Hi, Joan and everybody on Geiger-L, I don't know that this would necessarily apply to this instance of so many Christinas, but I've learned in other research I've done [or simply talking with other researchers], that it was not especially rare for there to be several children of the same name in the same family. Perhaps it was something as simple as the husband or wife liking the name Christina [to use this case as an example] and wanting one of their surviving children to carry that name. Depending on the age difference of the children, perhaps one child named Christina only lived 2-3 years and the wife was pregnant with another child when the first one died. If the new baby then proved to be a girl, the family might well name her "Christina". You can never tell what may have happened that long ago! Hope this helps. Best wishes, Richard Blair Anderson, Jr., Danville, Virginia USA r.anderson@d-k.com [A Kiger descendant that emerged from the Salem Co., New Jersey, Geiger/Kiger line] -----Original Message----- From: JYoung6180@aol.com <JYoung6180@aol.com> To: GEIGER-L@rootsweb.com <GEIGER-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Tuesday, 28 July, 1998 11:56 AM Subject: Re: [GEIGER-L] Christian Geiger--too many Christinas >In a message dated 98-07-28 11:26:00 EDT, you write: > >> And while we're on the subject...Christian's will names the following, >> "Christiana and CHILDREN". If the Christiana named in the will is a fourth >> wife, who are these children? > >Maggie, only speculation but whether or not Christian married for a 4th (or >whatever time) when he was in his 70s I would imagine the children are exactly >as we know them to be. The only correction would be that the named Christiana >was most likely an additional wife. The only question I am aware of with >regard to the children named in his will (as my cousin Richard pointed out) >often more than one child in a family had the same name. And this is true in >this instance with regard to Christinas. We know a Christina was born of the >marriage of Christian and Anna Maria in 1750 and we also know there was a >Maria Christina born of the later marriage of Christian and Christina (the one >fell down the stairs to her death) in 1754. Only ONE daughter Christina (the >wife of Michael Wyland by 1779) was named in the will, leaving us to figure >out WHICH Christina was living in 1779. My assumption based on circumstantial >evidence is that the first Christina died and it is the younger one who >married Michael Wyland and is named in the will. I would think it likely (but >so far unprovable) that the second Christina may have been named for the >deceased little girl--but of course she may have been named for Christina, her >mother, as well, or even for Christian, her father--too many Christinas! > >Joan > >