Jackie Gabelmann

My mother's great grandparents were born in Poland and in England. My grandfather's parents were from England whereas my grandmothers parents were from Poland. My grandfather's last name, my mother's maidan name is Butler. The surname Butler originated in Ireland from a Theobold le Botiller Fitzwalter (Lord of Preston). Fitzwalter became known as the Chief Butler of Ireland in 1977 which is equivalent to a governer of the United States today. Theobold's son was the first to pass on the name Butler to his decendents. The Kilkenny Castle was the main seat of the Butler family.

My grandmother's parents migrated from Poland to the United States. My grandmother's maidan name was Witkos. Unfortionately, I could not find any background information about the meaning behind the last name Witkos. All I know is that my great-grandparents were from Poland.

My father was adopted at birth because his birth mother was a young unwed mother who did now feel as though she could care for a child. My father never met his birth-mother therefore I will do the rest of the presentation on my father's adopted parents. My grandmother maidan name was Balfour. Her great grandparents migrated from England so many years ago as children. The meaning of Balfour is two-fold, the first part bali(e) is Gaelic and means pasture or grass or village. The second part of Balfour, pawr is Welsh and means pasture. The surname dates back to the early 14th Century. My grandfathers last name was Gabelmann. Again, I believe that my great grandparents migrated to the United States from Germany many years ago. Gabelmann means "fork-man". In Bamberg, Germany there is a statue named The Gabelmann which was constructed to be that of the ancient Roman God Neptune, god of the sea, holding a three-pronged fork.