I have accepted the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge and am starting my first blog. The first decision in creating this blog was to name it. This took some thought and I finally decided on Hobson’s Choice Genealogy. I feel the name is fitting since we have no choice in who we are related to. It is also fitting since Hobson is my last name and my readers may accept my writings or not.
Hobson’s Choice is a phrase that means there is no choice or there is a free choice in which only one thing is offered and there is no real alternative. The choice is to take either that which is offered or nothing.
According to Wikipedia the phrase is said to have originated with Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England, who offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in his stall nearest to the door or taking none at all. According to a plaque underneath a painting of Hobson donated to Cambridge Guildhall, Hobson had an extensive stable of some 40 horses. This gave the appearance to his customers that, upon entry, they would have their choice of mounts, when in fact there was only one: Hobson required his customers to choose the horse in the stall closest to the door. This was to prevent the best horses from always being chosen, which would have caused those horses to become overused. Hobson’s stable was located on land that is now owned by St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.