Genealogy Chat

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Morning all, I spent hours yesterday looking at parish records and had some really good finds, but one has puzzled me some what. I was looking for baptisms of any siblings of my gggg grandfather Bransby White, father William, mother Hannah Knaggs. This is what I found over a 20 year period that I searched for the same parents: William 7 Nov 1813 Bransby 7 Feb 1816 Bransby 2 July 1817 Thomas 15 Aug 1819 Thomas 24 May 1822 Is it more likely that the first Bransby and Thomas died as children and the parents named the next baby with the same name, or that there's two families in the parish with the same parents names who just so happen to be naming their babies with the same names as my family. I've not come across anything like this before so any ideas would be most appreciated. Em

Morning Emma. I have found three instances in my family where infants died within the first year and parents named the next born of the same sex after the deceased child. Like you I wondered if it was a different family but could find no evidence to support this. Seems a strange practice in todays world but guess things were very different then and they did have an awful lot of names to think of! Go with your gut instinct usually works for me Happy hunting Tinax

Thanks Tina, my gut tells me it is the same family....Bransby's a rather unusual first name. Such a shame there's no way for us to verify things like these as 100 percent fact! em

Emma I agree, i have instances where the first child died and a further child was named the same. In fact in one family i have 2 Lydia's, 2 John's and 2 Sarah's. Think it was quite common then. I suggest you just keep looking, it does bring interesting results. Alison of Hastings

Yes, I had three James in a row until one survived. Someone did say that they named the next child after the dead one because they believed 'Death' would think he had taken them already and leave them be. So sad, I dont know how they could bear losing so many kiddies. That name is unusual - have you trawled the parish records for someone who has it as a surname, in case there is a connection?

Thanks all - seems it's quite a common thing to have happened so my gut instinct is probably right. Heather, I've actually gone a further four generations back from Bransby's father, 1680, and as yet have not come across the name again. As I've hit a brick wall going back on this line I decided to start going sideways - hence looking for siblings of my direct line. So somewhere I'm sure it'll appear again. One of Bransby's son's is called Isaac POSTGATE White - also very strange. I haven't found a connection anywhere else for this name either but I'm hoping I will eventually! Em

Yes Im sure it will. I am SO PLEASED when I see an obvious surname as a middle name, it helps so much, doesnt it. When I found my GGFX3 had married a Smith in London, I thought well thats that. But when I got the marriage cert it showed her father as William Webb Smith, what a break. That meant I could find him and all the siblings and his parents, brilliant. Wish more of them had done that!

Emma, Was Bransby's wife's maiden name 'Postgate'? This taking of wife's maiden name as middle name for firstborn is something I've seen in bits of my familly - it's a great clue in some cases. Regs Jane

Jane, unfortunately not. I have the marriage certs for both the wifes he had. I have Isaac's 4 grandparents and 8 g grandparents and some even further back on some of the lines but still no connections for either the 'Bransby' name or 'Postgate'. There is a pub in the area they were born and raised called 'The Postgate' - thought there might be a connection with that when I first came across the name..but nothing yet. em