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What's In My Name

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Written 12/1/15 for the 'What's In My Name" contest. Strangely, it is fairly accurate.

What’s in my name? It’s Candler,
A name as old as English tax.
If you’re of English descent, yours may be too.
Let us take a short trip back.

The Magna Carta united Englishmen,
But created a need for government.
Now, that government required some funding,
So, across the land, tax collectors were sent.

Too many Williams, Simons and Johns.
The tax collectors’ records were a mess.
Ideas were tossed around by the King’s advisors.
“Give them surnames. That would be best.”

So, if John was a carpenter,
Carpenter was assigned as his surname.
John Carpenter of Holbrook would identify
From whence his taxes came.

And so it was for all taxpaying men:
Fishers, Farmers, Smiths, and Wrights,
Thatchers, Tailors, Wellers too.
No man escaped a name and taxes…not even Knights.

So, “What’s a Candler?” you might ask.
Well, there’s more there than meets the eye;
A maker of candles seems an answer quite plain; 
But the tax collectors had other Candlers to identify.

There were also those who ‘candled’ eggs;
Held them to a candle:  are they fertile or ready to eat?
You see, a fertile egg would one day be a chicken,
To lay more eggs or provide tasty dark and white meat.

Now, if a Candler came from Holbrook,
He later may have taken Holbrook as his name;
But if he chose to stay a Candler,
We’ll likely never know which was his game.

But whether my forefathers candled eggs
Or made candles to light the eerie nights;
They survived and made their meager mark,
And I just love two over easy with toast….. by candle light.

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