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My new family tree/chart is designed by Parson's Technology. At this time it is a pedigree chart of over 1000 individuals related to me back to 1066. I will later be putting it up in an ancestor or descendant model. In the mean time you can easily search for you or your ancestors and also can download the Gedcom files enabling you to make your own trees. Enjoy...
The following excerpts from text, Bible, Koran and other research traces the origins of the word waymark as an occupation, a 'waymarker' which derived from 'waymarks' the objects used to mark the way as recorded in many historical documents. These represent just a few of them we hope that more of you will submit origins as you come across them.
Construction as of April 11, 1998 - but not for long.
Speaking to Ephraim (verse 20), the Eternal says in Jeremiah 31:21: "Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest." In Scripture we find the "waymarks," or highway signs, which they set up along the road they traveled.
In Genesis 49:17, Jacob, foretelling what should befall each of the tribes, says: "Dan shall be a serpent by the way." Another and better translation of the original Hebrew is: "Dan shall be a serpent's trail." It is a significant fact that the tribe of Dan, one of the ten tribes, named every place they went after their father Daniel.
The tribe of Dan originally occupied a strip of coast country on the Mediterranean, west of Jerusalem. "And the coast of the children of Dan," we read in Joshua 19:47, "went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it . . . and called Leshem, DAN, after the name of Dan their father."
In Judges 18:11-12, it is recorded that Danites took Kirjathjearim, and "called that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day." A little later the same company of 600 armed Danites came to Laish, captured it, and "they called the name of the city DAN, after the name of Dan their father" (verse 29). So notice how these Danites left their "serpent's trail" by the way-set up waymarks by which they may be traced today.
Remember, in the Hebrew, vowels were not written. The sound of the vowels had to be supplied in speaking. Thus, the word "Dan" in its English equivalent could be spelled, simply, "Dn." It might be pronounced as "Dan," or "Den," or "Din," or "Don," or "Dun" -- and still could be the same original Hebrew name.
The tribe of Dan occupied two different districts, or provinces, in the Holy Land before the Assyrian captivity. One colony lived on the seacoast of Palestine. They were principally seamen, and it is recorded Dan abode in ships (Judges 5:17).
When Assyria captured Israel, these Danites struck out in their ships and sailed west through the Mediterranean, and north to Ireland. Just before his death, Moses prophesied of Dan: "Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan" (Deuteronomy 33:22). And David declared of Dan, "He breaketh [driveth] the ships of Tarshish with an east wind." An east wind travels west. Along the shores of the Mediterranean they left their trail in "Den." "Don," and "Din."
Irish annals and history show that the new settlers of Ireland, at just this time, were the "Tuatha de Danaans," which means, translated, "Tribe of Daniel" Sometimes the same appears simply as "Tuathe De," meaning the "people of God." And in Ireland we find they left these "waymarks": Dans-Laugh, Dan-Sower, Dundalk, Dun-drum, Don-egal Bay, Don-egal City, Dun-glow, Dingle, Dunsmor (meaning "more Dans"). Moreover, the name Dunn in the Irish language means the same as Dan in the Hebrew: judge.
But the northern colony of Danites was taken to Assyria in the captivity, and thence with the rest of the ten tribes they traveled from Assyria by the overland route.
After leaving Assyrian captivity, they inhabited for some time the land just west of the Black Sea. There we find the rivers Dnieper, Dnister, and the Don.
Then, in either ancient or later geography, we find these waymarks: Dan-au, the Dan-inn, the Dan-aster, the Dan-dari, the Danez, the Don, the Dan, and the U-Don; the Eri-don, down to the Danes. Denmark means "Dan's mark."
When they came to the British Isles, they set up the waymark names of Dun-dee, Dun-raven; in Scotland the "Dans," "Dons," and "Duns" are as prolific as in Ireland.>/b> And so the "serpent's trail" of Dan sets up waymarks that lead directly to the British Isles!
The following is a biblical text which provides an excellent example of oft described origin/genesis of the Wiuhmarch name which became Wymarc, Whymarc, and so on until eventually in the 19th century the Way's, Wey's, Wy's and Why's dominated. It was supposed that marking the way was the occupation (and an honourable one) of our ancestors. Genealogists are well aware that most name derivatives come from occupations. Here is the text
“The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority--not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support.” It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a man thinks is right or what the minister tells him is right. His soul's salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong may be his convictions, however confident he may be that the minister knows what is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out every WAYMARK on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at anything".
April 12 1998
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