C - Cyclopedia

C is for cookie and cookie is for me…

So much choice, Christchurch, Castles, Cars, Christmas, Climate…Claire.

Here is a bit about me then.

Eldest child, sister, mother, daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, collector of family history, storyteller, name nerd, puzzle solver, cross-stitcher, card maker, baker, maker, reader, traveller…

It was names that got me interested in genealogy – so many James’ and Johns, Marys and Anns. I remembered tallying them all up once when I was still at college to see how many of each there were. Lots. Some names were definitely overused. Not like today's parents – our ancestors stuck with the tried and true, over and over again. How did they even tell them apart or get the right person to respond ? Even now it is refreshing to see something new – an Arabella, Kerenhappuch, Roxillianna, LaFayette, Aeneas, Balthasar.

Along with names there were the stories people would share, offering a peek into their childhood memories and places they had been. The idea of large families fascinated me. Being one of two and my parents one of two and one of three, the idea of having a whole bunch of siblings seemed so foreign – but fun all the same. I imagined it would be like being one of “The Waltons”, or the Bradfords on “Eight is Enough”.

I think I have always liked history, miniseries such as “The Pallisers”, “Family at War”, “Poldark” and early soaps like “The Sullivans” captured my attention. I loved history at school even though the Third Reich , the Potato Famine & Rise of Sinn Feinn seemed quite disconnected to life in New Zealand and where my roots were.

Over time though, that love of society, people and history has influenced my reading choices and captivated me. Historical fiction is a great way to learn about history and how people of the times experienced the events around them. This led to me trying to learn more and more, and to imagine my ancestors in those times. How did world events, or local events affect them personally. Which events were catalysts for them to change the way they lived ? Who were they ? How did they feel ? What did they believe ? What did they like ? What drove them to make a change in the direction their lives took ? So many of them were from Ag Lab stock. What was it that inspired them to take the leap, leave the village where their families had lived for generations and make a new life in a new town or to find employment with the railways or in large industrial mills ?

I love family history, it consumes a lot of my spare time. Studying DNA matches looking for links, reconnecting with cousins all across the globe, planning where to visit next (when we are ever allowed to do that again). Remembering those who have passed, telling their stories so that their memory will live on for others. Celebrating them and the sacrifices they made – if not for their actions in the face of adversity and their planning in the good times none of us would be here.

Always thinking and wondering, sometimes it is hard to make my mind just stop and reflect. It's a bit like a cyclopedia that I always have with me.

And just as I am sitting here another thought occurred to me.

C is for Coromandel. I read just the other night that gold had been discovered there in 1862. I wonder if that news influenced the decision to not go to Albertland since it was only a few short years after their arrival that the Davys family left Auckland and set up home north of Thames on the peninsular felling trees, saw-milling and gold mining. What resilience and determination they had.

#52Ancestors, Same Name

Okay, I am going to tempt fate. Last year I took a break from #52Ancestor blogging, but I saved all the prompts just in case. This year I am doing the same. Telling myself that I need to focus on getting employed before I do too much fun stuff.

But what the heck !

I will probably post out of order until I catch up – and I might even squeeze in some of last years as well. Hopefully life won't get too crazy busy and I won't end up being like the White Rabbit always running late. 

Here we are in week 6, almost week 7, and here is my first blog in forever.

SAME NAME

This topic has come up before so to be sure I don’t just repeat myself I have been back to check what I wrote. So this time, instead of people…PLACES.

When the English colonised the world they bundled all their place names up and gave them to the pilgrims, convicts and early settlers to use. So they did. They arrived in their new countries and gave their old familiar names to the places which already had names bestowed on them by the indigenous peoples in each land.

Those intrepid souls named their towns, farms and houses for the places they had left behind. Even those who had not left by choice seemed to do this. We see them everywhere on modern day maps. The same names, everywhere. Repeated in each state, province, city – do you know how many small towns are named Gladstone in New Zealand; how many Wellingtons there are around the globe ?

I always smile to myself though when I discover coincidences; families separated by time and distance, living in towns or cities bearing the same names.

I lived in Wellington, New Zealand most of my life and branches of both sides of my family lived in Wellington too. One in Somerset, England and one in Shropshire, England. While I haven’t lived anywhere named Milverton, different branches of my families have lived in Milverton, Somerset, England and Milverton, Warwickshire, England.

