Daniel and Charlotte - on Naming Their Children

"The Importance of Given Names

by Donna Przecha

In genealogy, we usually concentrate on surnames, since they are the most important way of identifying people who are related. A surname is usually inherited and, while it may be changed, some form of it is usually retained. Given names are more important in a way, because they represent a voluntary choice by the parents or, sometimes, by an individual. A name is usually not given lightly. It represents thought and feelings, and can be significant to the researcher.

Naming Patterns

You will often see the same names used over and over again in families. While certain names are popular, in different areas, in different times in history, the repetition could represent a pattern. Many cultures believe in honoring their elders, and do so by naming children after them. Angus Baxter, in  "In Search of Your British and Irish Roots," describes a pattern that was popular in England in the 1700 - 1875 period:

The first son was named after the father's father

The second son was named after the mother's father

The third son was named after the father

The forth son was named after the father's eldest brother

The first daughter after the mother's mother

The second daughter after the father's mother

The third daughter after the mother

The fourth daughter after the mother's eldest sister

If this pattern would result in a duplication of names - i.e., both grandfathers had the same name - then they would skip to the next one on the list. Similar patterns have been suggested for other nationalities. This could be a very helpful formula, but many genealogists warn against giving it too much credence. Given human nature, it would be very difficult to follow exactly. It would be pretty hard to convince a new mother of her first-born son to name him after a drunken, abusive father-in-law rather than her own beloved father who had just died.

You will probably see names of parents and grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles repeated, but not in any strict order. It is difficult to know whom a child called Ann or Mary was actually named after. While over half of the names in a family will probably appear to be repeats, there always seems to be a few totally different ones. A child might be named after a good friend or a popular hero of the times."
http://www.genealogy.com/35_donna.html

Naming Their Children

Who Did Daniel and Charlotte Name Their Children After?

Recently, I've been studying the rural area of Portage Vale, where several of our ancestors settled in the early to mid 1800's. I discovered several people for whom Daniel and Charlotte may have named their children. Keep in mind, this is conjecture. Their children, in order of birth:

Frances Ann - Charlotte's mother was Frances Ketchum, and her elder sister was  named Frances Deborah.

Margaret Eliza - Charlotte's cousin, Margaret Snider, lived nearby. At this point in time, I see no other significant Margaret or Eliza, although they were common names.

Sarah Louise - Sarah Ketchum, Charlotte's aunt, lived nearby. I do not see a Louise in the family tree.

Harriet Olivia - Harriet Ketchum, Charlotte's aunt, lived nearby. I do not see an Olivia. Perhaps Louise and Olivia were their namesake's middle names, I do not know.

James Hoyt - the twin of George. Probably the first born son - was named for Charlotte's father, James Hoyt II.

George H - the twin of James Hoyt. I have not yet found a significant George, and I do not know what the H stands for. I'm guessing it might be Howard.

William Nelson - Charlotte's cousin, William Oliver Snider, was a brother to Margaret Snider Davidson. Just maybe that is where the Olivia came from in Harriet's middle name. The Anglican rector who baptized at least some of Daniel and Charlotte's children was Rev. Horatio Nelson Arnold. He went by Nelson. Admiral Horatio Nelson, (1758 - 1805) was a hero for whom people named their children in that era. By the way, William Snider, Charlotte's cousin, married Daniel and Charlotte's second daughter, Margaret. Also, Rev. Arnold's wife was a sister of Major General Sir Fenwick Williams, KCB, hero of Kars, for whom the parish of Kars in Kings County, New Brunswick was named. (An Historical Sketch of the First Fifty Years of the Church of England in the Province of New Brunswick 1783 - 1833, p.103). For those of you interested in the name Fenwick, see http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=5908

Caroline Maria - the only Caroline I have found so far is Charlotte's cousin, Susannah Caroline Snider, sister of Margaret and William. Daniel had an aunt, Maria Holstead.

Peter Ketchum - Charlotte's uncle, Peter Ketchum, lived nearby. He and his unmarried siblings, Harriet, Sarah and Samuel Ketchum, lived out their lives in the Ketchum homestead in Portage Vale.

Charles Robert - Daniel had an uncle, Charles Holstead. I do not know of any significant Robert. Perhaps that was Uncle Charles' middle name. William Nelson Holmes named one of his sons Charles Holstead, which leads me to believe that this individual must have played an important role in the family.

Charlotte Elizabeth - named for her mother and called Bessie. Was Charlotte's middle name Elizabeth, I wonder? 

Howard Fenwick -  I would dearly love to know who this character, who my great-grandfather Charles referred to as the black sheep of the family, was named for. (Charles gave his first son the name George Howard. I wonder if he was named for George H, his older brother, who died at the age of nearly three.) I have not found a significant Howard. Howard Fenwick went by the name Fenwick, generally. See the note under William Nelson for my wonder about the name Fenwick.

Daniel and Charlotte did not name a son "Samuel." The first born son was generally named after his father's father. Was it because Daniel's father abandoned him to the care of his maternal grandparents when he was but a toddler? In addition to his father being called Samuel, both of his grandparents were Samuel. Charlotte had an uncle, Samuel Ketchum. So "Samuel" would be an obvious choice. My take on the obvious is that, even though there were several significant Samuel's for Daniel and Charlotte to name their first born son for, the fact that his own father cared nothing for his son left him bitter.

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As I said, these are my conjectures. If anyone else has an idea, please let me know. Probably we will never know for sure, but I find it very interesting to speculate about.