Scotland, Ireland & British Isles Research
The Latta Name: The British Connection
Born in Gillingham, Kent, about 40 miles southeast of London, Geoffrey Latta came to Philadelphia in the late 1970s — the first member of his direct family to do so — after already beginning genealogical research in England and Scotland. His curiosity about the family’s British roots deepened after meeting one of the descendants of the “shipwreck” Lattas (see the Stories page) shortly after arriving.
Ulster Plantation Timeline
Prepared ahead of a planned research trip to Ireland, this timeline draws on ulsterancestry.com’s account of “The Scots-Irish: The Thirteenth Tribe” by Campbell Paterson. Up to 1607 only small numbers of Scottish and English migrants settled in Ulster; the first major wave of Scottish settlement came between 1600 and 1640, laying the groundwork for the plantation communities the Latta family likely emerged from before their eventual emigration to America.
The Northern Ireland Research Project
Virginia Curulla and the late Alex Latta of Branch 16 were instrumental in launching this project. Alex traveled to Ireland repeatedly to research the Latta name in the counties where Latta families were documented in the 1700s, corresponding extensively with Virginia and other researchers to determine which regions warranted further investigation. Virginia separately compiled Irish historical background and maps to support the effort.
Lattas in the 1881 British Census
The LDS Church’s 24-CD index to the 1881 British census opened up systematic research into Latta families across Britain and Ireland. Geoffrey Latta, researching from his native Britain, used the index to locate and cross-reference individual census entries as part of his broader British-connection research described above.
Latta Coat of Arms
Arms: Sable, three piles argent, over all on a fesse gules, three crescents
of the second.
Crest: An oak tree proper.
Motto:
Dum Vivo Vireo — “While I live, I live.”
Authority:
Burke’s General Armory, 1844 edition.
In heraldic terms: the shield is black, the three piles silver, the horizontal band (fesse) red, and the three crescents upon it silver.
Contributions to the Northern Ireland or British research projects are always welcome — see the subscription page to reach the editor.