I have recently posted a piece to my blog site about nepotism in the global merchant community in the 18th & 19th centuries. In this piece, I also look at how this practice shaped how Thomas Jackson (1841-1915) - an Irish Presbyterian from South Armagh - conducted banking in Hong Kong. Understanding this helps us to better understand aspects of merchant-related family histories. I am sharing this with several Irish Rootsweb lists because there were many other global bankers or merchants from many of the counties of Ireland - not just JACKSONs. Many of these men and their families emigrated to America. Understanding this practice of nepotism helps us to know where to look next to find some of their more elusive family members: SEE: http://sharonoddiebrown.blogspot.com/2012/02/nepotism-yea-or-nay.html Another post that I did a few days earlier is also pertinent to Thomas JACKSON because one of his parents was Episcopalian, and one was Presbyterian. Understanding some of the complications surrounding the legalities of /irregular marriages/ impacts where researchers today might want to look for their records. SEE: http://sharonoddiebrown.blogspot.com/2012/01/couple-of-unchurched-olivers.html One person on one list recently noted that I use hyperlinks to refer readers to the material that I share, rather than pasting the material directly within the email. I had never heard that this presented any problem, but in case it does, I thought that it might help if explained why: * I often like to include visual images, which don't work in rootsweb lists. * The length of the pieces works best in other formats, either web or blog. Most of my transcriptions and articles are too long for emails - one of them is over 300 pages in length. * If I make a mistake, as I am prone to do, I can readily correct it, so old mistakes don't hang around and mislead others. * If anyone is concerned that I may be making money from this, I am not. My web site has no ads or revenue stream connected to it - it is all offered as freely as it would be on rootsweb lists. If any members of this list can suggest better ways to share such material, I am always keen to learn. As always, please let me know if you find this email helpful, or if errors need correcting in any of the posted material, and/or whether you have more to add. I don't send out notices of all the research that I post to my website: The Silver Bowl, but you can always find the most recent postings at: http://www.thesilverbowl.com/misc/whatsnew.htm Enjoy, Sharon Oddie Brown -- Sharon Oddie Brown, Roberts Creek, BC, Canada. History Project: www.thesilverbowl.com -- Sharon Oddie Brown, Roberts Creek, BC, Canada. History Project: www.thesilverbowl.com

Hello Sharon many thanks for all your work on our mutual and possibly unrecognized ancestors! always fun to check out your updates and read your blog. I want to point out something to you however; you use the term "nepotism", which for people today is definitely a pejorative term. For people from the north of Ireland, certainly in the 18th and 19th centuries, and even up to the twentieth century, there was nothing wrong with drawing on kinship connections to find staff or to make business connections, and of course we have to acknowledge that marriages within a kin group were perfectly acceptable and even preferred in some areas and some families. (mine for instance!) If you think about it; in a system before there was any dependence on examinations and qualifications, how would you decide who to employ? especially if you were based in Hong Kong, several months away from Ireland. If you picked the wrong employee, waited for him to arrive, tried him out for several months and then had to wait several months for a replacement, life was very difficult indeed. As my family used to say about marrying relatives, in that circumstance you knew what you were getting. If you opted to call for a family member, you had at least some hope of having a congenial companion in your exile; someone you could talk to about home and family in Antrim. So for people from Ireland, it was perfectly acceptable to use kinship connections to fill posts. I know you and most of the readers on these lists will understand these customs and mores; it's just the use of the word "nepotism" which might give the wrong impression to readers best wishes Linde Lunney

Linde, I totally agree - but thought that I had addressed that in the first paragraph, no? /Nepotism, particularly in business and government, is regarded as a dodgy practice. Fair enough, but in the days before the invention and installation of telegraph lines, it was one of the more reliable ways to stay connected. Without the feedback loop of today's communication networks, businessmen needed the trust of both kith and kin to grease the wheels of commerce.//The idea, let alone the reality, of a digital village wasn't even a twinkle in the eyes of our great-great-grandparents/ I can see that I could have framed it better in the email describing the link. The wording came as a result of trying to please the administrator on the JACKSON sites. It came out kind of constipated as a result. Not that it even worked. I am in Purgatory - again. He has decided to block me for inappropriate posts - the same posts that I later sent to other lists with no problems, kudos even. It is quite disheartening. By the way - is there any chance that you might be in the deeds registry in the next bit? I have a couple of look-ups that would be great to have. No problem if this doesn't work for you. I am hoping to squeeze in a trip in the autumn. Maybe, maybe. I'd like to get down to Kildare. Ta, Sharon Sharon Oddie Brown, Roberts Creek, BC, Canada. History Project: http://www.thesilverbowl.com/ On 05/02/2012 2:27 PM, Lunney Family wrote: > Hello Sharon > > many thanks for all your work on our mutual and possibly unrecognized > ancestors! always fun to check out your updates and read your blog. > > I want to point out something to you however; you use the term > "nepotism", which for people today is definitely a pejorative term. > For people from the north of Ireland, certainly in the 18th and 19th > centuries, and even up to the twentieth century, there was nothing > wrong with drawing on kinship connections to find staff or to make > business connections, and of course we have to acknowledge that > marriages within a kin group were perfectly acceptable and even > preferred in some areas and some families. (mine for instance!) If > you think about it; in a system before there was any dependence on > examinations and qualifications, how would you decide who to employ? > especially if you were based in Hong Kong, several months away from > Ireland. If you picked the wrong employee, waited for him to arrive, > tried him out for several months and then had to wait several months > for a replacement, life was very difficult indeed. As my family used > to say about marrying relatives, in that circumstance you knew what > you were getting. If you opted to call for a family member, you had > at least some hope of having a congenial companion in your exile; > someone you could talk to about home and family in Antrim. So for > people from Ireland, it was perfectly acceptable to use kinship > connections to fill posts. > > I know you and most of the readers on these lists will understand > these customs and mores; it's just the use of the word "nepotism" > which might give the wrong impression to readers > > best wishes > Linde Lunney > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCOTCH-IRISH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message