Curses and Thieves ~ The Mehargs

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 41 (MOST)

I wonder what the most popular baby names in the 1800s were? 
    - This was my immediate thought as soon as I began thinking about this week's prompt MOST.

There was no shortage of data available online where I discovered John & Mary were the most popular throughout the 1800s.

Then I began searching our Bramble Bush for a couple whose names were John & Mary who fit for the timeframe.

I found Chris' X3 great grandparents (via his father's paternal line).

John Franklin Meharg
Birth 24 JUN 1832 • Rathfriland, Ulster, County Down, Ireland
Death 7 JUN 1909 • Norfolk, Haldimand-Norfolk Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada
&
Mary Ette (Marietta) Longstaff
Birth 22 MAY 1840 • Scarborough, York Co, Upper Canada (Ontario)
Death 4 MAR 1917 • North Walsingham, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada

Rosa Lula is Chris' X2 great grandmother

The information I found online kept quoting 1880

" the most popular name during the late 1800s, John hit its peak in 1880 with 9,655 baby boys given the name that year. It remained one of the top 10 boys’ names for a century, and ranked 28th in 2016.
...
Nearly six percent of all baby girls born during the 1880s and 1890s decades were named Mary, making it the most popular female name in the late 19th century. A whopping 14,406 baby girls were given the name in the year 1898 alone. By comparison, there were only 5,773 baby girls given the second most popular name, Anna, that year. " 1

I couldn't figure out why until I found the Galbi Think! page (linked in sources below) then I realized the 1880 date was the census date the information was collected from.

When Mary was born in 1840 there were 3233 with the second most popular, Elizabeth, there was only 1828. 

When John was born in 1840 there were 2351 with the second most popular, William, there was 1804. 

These statistics were from the United States. Likely Canada (Mary) and Ireland (John) were not much different.

According to the United States Social Security the top 10 most popular baby names of the 1800s were: 

Sourced below

Mary & John had 11 children that I have found records for. Chris has DNA matches through 4 of the children. I suspect I have not found all of their children because these 11 all lived to adulthood. It's always possible Mary & John defied all the odds of the time & didn't lose any infants or children, but this would be very surprising. Their youngest is Chris' X2 great grandmother on his father's paternal line.

Their 11 children I have found are:

Nicholas James Meharg
Birth 3 AUG 1860 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 14 OCT 1941 • Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

William Edgerton (Bill) Meharg
Birth 02 FEB 1862 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 14 APR 1919 • Alpena, Alpena, Michigan, USA

Alfred Edward Meharg
Birth 14 JAN 1864 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 2 MAY 1945 • Dunbar, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA

Sarah Lavina (Sally) Meharg
Birth 31 MAR 1866 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 18 JULY 1934 • St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada

John Franklin (Jack) Meharg
Birth 22 AUG 1868 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 21 JULY 1949 • York, Ontario, Canada

David Ernest Meharg
Birth 9 MAY 1871 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 19 JUN 1919 • Comber, Ontario, Canada

Joseph Wesley (Joe) Meharg
Birth 08 AUG 1873 • Glen Meyer,  Ontario, Canada
Death 18 NOV 1930 • Alpena, Alpena, Michigan, USA

Robert George Meharg
Birth 18 AUG 1875 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada

Death 23 FEB 1954 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada

Charles Clarence (Charlie) Meharg

Birth 22 JAN 1878 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada

Death 02 AUG 1949 • Yale, St Clair, Michigan, United States

Whitfield Thomas Meharg
Birth 23 JAN 1880 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada

Death 4 APR 1958 • Tillsonburg, Oxford, Ontario, Canada

Rosa Lulu Meharg
Birth 12 JUL 1882 • Glen Meyer, Ontario, Canada
Death 23 DEC 1962 • Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada

This was the line that first gave us to wonder if the two sides of our children' Bramble Bush were going to colide.

The tale was the Mehargs were Grahams who reversed the spelling of their name after being sheep thieves and deciding to live a crime free life. 

I was relieved to find their Grahams were Irish since my mother's paternal line is Graham from Scotland. 

