Thank you, Ellen - I did know that Joe was short for Joseph. The question I can't find an answer to is, was Joseph his given name or his Saint's name? All of the family members from that time period have 3 names: a given name, middle name, last name - with an occasional Saint's name thown into the mix. All I can find for Joseph DURKIN are those 2 names. Marion

In Irish catholic families. there may be a thied name which is a confirmation name which is also a saints name. I have read some where that they also pass on names of parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles. It might be helpful to check church records for baptism and confirmation Kathy

To the Rootsweb DURKIN Message Board, This message is for additional help in your research only, I am not advertising - or suggesting that u use only (1) means of getting your information to this list. It is only to let u know there are other alternatives to get your info out to as many people as possible. I am the administrator for both the DURKIN - Rootsweb message board and Ancestry's forum, and I wanted to let everyone know of the relationship between the (2) - Ancestry & Rootsweb. I have set up the Rootsweb message board to receive Ancestry messages - when someone posts to an Ancestry Message Board, a copy of their message is forwarded to the corresponding RootsWeb mailing list. If you have any ?'s or u r confused w/ this info I will do my best to help you. Please keep all correspondence on the list so everyone benefits. If there is anything I can do to help this list, please let me know. Would love to hear from everybody!!!!! BTW - The Irish Catholic custom of naming children: The tradition goes like this: The first son is named after his paternal grandfather (although sometimes after the maternal grandfather). The second son is named after his maternal grandfather. The third son is named after his father's eldest brother. (if one exists, or the name has not been used yet) The fourth son is named after his mother's eldest brother. (If one exists, or the name has not been used yet) The fifth son is named after his father. The first daughter is named after her paternal grandmother. The second daughter is named after her maternal grandmother. The third daughter is named after her father's eldest sister (if one exists) The fourth daughter is named after her mother's eldest sister, (if one exists). The fifth daughter is named after her mother The middle name is from Confirmation which is a Saint, there were other short versions of there 1st name - Bridget - Biddy, etc Winifred - Winny, Celina - Selena, Sebrina, Good luck in all your research and if I can help just yell!!! Slainte duine a ol (drinking for your health) Thomas Joseph Durkin