Week 25 in Same Name - and once again I am behind with these posts.
Names are such a vital part of our family history, and one which causes no end of problems. The spelling of names, changing names, repeating names through the generations - they all have the potential to trip up the wariest of researchers.
As I have discovered my family history, one habit I have found again and again is the habit of reusing the name of a child who has died with the next born infant of the same gender. In one or two cases, a name has been used several times in one family before finally a child survived infancy - and it adds another dimension to the challenge of tracing the family.
My 4x great-grandfather John Green was born 24th July 1760 in Fordham, Essex and died 25 October 1808, also in Fordham. He had two brothers named Isaac, both of whom died in infancy. The first brother was born 5 June 1761 and died just three days later on 8 June 1761. The name was then given to the next son, Isaac born 7 April 1765 and died 6 March 1766.
John Green then went on to name his third son Isaac, after his two brothers. My 3x Great-grandfather Isaac Green was born in 1792 in Fordham (the Green family lived in the village for several generations). He married Betsy (Elizabeth) May 7th November 1816 in her home village West Mersea, Essex and died 18th September 1882, again in Fordham. Together he and Betsy had 10 children, two of whom were called Isaac.
Their third child, and first son Isaac was born 25th March 1821, and died 20 March 1823. Just months later Betsy gave birth to twins, Isaac and Joseph, on 14th June 1823. This Isaac lived into his eighties, and died 21 December 1904.
With so many boys named Isaac in just a few generations (not to mention a few cousins and second cousins who also bore the same name) making sure that the information I find is actually relevant to the correct man is a challenge. Several time I have gone chasing an Isaac Green only to find he is a cousin or uncle of the man I am trying to research. It all adds to the challenge and makes me take extra care in checking my facts.
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