52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 3 (NAMESAKE)
Not so long ago I was thinking about how confusing it is when families reuse the same name generation after generation.
In looking at the ancestors in our Bramble Bush I was surprised to find when a child died the next born of the same gender was given the deceased child's name. I had no idea why that would be, and honestly thought it creepy.
I wondered how it was that our ancestors were so lacking creativity that they couldn't come up with unique names for all of their children.
As I got further and further back in our Bramble Bush I realized the list of names narrowed dramatically. As each generation opened up I felt that I could just fill in the same 8-14 names randomly and have a good chance of them being correct. This left me wondering how I could be sure the record I found was the right one.
Then I discovered Scottish naming patterns , and the repeating of names made sense.
1st boy - named after father's father
1st girl - named after mother's mother
2nd boy - named after mother's father
2nd girl - named after father's mother
3rd boy - named after father
3rd girl - named after mother
4 or more children were named after the siblings of the parents or great grandparents depending on which tradition the family subscribed to.
*** For more information about Scottish naming patterns see SOURCES below ***
Once I understood the tradition it made researching our Scottish lines much easier.
That being said there were some anomalies.
The first relative I found to corroborate with resided in New Zealand.
His ancestor had immigrated there when my ancestor immigrated to Canada.
Our ancestors were brothers.
My ancestor was Thomas Thomson.
BIRTH 10 MAY 1880 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 19 NOV 1940 • Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
One of what looked like thousands of Thomas Thomsons with no middle name in our Bramble Bush. Ensuring the Thomas I was looking at was my Thomas gave me tension headaches as I tracked records back.
His ancestor was Thomas' brother James Devlin Glass Thomson.
BIRTH 26 SEP 1883 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 31 AUG 1966 • Raumati Beach, Kapiti Coast, Wellington, New Zealand
Named after their maternal grandfather, James Glass, was obvious.
I was left pondering Devlin as the second middle name.
Definitely an unusual naming pattern.
James Devlin was their mother's brother in law.
I realized that I should be pleased that my relative carried the family tradition with the name Thomas Thomson, but honestly that didn't make me feel any better James Devlin Glass Thomson is a super cool name - Thomas Thomson, not so much.
The photo above is Thomas, James, and their sister Mary
Mary Thomson
BIRTH 28 NOV 1870 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 16 DEC 1973 • Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
The other Thomson siblings were:
Isabella (Bella) Thomson
BIRTH 6 JUN 1872 • North Berwick, Haddingtonshire, Scotland
DEATH 5 MAY 1950 • Deaconess Hospital, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
Henry Thomson
BIRTH 19 JAN 1874 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 8 AUG 1971 • Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
Agnes Thomson
BIRTH 07 MAR 1876 • Graham's Close, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 30 JUL 1956 • 205 Berea Street, Pretoria, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Laura Edward Thomson
BIRTH 14 FEB 1887 • Someville's Court, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH Unknown
Thomas Thomson
BIRTH ABT. 1849 • Buckhaven, East Wemyss, Fife, Scotland
DEATH 22 FEB 1919 • Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
The mother was:
Isabella Glass
BIRTH ABT 1848 • North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
DEATH 29 JUL 1943 • Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, Scotland
Making sure the commonly used name is YOUR relative!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my
own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom
of this blog post***
Sources:
Forenames, Guides, Scotland's People. Retrieved January 17th 2021 from
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/forenames
McKiven, Carol. The traditional Scottish naming system. Scottish Kin. Published February 15, 2016. Retrieved January 17th 2021from
https://scottishkin.com/the-traditional-scottish-naming-system
Robb, John Barrett. The Scottish Onomastic Child-naming Pattern. Published 4Jul2020 Retrieved January 17th 2021 from
http://www.johnbrobb.com/Content/TheScottishOnomasticPattern.pdf
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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