I really appreciate the help you have afforded me and the samples to help me visualize what I'm up against. I'm going to check out the census to see if any Alexanders lived close to my Stephens/Stevens in Loudoun, Fauquier and or Fairfax counties, Va Brenda J Scott Dispatcher-Smart Parks -----Original Message----- From: Janean Ray [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 2:35 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [VALOUDOU-L] Middle names There are variations of course but from "In Search of Your British and Irish Roots" by Angus Baxter, 1982, refers to the custom in use in England and Wales from 1700 - 1875 1st son named after father's father 2nd son after the mother's father 3rd son after the father 4th son after the father's eldest brother 5th son after the father's second oldest brother or mother's eldest brother 1st daughter after mother's mother 2nd daughter after father's mother 3rd daughter after the mother 4th daughter after the mother's eldest sister 5th daughter after mother's second oldest sister of father's oldest sister. There were exceptions if the eldest son was named John after the father's father, and the mother's father was also named John, the second son was named after the father. Younger children were then named after other family members and/or neighbors - friends. My Wilson/Chinn family followed this pattern to a tee. Their children were born between 1797 and 1817. However the middle names were a different story. Mom's middle name was Travers which was the first name of her grandfather. Her brother's middle name was their father's first name, not sure where they got his first name from. Their sister's middle name was the mom's maiden name. The kids went like this William Travers Wilson (now since the father's father was William Wilson they couldn't very well do William Wilson Wilson so the middle name was mom's middle name) Frances Tarpley Wilson (mother's mother Frances Tarpley) Rawleigh Chinn Wilson (mother's father Rawleigh Chinn) Lucy Jones Wilson (should be father's mother Lucy Jones) haven't proven that yet because Lucy Jones was also the married name of mom's aunt and mom's younger sister. John Stretchley Wilson (father's first name and Stretchley is a family name on mom's side) Jane Elizabeth Wilson (mom didn't have an older sister named Jane, this could also be the father's mom or his sister in law who was named Jane) Samuel Porter Wilson (no clue except Samuel was the name of mom's brother but there was also a Samuel Porter in Loudoun Co. could have been a friend) Jacob Dodridge Wilson (Jacob should be father's younger brother but don't know where the Dodridge name came from) etc...... Janean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott, Brenda" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 1:50 PM Subject: [VALOUDOU-L] Middle names > > > Brenda J Scott > > For naming practices in the late 1700's and early to mid 1800's in Va, > with possible ancestry from Western European (English, Welsh, Scottish) > would the middle name of male children be a family name, or would it be > more of the modern practices such as Robert William Jones? > My John Alexander Stephens/Stevens born cir 1811 is just the hardest man > to trace back to any parent or sibling, indeed any prior relative at > all. I'm just wondering if the Alexander in his name could be a family > surname. Any thoughts? > > > > > ==== VALOUDOU Mailing List ==== > To contact Listowner: > Rena Worthen [email protected] > Researching JEWEL in Loudoun Co.;FISHER in Fauquier Co.; HATCHER in Henrico Co. > > ==== VALOUDOU Mailing List ==== Have you posted your Loudoun Co. surnames lately? New members are joining our mailing list every day. Be sure to periodically remind us of your Loudoun research interests.