Middle Names

From Randy Seaver's Saturday Challenge: 

 

1)     It became tradition in English speaking countries to bestow middle names on children during the 19th century and later.  Go back four generations in your ancestral families and list the middle names of the children in these families.  Do you know why those middle names were bestowed?

This challenge is difficult for me. Many of these families tended not to give middle names. If they did, it was very often just an initial and not a complete name from what can be found in records. Legal and baptismal records don’t give the middle names as well as in other places showing with either none or the initial only. I have listed each family in birth order with an * beside my direct ancestor. All comments about them are in italics.

Ward

Ann?

John?

Not sure about these children- only one listing unsourced, but fits with a census listing of mother’s # children born/living

George W

*John S Always claimed to be just “S”- son Alden D. listed his as “Dee” in his marriage record.

Keziah E

Mary A The “A” might stand for Ann as her mother was Mary Ann.

Zachrius Dexter No known person of Dexter- might be a neighbor?

Elizabeth A “Libbie”

Susan W

Wesley W

Rose Belle No known instance of Belle in family otherwise.

Titus

Sarah R

Daniel D

Anna A

*Maria C

Edwin C His and/or Maria’s might be for Chase, their maternal grandmother’s maiden name.

Edgar P

Lydia A

Never saw anything but initials in any listing

Ingalls

*Charles Joseph Joseph is after his father and others in his ancestry as well

Elvira A “Vite” Vite was a shortened corruption of her first name. No idea if A was an initial or beginning of a name.

Brown

Charlie W

Frank H

* Achsah L

Emily M

Abbie

William S

Henry H

John E

Never saw anything but initials in any listing

Wooster

Oren T

Edith

Byron

Ellen Juliann None known

Harriet A “Hattie”

Ina Adelle Only find first name on tombstone, so Adelle was actually first.

Ida May None known.

Thomas James None known. Name passed down on descent in Verner’s line.

Lewis

*Verner Robert Middle was a great grandfather’s first name. Name passed down on descent.

Duff

*Edith Mary Mother Mary Ellen, grandmother Mary Jane, ggrandmother Jane. Paternal grandmother Mary.

Mabel Louise None known.

Helen Theodora None known.

Fred Millard None known.

I have thought that perhaps these were names of neighbors.

Jennings

Susan

John

Mary Catherine  Many Catherine’s and Katherine’s in cousins.

George

Jane

*William

Sarah

Damery

*Mary

John

Annie

Elizabeth “Eliza”

George

*Sarah