The origin of surnames is always fascinating to me and the searching thereof now seems to be a subject of profit on the internet. But there are still, well, many free sites where last names can be investigated (read on to see how bad that segway was). I have a friend in Quepos with the last name "Stilwell" (he and his good works were featured in Episo de 20). I was curious where the name came from so I went on the net and found this free site for checking names: http://www.surnamedb.com/. This is what I got on Stilwell:

"This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a topographical or a locational surname, found mainly in the Southern counties of Hampshire (you know, like in ♫Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire Hurricanes Hardly Ever Happen♫) and Surrey. As a locational surname, Stillwell or Stilwell derives from a now "lost" place, one of the estimated seven to ten thousand English villages and hamlets known to have disappeared since the 12th Century. The main reasons for this were natural disasters such as the Black Death (plague) of 1348, in which an eighth of the population perished, and to the widespread practice of enforced "clearing" of large areas of land to create sheep pastures (baaaaad land policy amigos). The place is thought to have been situated in Surrey, and the name means "the fish-trap in the stream", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "stiell, staell", place for catching fish, and "well, waell", stream, spring, well. As a topographical surname, Stillwell denotes residence by such a place. The marriage of Arnold Stillwell and Mary Mills was recorded in Farnham, Surrey, on November 22nd 1568, and Frances, daughter of John Stilwell, was christened on January 6th 1623, at St. Giles' Cripplegate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elyzabeth Styllwell, which was dated April 14th 1542, christened at Headley, Hampshire, during the reign of King Henry VIII, known as "Good King Hal", 1509 - 1547. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation (there they go again, amigos). In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to 'develop' often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling."

I wonder what the fish trap looked like - maybe a trot line? The early Stilwells were probably indispensable as a supplier of pescadoral products during the initial development of English fish & chips recipes (good show, gov).

Now, I had a brother-in-law once whose last name was Dupuis. I know that "puis" in French is a well; so his ancestors probably hung around the well a lot also. I have no idea how still there wells might have been (sorry, sometimes I just have to do it). It's interesting that the well was so important in early cultures that it carried forward in surnames (well, I think it's interesting anyway). I wonder if the Stilwells and Dupuis' ever got together at the annual IWDA meetings (International Well Diggers Association)?

And then, of course, there is gg's surname, "Normand", for which I got this explanation:

"This interesting name (I guess every name in this database is "interesteing") originated either as an ethnic byname for Scandinavian settlers in England, who came to be known as Northmen or Normen, from the Olde English "Northmann" (plural "Northmenn"), meaning "men from the North", or as a post - Conquest name for someone from Normandy in the North of France (my best information is that we came from this latter source as most of my ancestral relatives spoke French and the word-of-mouth was they settled in Quebec). The derivation in this case is from the Old French "Normand" or "Normant", a Norman. Many of these Normans were themselves originally of Scandinavian origin, which makes for an interesting re-introduction of the name into England. The personal byname Norman, with its Latinized form "Normannus", was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and continued in popularity as a personal name throughout the subsequent Centuries. in the modern idiom the surname can be found spelt (sic) as Normand, Normant and Lenormand. The surname first emerges in the latter part of the 12th Century, (see below). Other early recordings include: John le Norman, (Warwickshire, 1221); Robert Northman, (Oxfordshire, 1279) and John Normand, (Roxburghshire, 1303). George Warde Norman, (1793 - 1882), a respected writer on finance , who was director of the Bank of England from 1821 - 1872 (probably the last Norman that made his finances work). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo Norman, which was dated 1171, in the "Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire", during the reign of King Henry II, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189 (huh! we beat the Stilwells into jolly old England by six Henries).

So there you have it, while the Dupuis' and Stilwells were attending to community wells and catching fish, the Normans were out there raping, pillaging the countryside and messing with the banking system both in France and England. Come to think of it, I remember hearing family stories about my great, great grandfather continuing some of those practices after he landed in Quebec.

I suppose this is why the Normans are always so badly portrayed in stories like Robin Hood and Ivanhoe. Big deal. C'est domage, mes amis.

Siamese twins walk into a bar in Canada, and park themselves on a barstool. One of them says to the bartender, "Don't mind us; we're joined at the hip. I'm John, he's Jim. Two Molson Canadian beers, draft please." The bartender, feeling slightly awkward, tries to make polite conversation while pouring the beers. "Been on holiday yet, lads?"

"Off to England next month," says John. "We go to England every year, rent a car, and drive for miles. Don't we, Jim?" Jim agrees.

"Ah, England!" says the bartender. "Wonderful country. The history, the beer, the culture..." "Nah, we don't like that British crap," says John. "Hamburgers and Molson beer, that's us, eh Jim? And we can't stand the English - they're so arrogant and rude."

"So why keep going to England?" asks the bartender.

"It's the only chance Jim gets to drive."

(from reader and contributing humor editor - Randy M.)

The ROMEO Corner was added to the Chronicles in February of 2010, which gives us nine reviews to date. To make it easier for readers to find back reviews, we have added a Restaurant Archives section, the link for which can be found next to the GGC Archives link at the bottom of the page. Buen Provecho, muchachos!

Sancho's

Location: Top of Manuel Antonio hill across the street from Barba Roja; Off-Street Parking: Take-Out
Hours: 10 AM to 10 PM Monday through Sunday

This is a new restaurant across the street from the Barba Roja (we must remember to make a ROMEO review visit to Barba Roja also - oh my, so many restaurants, so little time).

The store front at Sancho's is unassuming. Indeed, there are some rather fancy restaurants in Manuel Antonio and this isn't one of them but I'm sure it's by design. The entrance is below street level, like some Manhattan bistros. The dining room is simple, clean and sports only a pleasantly light touch of Mexican decorations (no large hats perched over crossed marachi's here). This is a neat cafe, pure and simple with a bus stop at the front door (very handy for a non-car owning ROMEO).

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move". ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

G G C (© Copyright 2010 - All Rights Reserved)	GOLDEN GRINGO CHRONICLES
	"Doing Latin America, Mostly by Luck" Episode 26 - October 2010



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