Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Arthur Hunt and Doctor Who

Arthur Hung, source http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/papyri/discovery.html Jon Pertwee as the third doctorI often find myself curious about genealogy, and I am a big fan of Who do you think you are? and Tracing Your Roots. I have stumbled across something of interest to me because it indirectly connects two worlds, Doctor Who and the Gospel of Thomas. Arthur Hunt, along with Bernard Grenfell, unearthed fragments of what turned out to be the Gospel of Thomas first in 1896 (P. Oxy. 1) and subsequently in 1903 (P. Oxy. 654, 655), alongside many other fantastic finds in Oxyrhynchus. I have been reading up a little on both of these men, and I noticed that Arthur Hunt's mother was called Emily Pertwee. Pertwee is a very unusual name; it comes from the French Huguenot family name "Pertuis". And the name of the third doctor is, of course, Jon Pertwee (pictured here). After casting around a bit, I am pretty sure that they are related, though I haven't worked out the precise relationship yet -- I have several old records to work through. I will report back when I have more. As it happens, Jon Pertwee's grandmother was called Emily but this is Emily Pertwee, née Moore.

10 comments:

J. L. Watts said...

I have yet to figure out why anyone would want to watch Dr. Who?

I would rather watch reruns of Firefly, or SG-A

Mark Goodacre said...

Wow; have you actually watched any Doctor Who? Any new Who, in particular? I like Firefly too, but it hardly competes with a 46 year old series.

J. L. Watts said...

I have attempted a few times, even to watch the spin offs (Torchwood), but alas, nothing.

Mark Goodacre said...

Wow; that's amazing. Maybe you were unlucky with what you happened upon. Have you tried "Blink"? That's a great way in.

James F. McGrath said...

Mark, it is great to see that you are no longer relegating Dr. Who to a separate blog! :)

Mark Goodacre said...

Ha ha. Only when I can manage some kind of spurious reason to bring it in here :)

J. L. Watts said...

I'll give it try. Not promising that I can make it past the opening credits...

Mark Goodacre said...

The lovely Sally Sparrow will keep you watching past the opening credits :)

Matt Page said...

Rooting round unearthing fragments? SOunds more like Pertwee creation Worzel Gummidge than the good doctor.

Mark Goodacre said...

Ha ha, thanks, Matt.