Emerald Ice: Home
Welcome!
Emerald Ice is the place where Gattons - Raleigh and Margaret's descendents primarily - hang out. Here they hide their histories, stories, pictures, discussions, and much more, in plain sight for all to see. Events are planned by the elder, games played by the younger, and sometimes the other way around.
If you are a Gatton related to Raleigh, and have already signed up, enjoy the site! If you haven't joined, use the registration form on the left (only available if you are not logged in!) to request a user name and password and then - enjoy the site!. If you're a visitor there are certain areas you will be unable to go, but they are few, so - enjoy the site!
Look around, explore, see what you can find - and what you cannot find. At the bottom of every page you'll find contact information for the Webmaster. Use it if you find something missing, or there is something wrong, or you just want to say "Howdy!"
Remember, this is a work in progress. If you see a question mark where a name or fact should be, and if you know what belongs there, use that contact link below for the webmaster. Let's fill in the blanks!
Why Emerald Ice?
In 1998, when we first looked for a website name, no one in the family had done much genealogical research. What we did know, handed down by word of mouth, was our almost pure Gaelic ethnicity. Convinced we were mostly Irish, with a fair bit of Scottish and smidgens of others thrown in for seasoning, we never questioned.
We felt a site name emphasising our heritage was what we wanted, and after long discussions and attempts to find an available name, we selected Emerald Ice. It made us think of Ireland as we had seen in pictures, and evoked memories to me, at least, of the British Isles, as seen from a submarine departing Holy Loch. While ice was nothing more to the others than a reference to gemstones, to me it was a remembrance of bitter cold patrols in northern latitude winters.
There were two additional facts influencing, and eventually making our choice easy. EmeraldIce.com was an available name, and most importantly, we all actually agreed on it! Unfortunately, we later discovered that we had been misled - we're really a German and Welsh blend though still well seasoned with a dash here and a pinch there. EmeraldIce, however, is here to stay.
- Clyde