What does a sloinneadh tell me?

[RedMystic]

Hi Chatters.

Being several generations removed from the Isles, I'm befuddled by what I should be able to absorb from a sloinneadh. Can you help me learn, please?

Here's an example: Sloinneadh for a widow: Bean Iain'ic Mhicheil. What should it tell me?

NOTE: She's not related to me & I don't want to purchase any SP certs if I don't have to. (I will if that's what I have to do to learn if there is a system to the use of a sloinneadh).

She married in South Uist 28 Jan 1856, was widowed between 1871 - 1881, then emigrated in 1884. Does her sloinneadh tell me anything about her father's first name? I have determined that:

• Her married name was: Flora McIntyre (maiden name McIsaac).
  Her youngest son (5th child - 2nd boy) was Michael.
  Flora's mother, Marion, was widowed from her McIsaac husband sometime aft 1831 (birth of last McIsaac child) and remarried someone named Campbell who died sometime before the 1851 census.
  Flora and her siblings became known by surname Campbell in census after her mother's second marriage.
  Birth records for Flora's children accurately reflect Flora as surname McIsaac.

So, does the sloinneadh explain any of this complicated web? Thanks in advance for helping me learn about sloinneadh.

[eilthireach]

That is not her sloinneadh. It is just describing who she is - "wife of John son of Michael".

[RedMystic]

I appreciate your help. Every lead & new learning is great. Thanks.

[J11]

"An Introduction to Gaelic Fiction" by Moray Watson

A sloinneadh is a version of a person's name which also describes aspects of his/her background, especially in terms of the family:a kind of genealogical nickname that is a shorthand way for people to explain their family and kinship connections when they meet.  Although not used to the same extent today as it was in the past, it is still common for people to be known by a sloinneadh that would include the names of father and grandfather: e.g. Calum Seamus Dhomhnaill meaning "Calum, son of James, son of Donald".  Because of the small stock of first names and surnames in many Gaelic communities, this sloinneadh often gives people a more accurate identification than using their full registered name.

[RedMystic]

Thank you J11. That is very helpful.

I'm trying to follow this through from the sloinneadh I posted earlier combined with Scottish naming convention. Based on the assistance provided by eilthireach am I following this correctly that the family wasn't using the naming convention as eilthireach says the reference to Michael in the eilthireach refers to Flora's husband's father rather than her own father?

1st son named after father's father
2nd son named after mother's father
3rd son named after father
1st daughter named after mother's mother
2nd daughter named after father's mother
3rd daughter named after mother

[J11]

That is the naming convention as I understand it so, from the wife's description you gave, the first son to John would be Michael.  I'd never come across a sloinneadh before - I came across the definition I posted when googling it for my own information.  From that definition I would have thought that it could be varied.  I have noticed 18thC Highland records often describe a woman in terms of her relationship to a man, such as James Morison’s wife, John Huston’s daughter or the relict of Duncan Ross so it may well be that a married woman would use a sloinneadh reflecting that relationship rather than one she would use when single which would reflect her relationship to her father. 

[Rosinish]

Red Mystic,

In laymens terms sloinneadh/ancestry is just a way of defining someone.

E.G. Mary, daughter of Donald son of Angus & if there is someone else with the same names then occupations are added so as to differentiate 

Can you supply dates & placenames for your queries & I will see what I can find as those names are very common.

Anne Marie

[RedMystic]

Thanks Anne Marie. I appreciate your offer but think I have her figured out.