British Isles Family History Society–USA presents Patronymics: Blessing or Curse? Using Welsh patronymics to trace ancestry to the 16th century and beyond. Speaker: George P. Coulter Sunday 26 October 2008 1:00-3:00PM Held at Los Angeles Regional Family History Center 10741 Santa Monica Blvd. (enter from Eastborne at Manning) Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 474-9990 This presentation deals with the nature and use of Welsh patronymics and epithets in the days before fixed surnames began to be adopted and used in Wales. To keep track of their pedigrees, the early Welshmen used patronymics in lieu of fixed surnames. The pedigrees could be recited by family members and bards long before there were written records in the land. George will demonstrate how the ancient patronymic pedigrees can be located, and how patronymics and epithets (additional descriptive words, akin to nicknames, that often were attached to a Welshman's name) can be used in genealogical research, sometimes allowing one's Welsh ancestry to be established back to a time long before the 16th century. The patronymic is not necessarily a stumbling block. It can be a stepping stone. Speaker: George P. Coulter, a genealogical writer, speaker, and consultant, honed his skills in those endeavors during his years as a California attorney, before becoming a professional genealogist. He is a life member of the National Genealogical Society, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, the Society of Genealogists, the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, the Dyfed Family History Society, and a number of local historical and genealogicial societies. He was a member and the treasurer of the Association of One-Name Studies, with which he registered as a specialist in all variant surnames derived from the Welsh ap Rhydderch patronymic. George is now in the final stages of editing a history of the American Prothro family. He is currently the Board Administrator for the Prothro, Prothero and Protheroe boards of the Ancestry Message Boards Center. For more information, see the British Isles Family History Society–USA’s website: www.bifhsusa.org. We hope you can join us for this very interesting meeting.