As I understand it, Pamela, that wasn't so uncommon as you've seen on the censuses. I think it had a lot to do with children dying young, and maybe in AR and other places, there might have been some Indian influence in that they sometimes waited for a child to "earn" a name. Also, yes, the birth certificate would be filed as my grandfather's was "unknown" and then he went back after he was grown with proof of who he was and someone to sign an affidavit and had the birth certificate updated - I forget the name for it, but there is a name. And, many times before the early 1900's there was no birth certificate - lucky if there was an entry in the Family Bible. I don't know how old my grandfather was when he was named, but it is an interesting happening since we now name the child often before it is born. (Of course, we have the aid of modern technology that they didn't have also to tell us the sex of the baby). My thoughts and opinions, Tsana ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 8:34 AM Subject: [AGS] Children "Not Named" > Hello All: > > Hope the weather in your neck of the woods is more predictable than the issue > I've run into... > > I have another burning question for you historians. I located my > gr-grandmother's family in the 1900 Lonoke AR census that listed one of the > children as "little sister." Well, she was only 6 months old, so I didn't > think much of it. Fast forward ten years, and she is listed as "Babe" (which > I suppose is a sort of a name). I thought this was unique to my relatives, > but as I've been browsing through census images, I have noticed several > instances of children listed as "Not Named" -- one little girl was 3 years > old! > > Of course that made me curious about the real story behind this cold data. > Why would it take so long to provide a child with a name? Was there a > religious or cultural reason for this? Was the name of a child so > insignificant in that time period that the parents felt there was no rush? > And, in the case of the 3 year old "Not Named", would her birth certificate > have been filled out 3 years after her actual birth? If so, would it have > even been accurate?? > > Okay...I guess that was more than one question, but I was just curious if > anyone had any ideas on this one. Forgive me if I seem a bit obsessed about > these oddities--I'm just trying to get a real taste for the flavor of the > times, not simply places, dates, and (sometimes) names. > > Thanks a bunch! > -Pamela > > > ==== AGS Mailing List ==== > ARKANSAS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY > 2002 FALL SEMINAR and BOOK FAIR > Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, 2002 > Holiday Inn Airport-East, Little Rock, Arkansas > I-440, Exit 3 (Airport Exit) > For details see: http://www.rootsweb.com/~args/ >