The oldest English surname on record is Hatt, from East Anglia It was mentioned in a Norman Transcript, identified as a pretty regular name in the county. Hwita Hatt was a keeper of bees.
The oldest surname in the world is claimed to be Katz - considered the initial of the two words Kohen Tsedek. Every Katz is a priest, descending in an unbroken line from Aaron the brother of Moses, 1300 B.C.. This comes from Ripley's Believe it or not, and has no evidence. It does seem more of a mythical sort of story.
What if all the English names ending in "well" were related?
"Well - This surname suffix or word well has an English origin. It refers to a good or proper manner, affluent, satisfactory, and comfortable. Well can also mean a deep hole, that can bring water and therefore, life. The suffix is gender neutral. It can be either male or female or neither. Some of the examples of the suffix well are: Atwell, Baswell, Blackwell, Caldwell, Cromwell, Crowell, Honeywell, Hopewell, Howell, Maxwell, Newell, Powell, Rockwell, Stilwell, Stockwell, Whitwell and there are many others."
Perhaps in a manner of understanding, they are all related. Here's the website - Surname Prefixes and Suffixes. So many interesting stories.
Let us continue on our Canadian vs American view of things through the lens of jokes:
An avid Canadian fisherman decides to cross the Peace Bridge and go over to Lewiston and fish the American side of the Niagara river. He settles down on a quiet dock and begins to fill his bucket with some nice fish when an American game warden approaches him.
"Could I see your fishing licence please?". When he hands him his licence,the game warden laughs and says that it is no good because it is a Canadian fishing licence. At this point the fisherman replies "but I'm only catching Canadian fish". The warden scratches his head for a moment and says "what do you mean?"
The fisherman reaches in his bucket and pulls out a fish and asks the warden "what kind of fish is that?". The warden looks and says its a small mouth bass, to which the fisherman replies, "See what I mean, if it was an American fish it would be a Large mouth bass."
This sculpture is in Burlington on the harbour. The last few years, the Latow Photography seminar has been online. Previously it was at the Burlington Art Gallery, and lunch time was a walk along the waterfront where children were playing and kites were flying.
