Thursday, June 10, 2010

Intriguing surnames from the Necropolis: Publicover


I photographed this marker because I think Publicover is a very interesting surname. After a little research I discovered that George Roy Publicover had worked as an accountant with the National Fish Company in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Also, the marker bears the emblem of the fraternity of Freemasonry, and both Mr. Publicover and several members of his family are on the rolls of the Freemasons.

Curiosity about the origin of the name led to a little more 'digging', and the discovery that there are many Publicovers in Nova Scotia, all of whom can be traced back to one Peter Bubickhoffer, who emigrated from the Palatinate (southwest Germany) and came to Nova Scotia in 1752 at the age of 34. Publicover is the anglicized version of the name Bubickhoffer.

According to Wallace Gray, a Publicover descendent: "There are many variations to the spelling of the surname. The name was anglicized around 1764 when Peter's last children, Maria and John Peter were the first to be christened with the surname Publicover. There are 50 [variations], counting the present spelling." When you consider the number of variations of the original name, Publicover stands as an excellent example of the intersection between oral and written history.

For more information visit Wallace Gray's website: http://www.drack.info/wallygray25/publicoverfam.htm
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