Hey listers! Hoping not to start an ethnicity war, here is a pretty good reason for the brick walls for the Irish. No doubt, the Irish invented them! The list makers were the English. The Irish kept their genealogy in their heads. The English wanted TAXES and MORE TAXES, and STILL MORE. If you were Irish and your name got on a list, you had to pay. If you had a hearth, you paid taxes. If you had more than one hearth, you paid more taxes. Their were spinning wheel taxes, barn taxes, and so on. Thus the Irish were not very forthcoming with their names. And they had such brogues that the English couldn't understand them. All the better - no understanding, no taxes. And the English census taker was no doubt bored. Thus many Irish didn't make any lists or public records...on purpose. To this day, there are a few members of the Carnahan/Kernohan clan that live in Ireland. They keep to themselves and firmly believe that the "good Lord keeps the only lists that need to be kept". Slainte Bess Carnahan, researching Clan Cearnacháin ----- Original Message ----- From: "The Mitchell Mob" <bradybunch13@aapt.net.au> To: <SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 8:13 AM Subject: Re: [WIG LIST] Irish Connections and St. Patrick > Well said, I think the Irish invented the brick wall too. I think they > built them a lot larger than the average too, by the sounds of it. There > are a good many people complaining about how hard their Irish ancestors > are > to find, and I don't blame them. I would even go as far as saying it > would > probably be easier to kiss the Blarney Stone. Luck o' the Irish to yer. > > Kaaron > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Crawford MacKeand" <jcbmck@UDel.Edu> > To: <SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:06 PM > Subject: [WIG LIST] Irish Connections and St. Patrick > > >> Nobody has yet mentioned Ireland in connection with brick walls, but I'd >> come to the conclusion that that is where they all come from!!! Or maybe >> they were invented there? I have a few, both connections and walls, but >> then my Irish are Ayrshire and not Wigtown related. >> I wonder whether it will provoke as many listings when (and if) I >> remember >> to suggest that we think of our English connections on St. George's >> Day?!! >> >> Crawford. >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >> the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message