Earliest names in the Hall family tree

Who is Online

Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: History; Category: Recollections; Published: 04 April 2014; Hits: 222125

Article Index

Page 13 of 15

The Pontifex family can be traced back to as early as 1550. If this is correct, John Pontifex is Corinne’s 9th great grandfather (Corinne’s father is Arthur John Hall, his mother was Annie Woods, her mother was Anne Pontifex).

The earliest Pontifex in the family tree we have been able to trace is John Pontifex (1550-1589) who lived in West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The family stayed in Buckinghamshire until around 1800.

According to a Pontifex family legend, their family was descended from Pope Martin V, originally Oddo Colonna (1368-1431), a Prince of the house of Colonna. He was married and had two sons who went to England and took the name Pontifex, of the Pontiff.

Nairn

Corinne’s grandfather Fasham Venables, was previously Fasham Nairn King before he adopted his stepfather’s name. The Nairn family can be traced back to 1670 in Kent, England.

Remington, Hobbins, Hadley

These ancestral names of Fasham Venables (previously Fasham Nairn King, Corinne’s grandfather) can be traced back to the mid-1600s, and were all in Warwickshire, England.

No comments

Travel

The Greatest Dining Experience Ever in Bangkok

A short story

The Bangkok Sky-train, that repetition of great, grey megaliths of ferroconcrete looms above us.

All along the main roads, under the overhead railway above, small igloo tents and market stalls provide a carnival atmosphere to Bangkok. It’s like a giant school fete - except that people are getting killed – half a dozen shot and a couple of grenades lobbed-in to date.

Periodically, as we pass along the pedestrian thronged roads, closed to all but involved vehicles, we encounter flattop trucks mounted with huge video screens or deafening loud speakers.

Fiction, Recollections & News

Chappaquiddick

'Teddy, Teddy, I'm pregnant!
Never mind Mary Jo. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.'

So went the joke created by my friend Brian in 1969 - at least he was certainly the originator among our circle of friends.

The joke was amusingly current throughout 1970's as Teddy Kennedy again stood for the Senate and made later headlines. It got a another good run a decade later when Teddy decided to run against the incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Opinions and Philosophy

Syria - again

A fortnight ago I was moved to suggest that it was possible that the alleged gas attack in Syria might not be the work of the Syrian Army. I withdrew the posting when more convincing evidence of Army involvement became available.

Because of our visit to Syria took place just before the most recent troubles began, I have been, perhaps, more interested than most. I wanted to know why Syria is automatically assumed to be guilty when there are some very nasty groups on the other side?

We are fed so much doctored information, spin, that it is hard to get the facts even when we are directly involved.

So to claim that I know what is actually going on in Syria is fanciful. Assad vehemently denies responsibility; the Russians are doubtful; and the inspectors have not yet reported. But the certainty, and aggressive language, of the Western leaders accusing Syria of this latest incident seem extraordinary - do they know something that they are not revealing publicly?

As I have explained elsewhere I have fond memories of Damascus and of Syria in general. Damascus was the most pleasant and interesting of the cities we stayed in; lacking the extremes of poverty and wealth we saw in Cairo (and in Egypt in general) or the more western normality of Amman in Jordan.

Terms of Use

Terms of Use Copyright