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HISTORY128 - Bisbee's Historic Letson Loft Hotel.

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Last summer, Pat and I spent a couple of days in Bisbee, Arizona, one of our favorite places to visit.  My mother and Aunt grew up in Bisbee, so I’ve had all kinds of family and memories there to visit over the years.  And Pat had business connections in Bisbee years ago.  Our regular hotel was closed this time, but they recommended another one.   Let me just say up front that we were delighted with our accommodations at the Letson Loft Hotel and now consider it our preferred hotel in Bisbee.   It's an artfully decorated boutique hotel with eight rooms located on Main Street in the heart of downtown Bisbee, near shops, galleries, restaurants, and bars.   It’s also right across the street from my maternal grandfather’s jewelry store that operated from 1921 to 1986.   I found out that the Letson Loft Hotel has quite a history, as do the buildings it’s located in.   I left Bisbee primed to learn more about this history.   So, I started di...

HISTORY127 - Personal Names

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This blog topic came from Pat and I talking about my last blog article on the history of personal identification - a natural fallout, I guess.  I quickly determined that there was a lot to learn here too.   After a short introduction, I will discuss the history of personal names in the following sections:   ancient times (before writing), early civilizations (after writing), Europe in the Middle Ages, and America (from the 16 th century to the present).   I will finish with some suggestions for tracing the origin of your name. To make this all manageable, from the Middle Ages on, I will focus on Europe and America.   (There is a wealth of material available on personal naming in other cultures.)   And I will focus on family names versus first names. As usual, I will list my principal sources at the end.   Introduction A  personal name is the set of names by which a person is known.    In many cultures, the term ...