Solomon Ireland .....

[emanday]

Please don't anyone get upset about this question

One of my lot has the name Ann Ireland, born in Antrim 1822, and her father is listed as Solomon. Haven't found out who her mother was yet.

Now, here's the delicate bit Might Solomon, or his predecessors, have been Jewish and changed their surname to that of the country they had chosen to live in?

I've found other "Ireland" families not, unfortunately, who I was looking for, but with members with what seems like traditional Jewish first names.

Can anyone enlighten me?

[Liz Turner]

Dear Emanday

I've been checking this post to see if anyone had answered. Since you've not had a reply, here's my tuppence worth - which, of course, may be way off base

I would not think that Solomon was necessarily a Jewish name. If your family were from possibly Scottish Presbyterian stock they could well have been "planted" in Ireland in earlier years. A lot of families kept to traditional names from the Bible so that might explain the type of names you've come across. I'm also not sure that there would be much in the way of a Jewish community in Ireland. They tended to stick together, and to be in large towns/cities.

Although you often hear people talk about the traditional Scottish naming pattern, it wasn't set in stone. Families kept to the same names, with the occasional deviation if someone close to the family had perhaps died. (I've found in my own families that the names do repeat all the time, but not in a strict order).

Again, people did not have the same need back in those days to protect and confirm their identities in the way we have to do today. In fact, I believe that even now in Scotland you can call yourself by any name you like so long as there is no intention to defraud. (Now could I be Kylie, I wonder??).

Let us know how you get on and I hope someone else might pick this up.

Liz

[emanday]

Hi Liz,

Thank you for asking and no you are not way off base.

Although I still haven't got any more info about our Solomon and who his wife was, I have made a few discoveries related to my question.

Although there was quite a large influx of Jewish families to Ireland, it wasn't till much later than the 1800 - 1845 area I'm stuck at.

Also discovered that biblical names WERE quite popular. One theory seems to be that it was hoped they would benefit from the attributes of the biblical character Not many Judas's then

I am just going to lay aside this brick wall for the time being. I know from personal experience that info that wasn't available even only six months ago can now be found. Records are being transcribed and scanned as we speak. I'll just keep checking now and again. I can be patient; and if I tell myself that often enough, I might start to believe it!!

[Liz Turner]

Glad to hear you've made some progress. I'm about to have a look at my own Irish stuff, so will very likely be posting several queries. My sister and I may make a trip to Ireland later in the year, as we've discovered relatives there now!

It is definitely worth coming back to this post in a few months and "refreshing" it - as you say this site is growing all the time.

Cheerio for now!

Liz

[Andy]

I've got loads of Catholic Irish with the names Moses, Issac, Aeneas, Jacob and Solomon.

Most western names today come from the Hebrew, German, Latin, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh languages.

In 325 A.D. the Catholic church outlawed the use of pagan names and names from pagan gods. So the use of biblical names became the norm. The church went further in 1545 as it made the use of saints names mandatory before Catholic baptism. As a result, there were only about twenty common names for boys and girls.

Later in the next century the Reformation and Protestant religions rejected Catholic mandates and traditions. So their children were named after New Testament and Old Testament names, rather than just saints names. Catholics soon followed this trend too but reverted to chosen Saint's names for Confirmation.

If you still think they may have been Jewish then this is the site for you:

http://www.jewishireland.com/

[maddymoss]

Hi,

A Catholic family called Ireland lived in my home village some years ago. The father's name was Israel.

Jim.

[Russell]

Hi emanday

My Oman predecessors in Caithness were staunch Church of Scotland but their choice of names included Nathaniel, Daniel, Isaac..........and George!

Perhaps the Old Testament religion got to them..or they were trying to find favour with their Creator - or more likely the minister of the parish.


Russell

[emanday]

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments.

Andy, that site you suggested has confirmed what I'd been told about the Jewish community in Northern Ireland being much later than our Solomon.

As many of you have also confirmed, a "curiosity" search has come up with a surprising number of biblical names.

As to finding out more about him, his wife and predecessors - [-o<

[Andy]

Andy, that site you suggested has confirmed what I'd been told about the Jewish community in Northern Ireland being much later than our Solomon.
[-o<

There have been documented Jews in Ireland since 1078 AD but these were probably just passing through.

In 1232 King Henry III appoints Peter de Rivall treasurer and chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, the king's ports and coast, and also "the custody of the King's Judaism in Ireland."

Suggesting there were already a fair few by this time, admittedly probably around Dublin.

From 1748 there were attempts to pass naturalization "Acts" for the Jewish community in Ireland, none were passed and by the time the Naturalization Acts were passed in 1783 Jews were expressedly exempt. So, despite what the website says, there was a countable Jewish community in most parts of Ireland by your Solomon's time frame.

European Jews contributed significantly more help to the general Irish population during the "Potato Famine" than the majority of "Absent Landlords" (as did the Turkish Sultan and, the even more unlikely, Choctaw, Native American tribe!)

I still think it's unlikely that your Solomon was Jewish tho'

[emanday]

Thanks for that Andy.

I believe the theory is that there were very few Jewish folks in the North during the period you've covered, the majority being in the South. However, like most theories, further research might very well come up with more info.

I'm not giving up on Solomon yet. Jewish or not, he existed, and one day I might just find him and find out who his wife was - still [-o<

One thing still confuses me though. Bearing in mind the usual naming pattern, not one of his daughter/son-in-law's children was named for him, at least none that I have found, and they had a few