Pen” and his father was “Tun”, he would have been known as Pen of Tun, or in French, which was widely spoken in England at that time, Pen de Tun.

C. Anglo-Saxon: The original family name was “Pendle” and “ton” is the equivalent of the English word “town”. Pendleton means the town where the Pendle family lived.

Check back next month for the answer!

-- ANSWER

While I think each of the three languages may have had some influence, the correct answer is: A. Pen-hulton is Gaelic for “top of the hill.” I did find a couple sites on the web that state that “hulton” means “town on the hill” and I think that is probably correct, and that would make Pen-hulton “town at the top of the hill” and would refer to the place where the family lived.

There are at least 2 places in England called Pendleton. One is in Lancashire, about 30 miles north of Manchester and the other is a section of Salford in greater Manchester itself. It appears that Thomas Pendleton, the great-grandfather of Brian Pendleton (the first of our ancestors to live in America), was a resident of the latter.

Your Changes to the Blog

I am trying to provide the information you want to see, so, PLEASE feel free to let me know what you would like to see. IF I have the data, I will share it. These are the changes I am making this month:

Memorials: I have had several requests to include birth dates in the Memorials posts, so I am adding that info. The new format is the date of death followed by the name, date of birth and the genealogy/relationship.

Anniversaries: I have been asked to add a category for wedding anniversaries. I’m a little reluctant to do this because of the volatile nature of this information, but I will give it a shot. I apologize, in advance, for including ex-spouses or failing to include current spouses. Let me know if there are any errors or omissions!

Welcome Molly Marie Ryan. – The latest addition to Generation 4.

We need to welcome a new addition to Generation 4: Molly Marie Ryan. Molly was born October 9, 2009 to Kevin (3) and Kim Ryan. Grandma Sue wants everyone to know “And she has hair!”

Kevin is the son of Terry Ryan (2) who is the son of Mary [Pendleton] Ryan (1).