Then I found the article, Meharg, a name cursed since the 1500s; blame it on the Archbishop of Glasgow, written by Howard Meharg that tells us this

"My distant and unknown relative, Bob, has discovered that our family hails from a blood-soaked region along the border of Scotland and England he describes as once being in the "grip of feud and organized gangsterism." Trust me, Bob says, this was bad stuff. And it was made that way, largely, by a bunch of murderous clans known as the "border reivers," whose only major contribution to English culture was the word "blackmail."

These "goons" (Bob's word) thought nothing of sacking and looting a farm or neighboring clan. Now, right in the thick of all of this were our ancestors, who at that time went under the name of Graham.

The Grahams, he says in a bit of understatement, were so good at their business that they brought a "certain amount of ill will." Thus, they were savagely persecuted by the English king of the day.

But that was just the beginning of the Grahams' problems. The Archbishop of Glasgow issued a tirade which, in part, went like this: "I curse thair heid and all the haris of thair heid; I curse thair face, thair ene, thair mouth, thair crag, thair schulderis, thair breist, thair hert..."

Only a Scot could come up with something like that. But it worked. It became so unhealthy to be a Graham that many of them, at the behest of one smart family member, decided to change the name to avoid further attention. In a blaze of inspiration, he put the letters backwards, from Graham to Maharg and later to Meharg. 

Then, in an equally bright move, a branch of the family ran off to the peace and safety of Northern Ireland." 2

It's interesting that this family lore is similar to the family lore my husband's branch tells, but not so close that it's the exact same tale.

Now we are left wondering if the two sides of this Bramble Bush really are merging ... 

Sorry kids you may be cousins to yourself!!! 

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***

Footnotes:

1  The Most Popular Baby Names of the 1800s. Cheyenne Buckingham. Yahoo Finance. Originally published June 21st 2017. Retrieved Octover 5th 2024 from 
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-popular-baby-names-1800-161237599.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJob1mM6J_Ra_Mb1HDrty-T0kTFrqcYa5wFwP0VHxF9LOS-EeGMkIFDlR7bpVXulqe-ZKbME-3igFtKfCgtHzKFRl-JZcNSfJ7hArWJeEYfUKuInvX5xqzuCBpqHyigfX6WHDr90udJ4dYCa7FwxYrFpID_JMuMoh4g3kxNDDN_u

2 Meharg, a name cursed since the 1500s; blame it on the Archbishop of Glasgow. Howard Meharg. Retrieved October 11th 2024 from 
https://www.howardsong.org/meharg-name-cursed-since-1500

Sources:

Galbi Think! Retrived October 11th 2024 from 
https://www.galbithink.org/

John Franklin Meharg Sr. Find A Grave. Retrieved October 11th 2024 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48974046/john_franklin_meharg

Mary Ett Longstaff Meharg. Find A Grave. Retrieved October 11th 2024 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48974066/mary_ett_meharg

Meharg, a name cursed since the 1500s; blame it on the Archbishop of Glasgow. Howard Meharg. Retrieved October 11th 2024 from
https://www.howardsong.org/meharg-name-cursed-since-1500

The Most Popular Baby Names of the 1800s. Cheyenne Buckingham. Yahoo Finance. Originally published June 21st 2017. Retrieved Octover 5th 2024 from 
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-popular-baby-names-1800-161237599.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJob1mM6J_Ra_Mb1HDrty-T0kTFrqcYa5wFwP0VHxF9LOS-EeGMkIFDlR7bpVXulqe-ZKbME-3igFtKfCgtHzKFRl-JZcNSfJ7hArWJeEYfUKuInvX5xqzuCBpqHyigfX6WHDr90udJ4dYCa7FwxYrFpID_JMuMoh4g3kxNDDN_u

Popular Given Names. US, 1801-1999. Given Name Frequency Project. Douglas Galbi. Galbi Think. Retrieved October 5th 2024 from
https://www.galbithink.org/names/us200.htm

Top names of the 1880s. Social Security. Unite States Government. Retrieved October 5th 2024 from
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1880s.html

Photos:

John Franklin & Mary Ette (nee Longstaff) Meharg. Photo provided by extended family member to the writer.

Top 10 baby names for boys and girls, Screenclip, Social Security Administration. Unite States Government. Retrieved October 11th 2024 from
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1880s.html

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

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