> >Looking for the parents of Dallie Johnson. I was told that they are buried >in Johnston Co. He lived in Sampson County, married Avanial Green. Dallie >had several sibblings. Mettie, Marggie, Laura, Lettie, and ??? brother >who lived in Fayetteville. Dallie was born in 1908 and died in 1980. > ann massengill responds with a general observation: i'm noticing we have a number of ava-like names for women: avera, avery, now avanial, and who was that you were looking for, gary corbett? avie? it seems to me that it may be helpful when we recognize an unusual name, male or female, that we attempt through our knowledge of our families, to share knowledge of the name itself. i.e., is this "ava" promounced like ava gardner or more like the "down east" way of saying "eva" [as in gabor, i reckon]? if so, then the more modern "eva" may well be the version that comes down through our families. among the most memorable examples of down-east-speak was on "candid camera" when i was a child. i'm sure i only recall it so well because it was done in durham. allen funt had a long conversation with a guy who ran a gas station in durham on the difference between "oil" and "all" -- of course, there was no difference to the ear! in the massengill line, i notice men's names "eldridge", "ethelred" and others, masculine and feminine, that begin with the "short e"sound, more than we encounter today. i'm most interested in "ethelred" because it is so very old-saxon and would have survived the entire norman invasion of 1066 (not d-day) to get down to us today through all the changes the language has undergone. any ideas? life is good... annie