Uriah Cooper, a brother of my great-great-great-grandfather left Montacute, Somerset, England in 1839, travelled across the world to Australia and settled initially in Montacute, South Australia along with some of his old neighbours.

Henry Davys, elder brother of my great grandfather, was a builder in Cambridge, New Zealand. His son later joined him in the business. Their home on Victoria Street was named Treborough for the village where Henry’s wife was born in Somerset, England. They also ran a successful boarding house in Cambridge, which was named Kingston for the farm which had been in the Davys family for many generations in Somerset, England.

My Nana came from Leamington, Warwickshire; my cousin lives in Leamington, New Zealand. My great-great-great-grandfather was from Hampshire, England; my great-great-grandmother’s sister emigrated to USA and spent her final years in New Hampshire.

There is even a place called New Zealand in England.

#52Ancestors, Week 25, Same Name

Who to choose ? The repetitive use of the same small pool of names was one of the first things to captivate my interest in family history. That and the custom of naming subsequent children with the name bestowed on their non-surviving elder siblings. I've picked three, all slightly different examples of "same name".

My 2x great grandfather James Davys, coincidentally born 193 years ago this week (26 June 1825), was the 4^th James Davys in a row of direct ancestors. He broke the pattern, only giving his name as a second Christian name to one of his sons. But it was back a generation later, when his son Francis named his eldest son James and started it again. That James has a namesake in every subsequent generation and was my Dad’s uncle. So although the same name continued it was no longer part of my direct line.

In 1870 my great grandmother’s aunt Harriett started something I bet she never expected. She named her second daughter Minnie Mildred. Six years later Harriett’s elder brother George named his eldest daughter Minnie Mildred. In 1880 Minnie was #32 on the top 200 names for girls in Britain and Mildred was #106, so relatively popular I guess. The first Minnie Mildred emigrated to New Zealand with her parents and named one of her own daughters as her name sake in 1896. George’s family however took the name to a whole new level. His daughter Minnie Mildred bestowed her name, including her maiden surname on one of her daughters in 1895. George’s son William named one of his daughters Minnie Mildred in 1905, and included the surname of the first Minnie Mildred. Then George’s son Arthur gave the name to his fourth daughter in 1910. There was another, just Minnie, in 1898; granddaughter of George and Harriett’s elder brother Henry. William’s daughter Minnie (1905) went on to give one her daughters a different variation in 1934. His son William emigrated to the USA and named one of his daughters Mildred Langford in 1922. Maybe it is still carrying on…who knows ?

Minnie Mildred Langford b 1870

Minnie Mildred Kelsey b 1876

Minnie Mildred Kelsey Evans b 1895

Minnie Mildred Lang b 1896

Minnie Kelsey b 1898

Minnie Mildred Langford Kelsey b 1905

Minnie Mildred Kelsey b 1910

Mildred Langford Kelsey b 1922

Mildred Kelsey Wotherspoon b 1934

Harriett’s line / George’s line / Henry’s line (none of the abovenamed are living)

In this same family there are at least nine occurrences of William Henry as well. Hmmm.

Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. The first two I understand – since Elizabeth #1 died in infancy. Why though name the third daughter Elizabeth as well ? I believe it is an error as the younger one later seemed to become Eliza. Just to make things slightly trickier to untangle Elizabeth #2 and Elizabeth #3 (Eliza) went on to marry brothers.

#52Ancestors, Week 6, Favourite Name

So, I have said it before – I’m a bit of a name nerd. This topic “Favourite name” is hard for me. How do I choose?

Names are one of the things that attracted me to genealogy in the beginning.

Why did some families just use the same names over and over again? Why did some families give their children two names, or three names or more? Let’s face it more than three is a bit over the top, but there are some which do sound great, have a pleasing meter.

Why did some families give their children names and then call them something completely different? Why did some children get one name and others two – did the ones with only one name feel gypped? Why did some get much used names, then one sibling a really out there name?

So, which name to choose?

Alianore Mary Christina Cameron-Ramsay-Fairfax-Lucy – love the sound of that one;

Minnie Mildred – there are a bunch of girls with this moniker. But I have mentioned them before.

I am eternally grateful to my forbears that they did give some thought to the “sound” of the names they bestowed on their children and the pairing of names with each other and the surname.

