Family and Local History Studies

Welcome to Arborealis. This website presents family and local history studies researched and ongoing projects undertaken by Alison Kilpatrick. Arborealis features such formats as blog articles, biographical sketches, genealogical outlines, timelines, transcripts, and local history notes. These formats describe our ancestors’ origins in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and their migrations within Britain and Ireland or to far-flung places overseas.

The Arborealis logo^§ depicts an estate worker’s cottage in Derrykintone townland in the parish of Aghaloo and county of Tyrone. The Earl of Caledon built a dozen or more of these cottages just outside the western wall of his estate in the early 1800s. Formerly a farmer and horse breeder in Glenarb townland close by, our third great grandfather, James Huggins (1775–1860), lived in this cottage during his elder years. His daughter, Anne Jane (1812–1893), and her husband, John Rodgers (1809–1913), herd for the Earl, also lived in the cottage. ^§Photo and style effects by Alison Kilpatrick ©2020.

The word, Arborealis, was coined by the editor in 2006. It combines two Latin words—arbor for tree, in a nod to our collective roots through family and social history, and borealis for north, to acknowledge the northern clime in which this site is published. This portmanteau evokes the Latin name of one of our native trees, Quercus rubra var. borealis, the Northern Red Oak. The mighty oak, in all its forms, evokes an ancient symbol of strength, knowledge, and endurance in many cultures. In our part of the world, oak savannahs form the northern reach of the Carolinian forest region. The leaf exhibited here was collected in another province, in the Annapolis Valley in western Nova Scotia; it is probably a Northern Red–Black Oak cross.

How to explore family and local history topics on Arborealis:

Visitors may explore Arborealis in several ways:

• read the blog articles, many of which provide introductions to essays and detailed research findings in other sections;
• opt to sign up for e-mail deliveries of blog articles to your in-box;
• cruise through the family history, local history, and records sections;
• use the search function to find articles of interest: one search box is placed at the top, right corner, while a second has been installed in the sidebar of each page;
• contact the editor to share information of mutual research interest, contribute to ongoing projects, or to request permission to use information published to this site.

Happy reading, and enjoy your travels through this site.

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