Names can often be footprints to the past

One of the things you learn fairly quickly in this genealogy business is the significance of the names in your family. Surnames (last names) for sure are important, but even given (first) names can lead you right back to your next ancestor.

Several years ago, a message came across one of the Roots-L lists on naming patterns used by our early ancestors in the 18th and 19th centuries. I don't know the source, but, whoever did this, thank you for doing it.

The pattern, and variations of it, were adhered to quite strictly by our forbears, and thank goodness it was. More than once it has nailed down a parent for me.

For male children, here's the way it worked:

The firstborn son was named after the father's father.

The second born son was named after the mother's father.

The third born son was named after the father.

The fourth born son was named after the father's eldest brother.

The fifth born son was named after the father's second oldest brother, or the mother's oldest brother.

For daughters, it was pretty much the same pattern:

The first born daughter was named after the mother's mother.

The second born daughter was named after the father's mother.

The third born daughter was named after the mother.

The fourth born daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister.

The fifth born daughter was named after the mother's second eldest sister or the father's oldest sister.

If there were more children, the pattern continued, using names of uncles, aunts, etc.

This may have caused some families to have two children with the same name if the grandparents had the same name.

The process started over in case of a remarriage and it was common to see half-brothers and sisters with the same names.

Another popular custom was to use surnames as given names, both with sons and daughters, and many clues to grandparents' and great-grandparent's surnames can be found in the first and middle names of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My own mother's middle name is Payne, the surname of her grandparents, Joseph Joshua and Louisa Boyd Payne. I am the first daughter and I am named after my mother's mother. My sister is named for my father's mother.

The practice of naming the first son after the father and making him a junior didn't begin until the turn of the 20th century. Many times "junior" was used even if the child was named after a grandparent, who was called "senior." My great-grandmother's grave says, "Sarah Ann Fowler, wife of John Fowler Sr." John never had a son named John, but his son did. The "junior" and "senior" were used to distinguish between a grandparent and grandchild of the same name.

The names of close friends were also used for children. Families that traveled together for great lengths of time often had children with the same given names. The Norris family and the Fowler family were obviously close.

Not only did two Norris daughters marry Fowler sons, but both families had children (at some point) named Reuben, Joel, Matilda, Sarah, Lindsey, Nathan and John.

All these can become clues to help break down your brick walls. But, keep in mind, they are just clues. The pattern and the practice were not written in stone.

Another practice of our early ancestors was giving Biblical names to their children. Let's face it. The Good Book was the only book available in some homes. And many of our ancestors were devoutly religious. Popular names were Zachariah, Hezekiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Emmanuel, Samuel, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, Jacob and others. For girls, popular Biblical names were Esther or Hester, Mary, Sarah, Martha, Elizabeth and Hannah.

Early colonists, Puritans and Quakers named their daughters for moral purity, hoping, I'm sure, that they would grow up to possess those qualities. Patience, Charity, Faith, Hope, Purity, Obedience, Mercy, Comfort, Delight and Thankful were popular names for colonial ladies.

And, as I have written before, nicknames can drive you crazy.

Last week, I corresponded with a McWhorter cousin and shared my family information on the children of Moses McWhorter and Sarah Kinney, giving as one source and proof, a letter written by Dollie Ann McWhorter, naming her brothers and sisters. The only problem was, Dollie Ann used nicknames instead of real names.

"I'm confused," the new cousin wrote back. "You have James Latimore McWhorter and Margaret Wheeler as the parents of Nimrod McWhorter, but Dollie says they were Jimmie and Peggy."

Knowing I had a "newbie" on my hands, I patiently wrote back that Peggy was a nickname for Margaret. I was sure she knew that Jimmy was the nickname for James.

A study of the names in your family can often lead you back two or three generations. Try applying the naming pattern to your early ancestors and see how close you come to the names of their parents and grandparents.

Does your Atlanta area family have an interesting family history? I'm still looking for your stories. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others. She will willingly share research information on her own family lines, including collateral and allied lines.)