Oporter Vivere “One Must Live”

With the growing interest in programmes such as “Who Do You Think You Are?”, where we all watch glued to the TV as researchers unveil the quite often scandalous past of some well known celebrity, I decided to take a look back at my heritage . My sister had used the services of a genealogist some years earlier, the result of which  was a beautifully bound book  detailing the past 200 years of the Todd family.  Unfortunately  we did not stumble across some wealthy entrepreneur type or landed gentry, but it would appear we descended from a long line of Carmen – sometimes driving coaches, but predominantly dust carts.

That side of the family tree depleted, I decided to look into the Todd name. It seems that it’s origins are most definitely Scottish, and it’s derivatives of the word Tod, Todde or Tode, meaning fox.  In fact the crest shows a fox running away with a goose in his mouth — which makes the motto even more meaningful -  Oporter Vivere -  which translates roughly into “One Must Live”.

Reflecting upon my new discovery, I couldn’t help but smile.  Its a fact that there is no inherited wealth through my lineage, no figures of great Intellect or influence – just generation after generation of people who worked hard, quite often at the lowest end of the employment  ladder – not a blue collar in sight! And that wiley old fox as the motto says – just had to do what he had to do, to get by!