Fitzsimons

Article summary

Fitzsimons (also spelled FitzSimons, Fitzsimmons or FitzSimmons) is a surname of Norman origin common in both Ireland and England. The name is a variant of "Sigmundsson", meaning son of Sigmund. The Gaelicisation of this surname is Mac Síomóin or Mac an Ridire. The name "FitzSymons" and its pre-standardization variants (Fitzsimons, Fitzsimmons, Fitz-Simons, etc.) is not a sept, or clan, name, but rather an individual patronymic passed down through various, yet discrete, colonial families arriving at different times in Irish history. Some families "went native" during the Gaelic revival of the 14th and 15th centuries, and many refused to endorse the Protestant Reformation. Others became important members of the Protestant Ascendancy and its supporting mittelstand. Two distinct families can be identified: those who arrived when the surname was first recorded in Ireland in 1177, attached to an adventurer seeking swordlands in Ulster, known as Sir John de Courcy of Carrickfergus Castle, earl of Ulster. These Fitzsimons are now native to the east-central seaboard of Ulster, in Lecale, Ards and Down. In 1323, a junior member of the Fitzsymons' of Simonshide, Herefordshire, settled in Dublin. This family is thought to be distinct from the Ulster Fitzsimons.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1980 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1998 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of birth: 1966 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of birth: 1971 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of birth: 1989 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. date of birth: 1996 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. date of birth: 1979 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. date of birth: 1994 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
9. date of birth: 1955 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
10. date of birth: 1947 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1980". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1998". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of birth is "1966". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of birth is "1971". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of birth is "1989". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the date of birth is "1996". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the date of birth is "1979". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the date of birth is "1994". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. The record states that the date of birth is "1955". What evidence would count against this claim?
11. The record states that the date of birth is "1947". What evidence would count against this claim?
12. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
13. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1361562893