Genealogy Chat

Has anyone come across a family who have given two of their children the same forenames?

My Great Great Grandparents Solomon Little and Rosanna Abel had 9 children that I have been able to trace. Some were born in Gloucester, and others in Staffordshire.

I have a birth certificate for Fanny Emily Little, born on 27 Feb 1860 in Gloucester. It shows her parents as Solomon Little and Rosanna Little (formerly Abel). Fanny is shown on the 1861 census aged 1 year, living with her parents and brother David, and sister Sarah in Gloucester. She does not appear on a later census, and I can find no trace of her marriage or death.

I also have a birth certificate for Fanny Emily Little born on 20 Jun 1870 in Staffordshire. It show her parents as Solomon Little and Rosehannah Little (formerly Abel). This Fanny is shown on the 1871 census aged 10 months, living with her parents and brother David, and sister Sarah, sister Mary (born in Gloucester), and another brother and sister both born in Staffordshire.

I wonder if the first Fanny died as a child. But why no record of her death? Why would her parents name another daughter with the same two names? Is this unusual?

Steve

No, it was very common to name a baby after a previous child who died. I have in one line 3 James - named one after another as their predecessor died as babies.

This often happens when a child died in infancy, especially when the parents are determined to follow naming conventions, calling their children after their own parents.

Sometimes a name is used three times, before they accept that it's just not meant to be.

Alistair

Possible?

Deaths Dec 1862 (>99%)
Little Fanny Gloucester 6a 175

Hi Steve, It's happened in my family too, several times over. it's not uncommon to name a child after a sibling has died. Lou

Hi Heather

Thanks - I think that must be it!

Steve

Hi Steve, I am researching the Abell / Abel / Able Families in Gloucestershire. Are you researching your Abel line?

Julie

I have two sets of Emily Vaus Mumford (they would have been cousins if the first little Emily had not died).
One Mumford brother named his children: Emily Vaus (who died), James Stuart, William Richard Vaus, Annie Caroline, and Frederick.
The other Mumford brother named his children: Emily Vaus, James E., William Richard, Caroline M. and Henry Alexander.
The third Mumford brother only had one child and named him: James E.
Some families want to carry on naming traditions. :)

yeah my g.grandmother was called Caroline Evelina Trewhella. her mother remarried and had three more children and she named one of them Caroline but her surname was Thomas. Neither of them were called Caroline one was called Evelina and the other Carrie. I must be the exception as they both lived until their 70's/80's...

Youre welcome steve :)

My Gt Grandfather named 3 of his daughters Mary...after their mother.

They all survived and married but they were actually known by their middle names of Eliza, Elizabeth and Frances...so confusing!

They appeard on the various Census records as :
Mary E, Mary Frances and Mary Eliza.

My father's name was Harold and he had an older brother named Harry, both from the same marriage. Guess my grandparents ran out of inspiration!

Well, the Harry was probably a Henry Tass.

An ancestor's brother married an Elizabeth Jane Palmer who had a living elder sister Elizabeth. In due course Elizabeth Jane named her first daughter Elizabeth, and then named a younger one Elizabeth Palmer.

Thanks to all who have replied. Interesting that this seems to have been so common.

Julie

I have not done any research on the Abel side of the family. All I have is that Rosannah was christened in Worcestershire on 18 Junje 1837, and that she was the daughter of Thomas Abel (born abt 1801 in Wednesbury, Staffs).

Steve

I just have to add ... one set of my grx2 grparents called their children (I never remember the order of the first four):

Elliza Ann
Eliza Jane
Mary Ann
Mary Jane
Anna Maria
Virginia
Georgina
Tryphoena
William

Someone bought them a baby-names book midway through. There were no Elizas in either family behind them, so this was just some weird 19th century equivalent of today's parents with their Kassidy, Kody, Kylie broods, I assume.

Anyhow, my gr-grmother was the Eliza Jane and was called Jane, so with that piece of info we can at least work out what the other ones were presumably referred to as!

I was confused about mine as my Gran, Rosetta, was on the 1891 census aged one so I sent for the birth cert. and it gave her birthday as 11th June and I know my Gran's birthday was 31st May so I searched and found another Rosetta and then found a death.

My Great Gran was expecting MY Gran when the first Rosetta died aged 16 month of measles.

If I hadn't known MY Grans actual birth date I would probably have stuck with that first birth certiciate.

Just goes to show how complicated all this can be

Linda