Diana Telling

[Cassie2008]

I am trying to find out some information about Diana Telling who is a grandmother of Alice Constable who was born in Ealing in London on the 7th of July 1888. We have been led to believe she may have some Jewish roots.
I would be grateful if anyone has any information about her. Thanks very much.

[Kerrywood]

Tracking back through the census, Jewish background doesn't seem very likely for this TELLING family. This part of Wiltshire is not a known Jewish area, and the occupations of Diana's immediate family are not typical. The name of one of her brothers, Neamiah/Nehemiah, may just be a Biblical reference rather than a specifically Jewish one.

Have you checked the baptism registers for Ashton Keynes? Films can be ordered through LDS (the Mormon Church). If not, that would be the way to go.

You're probably already aware of this site ( http://www.rmchalmers.net/index.htm). If not, it might be worth contacting the site owner. It looks like the TELLING family went back a long way in Ashton Keynes. :)

Kerrywood

[Cassie2008]

Hi Thank you very much for your reply - The website for Alan and Rosemary is excellent and is the same Diana Telling who married Frederick Mason. It goes back to Leonardi Telling in 1570. Which brings another question. There is a Leonardi and a Fransisci, A Guillelme a Juan and quite a few other unusual names for Wiltshire. Does anyone have an idea where these would originate from? I thought Italian, but also Juan is Spanish. Thanks for the help

[Kerrywood]

Which brings another question. There is a Leonardi and a Fransisci, A Guillelme a Juan and quite a few other unusual names for Wiltshire. Does anyone have an idea where these would originate from? I thought Italian, but also Juan is Spanish.

Any "foreign-sounding" names are probably Latinized forms of English names, as found in the parish registers. These registers would have been written in Latin at early dates.

E.g.
Leonardi = of Leonard
Fransisci = of Francis
Guillelmi = of William

There may be some mistranscriptions/misreadings too -- e.g. Juan could possibly be Joan. Just a suggestion, and it's hard to say without seeing the original context ;)

Before making any guesses about nationality, it might be wise to contact the site-owners (Alan/Rosemary), who have probably seen the original registers or had someone inspect them on their behalf.

Kerrywood