Emma Louisa, my great grandmother and her siblings all had names which sounded great. My grandmother Elsie Lilian did too.

Any name that is a little different gets bonus points for me. Kerenhappuch, Roxillana, Vergetta, Zenobia, Balthasar, Julius, Mowbray, Cornelius. They make research a little easier than just searching for Ann and James. Then there are the ones with clues to the past where a surname has been added as a helpful hint for researchers.

But, the name for today is Peternell, sometimes recorded as Peternall/Peternel/ Petronel or Petronella.

Peternell Eastment was my 5xgreat grandmother. She was born in East Chinnock, Somerset about 1733. Her parents were married there, in Blessed Virgin St Mary, eleven years earlier and there are 3 daughters and 1 son appearing in the baptisms for them in the years before Peternell’s baptism on 5 November 1733.[1]

Peternell lived her whole life in East Chinnock, marrying Richard Bartlett on 7 April 1760 in the same village church.[2] She and Richard had a family of seven, all but one reaching adulthood. Two of her sons included her name in their choices for their own daughters, and at least one grandson followed suit.

Many of her grandchildren left East Chinnock. Some moved to other counties in England, others emigrated to Australia and New Zealand – and quite likely to other colonies; America, Canada and South Africa. Although she did not live to see them leave, dying in March 1816, I wonder how she would have felt.[3] Would she have understood their curiosity to explore new lands and seek new opportunities far away from the only place she had ever called home?

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^[1] FreeReg, 'FreeReg', https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_queries/, Accessed 12 February 2018.

[2] FreeReg, 'FreeReg'.

[3] FreeReg, 'FreeReg'.

#52Stories, Week 22, A fascination with names

This is a topic I made up because I couldn't find one to suit in the list for this week. 

Names, and the fascination of them. 

Is there a name for that ? Surely there must be.

For as long as I can remember I have liked names. Why do we have the names we have ? What influenced our parents to make the choices they did ?

I remember spending my pocket money on little books filled with names, their origins and meaning. They were great for all of the stories I wrote – offering options for character names other than Susan, Mary, Jane etc.

When Dad began doing family research that provided a whole new source and something a bit different to focus on. Discovering the names of aunts, uncles, grandparents and their siblings, and the generations before them as well.

Why did some use their middle Christian name as their preferred name – and why did some alternate throughout their lives. Where did nicknames and diminutives come from ? Why did they just stick with the same names ? I had books with 2500+ to choose from – but mostly the family tree was filled with Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Sarah & for the boys James, Thomas, Francis, William and John.

Occasionally though there were bursts of originality; Peternell, Kerrenhappuch, Hephzibar, Roxillanna, Zenobia,

I would look for trends for instance when flower names seemed popular, or gemstones. How many Ruby, Beryl, Jade and Pearl were there ? And why not Sapphire; is Garnet a boy’s name or a girl’s ? Or Violet, Daisy, Lily and Rose – what about Magnolia ?

Boy’s names don’t seem to follow the same sort of trends, until more recently. Saint’s names, family names, homage to royalty or clans, sportspeople.

The trends were obvious at school. So many Mark's, Craig's and Steven's; Debra's, Donna's and Susan's in my classes.

How did anyone ever keep track of each other at family gatherings when there might have been a father named James, for his father and several other younger James' possibly children of James' brothers - all named for their grandfather, and then cousins sharing other family names; John, Francis, Mary, Ann, Elizabeth. Were they Jimmy, Jamie, James, Jim or did they have different nicknames ? Little Jim, Jim-Bob (if they were lucky enough to have a second Christian name).

Some names are used infrequently, are they the ones that were popular just at that time perhaps. Others have me really intrigued about why they are repeated through generations. 

Some parents gave their children the names of church leaders, or presidents  - George Washington and Benjamin Franklin; Bramwell; and possibly even godparents - Elizabeth Ginder.

What was so special about the first person to have a particular name, that inspired others to name their children with the same combination and for others to introduce mutations of the original over time. Minnie Mildred appears as a combination in one branch SIX times, sometimes with a surname added as an extra christian name to further point to the original bearer of the name. Plus there are two more who dropped Minnie but kept the surnames. Maybe there is another Minnie or Mildred further back who I haven't discovered yet, who was the inspiration.