Genealogy Chat

Put my name here so i can come back to it.....thanks again Heather..MOE'!

nudge for Moe

I think Abigail is actually a biblical name although one of the less well known ones.

Just one thought to bear in mind when researchingIRISH ancestors. It was (and still is) quitecommon for a son to be given two names (or three even) and to be known by the middle name. Thus, Francis Thomas Joseph may well have been known as Tom to the family and unless you are aware of this and are lucky enought to find the baptism entry, you may be looking forever. So if you suspect there is more than one christian name, search for both of them. This was particularly common with Irish catholics. It may also explain the query mention by one correspndent with the "William" theory, they mayhave got round the problem in this way. Margaret.

Hi all, I have an old Clifford Association newsletter dated June 1997 which quoted this same system from a book published by Angus Baxter (Genealogical Pub. Co. Baltimore)in the late 1980's. It was described as a well-defined pattern in English families, used between 1700 and 1875. The author of the article had found it held well with some families, but warned that it could not be fool-proof. Sue (NZ)

hi lisa thanks for that tip about christian names i have just found out this week-end that my grt grandmother was born in CORK IRELAND.I am prepared more now for the name search. thanks sue

hi all maybe someone can through some light on this, pattern follows similer to yours,all the following are brother's and sister's francis elizabeth catherine george henry elizabeth francis elizabeth jabez george henry john william thomas black ELLEN GORDON catherine all named after parent's grandparent's uncles where the h*** did ellen gordon come from any taker's shan

It's not just the Irish. I have a household containing seven people - two are called William and three are called Elizabeth. I sometimes wonder why they didn't think up something original, just to make life simpler for themselves!

Hi to you all, NOW I know why I never watch 'soaps' This thread has been far more entertaining, but more important informative!!! You are ALL correct its not a 'load of blarney' I have four named after one another and they are an absolute pain. Louis Lionel William Willian Louis Lionel William Lionel Louis William Lionel There birth cerificates have them as above, their marriges twist them about, there deaths are all ' William ' When I am researching them I have to write, William I, William 2, etc. I have that many Henrys even they are Henry 1st, etc; Now I shall get out my paper tree and see if I can make any connections like you have. I would love to go to a real Irish wedding and watch the fun. Denise Manchester

Lisa, Thank you so much for that. My great grandparents named their children exactly as you describe (including all the girls). I think my Gt Gt Grandfather came from Ireland but I haven't been able to prove it. I wonder whether this might be the key. At least I have an idea of a name to search for now! Jill

Great, thanks for that, had come to a bit of a halt, but it will give me something to go on. as I have found some irish ancestors with several children and this may help me to find some more - here goes....... Cate:-)

MINE AREN'T Irish but have eight generations of Elizabeths. Also on the Scottish side have 5 generations of Alexander Ross and that's only going back to 1810 Kim

iTS A B*****NUISANCE WHEN YOUR LIVING WITH IT. mY HUSBAND IS JOHN EDWARD, SO IS HIS DAD AND HIS UNCLE. MY GRANDFATHER WAS PATRICK JOSEPH, HIS SON IS, SO IS HIS SON, AND HIS SON. MY GRANDFATHERS OTHER SON CALLED HIS SON PATRICK JOSEPH, AND MY MUM CALLED MY BROTHER PATRICK JOSEPH AFTER HER DAD. SO.......WHE TALKING ABOUT FAMILY OR VISITING THE CONVERSATIONS CAN GET VERY CONFUSING. WE ALSO CURRENTLY HAVE 5 SEANS, 5 ELLIES, SEVERAL ROBERTS ETC. SOMETIMES ITS A CASE OF EG. WEE PATRICK, BIG PATRICK, OLD PATRICK, YOUNG PATRICK, BALD PATRICK ETC. I REFUSED TO DO IT, WHEN MY OWN KIDS WERE BORN, BUT DID GIVE THEM FAMILY NAMES AS MIDDLE NAMES!

hi folks , this pattern worked for me . after finding my grandads siblings used this to try and find his fathers family in ireland the same names seem to have run through the family for generations , seems to be the case with scottish ancestors also. cheers jackie.

Don't we all Christine, don't we all?? I wish now I had "bullied" my mother into writing down what she knew!! Paul

Paul, I had the same thing with my Gran, she was from Skye and when talking about people from 'back home' she could name their forefathers back generations. Unfortunately I think this tradition is dying out but oh how I wished I had listened to her more closely now.

I don't know if you meant that as a joke (??) Mary, but it is not blarney. I have been chasing the wife's ancestors for a number of years now, and a lot of information has come from a 92 year old woman who was able to tell us who a lot of sons and daughters were named after. Add to that a 70 year old man, with no direct connection to the tree (marriage only) who was able to tell us who his forebears were named after. Plus a very recently made contact who was able to give us details of one of my wife's ancestors, and who they were named for (as they say here), it all ties in. And if you want a spooky bit, it was thought unlucky to name three from the same family with the same forename if one was still alive. It was thought that one of them would die before their time, so to speak. Paul

What a load of old Blarney. Mary

One thing I've always wondered about this convention though - someone who was named after his father; what did he do when it came to naming his third son ? In other words, say you have someone called William (2), who was named after his father, William (1). His first son will be called William (3) after William (1). So what does he do when he gets to his third son ? The convention would suggest he should be named after William (2) but that would result in two brothers called William ! Perhaps better to name him Tyrone instead. Simon

Whilst the convention was more prevalent in Ireland (and Scotland actually) it does crop up every now and again in England. One generation of one branch of my tree followed it exactly - and only stopped as they ran out of children ! Spotting the pattern even gave me the final clue that enabled me to track down the father (as it turned out, he was known by his middle name, which didn't fit the pattern - however, his real first name did). Although no where near as common in England as elswhere, I think it's certainly something to look out for if you're running out of ideas on a 'missing' relative. Simon