Deductive reasoning is sometimes called for in cases where all the facts are not available. I know that I, Stephen, and Bob are descended from William/Mary Watkins Younger, because the other William had only daughters. What I do not know is who our William's father was. Some say Thomas. Can we prove that? In that case, who is William/Patience's father? I have found many an ancestor using the naming practices of the period, so I'll share with you. Following are the Irish Scottish, German and Colonial Naming Practices: NAMING PATTERNS: Irish/ Scottish 1st son = was named after the father's father 2nd son = was named after the mother's father 3rd son = was named after the father 4 th son = was named after the father's oldest brother 5th son = father's 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest brother 1st dau = was named after the mother's mother 2nd dau = was named after the father's mother 3rd dau = was named after the mother 4th dau = was named after the mother's oldest sister 5th dau = after the mother's 2nd oldest sister or father's oldest sister Old German The first name of each Daughter was usually the first name of the Mother The first name of the Son was usually the first name of the Father Often times the middle name of each child was the name of the baby's baptismal sponsor and they were usually called by his/her middle name English and Welsh 1700-1870 First Daughter was named after the Mother's Mother Second Daughter was named after the Mother's Father's Mother Third Daughter was named after the Mother Fourth Daughter was named after the Mother's oldest Sister First Son was named after the Father's Father Second Son was named after the Mother's Father. Third Son was named after the Father Fourth Son was named after the Father's oldest Brother Irish 1800's First Daughter was named after the Paternal Grandmother Second Daughter was named after the Maternal Grandmother First Son was named after the Paternal Grandfather Second Son was named after the Maternal Grandfather Then alternate names using the Grandmother's, Grandfather's, Mother's, Aunt's, and Uncle's names Scottish 1700 - 1800 and early Dutch First Daughter was named for her Maternal Grandmother Second Daughter was named for her Paternal Grandmother Third Daughter was named after her Mother Other Daughters were named after other Family Members First Son was named after his Paternal Grandfather (sometimes Maternal) Second Son was named after his Maternal Grandfather (sometimes Paternal) Third Son was named after his Father +++++++++ CHOOSING FORENAMES FOR CHILDREN NOT NAMED FOR PARENT OR GRANDPARENT [this is a partial, but if anybody wants the full article, I'll send it to you] Naming customs tend to restrict the number of forenames in use. In the three English parishes studied by Price and in the Rutmans' Virginia County, for instance, those parents who named their first child after a grandparent often named their second after themselves. The core pattern of naming boys put father's father first and then father; for girls, it was mother's mother and then mother. Similarly, in New England, of those naming their firstborn for one of their own parents, half or more went on to name the second for themselves. By contrast, only 15 to 20 percent of those New Englanders naming their first for themselves went on to name the second for their parents. The consequence of these opposing patterns was to limit the choice of forenames for second children far less often in New England than in old England and Virginia.(19) Restriction of choice was further compounded in Virginia by that region's much higher mortality rate for children - one out of two or three compared to one out of five or six in England and New England. Because the English and their American cousins tended to pass the forename of a deceased child on to the next infant of the same sex, parents in Virginia recycled the existing pool of forenames more often than the English and far more often than New Englanders. The long life expectancy for adults in New England allowed them to produce three times as many children per first marriage as Virginians did, greatly extending the opportunities for selecting names.(20) How did New England parents respond to their freedom of choice? In accord with their religiosity, they relied heavily on the Bible as a source for new forenames; however, they did not concentrate on a limited number of them. A small percentage of children from the whole bore the most popular names, but many other names were in circulation as well. Long ago, Stewart demonstrated the striking proportion of biblical names among native-born New England males, compared with the founders and the English in general. Reformed Protestantism throughout Europe placed great importance on reading the Bible, offering translations in the vernacular of the people. Since most New England families owned such copies, it is hardly surprising that they drew heavily on the Good Book for forenames, as Table 3 confirms.(21) Stewart's summary of "the factors which seem to have led to the popularity of a name in seventeenth-century New England" is worth restatement: Besides those already in popular English use, the names that parents chose were biblical and Hebrew, with a pious signification and no close Papist associations, especially if borne by an important person in the Bible "who was on the Lord's side." Smith's counts of names on the 1771 Massachusetts tax list shows the continuing popularity of biblical names even in the late colonial period, although the householders identified by them were born, and hence named, some decades earlier

Very interesting. I had read this but failed to make a copy. Thanks for sending it. Helen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brownie MacKie" <BMacKie1@compuserve.com> To: <YOUNGER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 8:24 AM Subject: [YOUNGER] William/William > Deductive reasoning is sometimes called for in cases where all the facts are > not available. > > I know that I, Stephen, and Bob are descended from William/Mary Watkins > Younger, because the other William had only daughters. What I do not know > is who our William's father was. Some say Thomas. Can we prove that? > > In that case, who is William/Patience's father? I have found many an > ancestor using the naming practices of the period, so I'll share with you. > > Following are the Irish Scottish, German and Colonial Naming Practices: > > NAMING PATTERNS: Irish/ Scottish > 1st son = was named after the father's father > 2nd son = was named after the mother's father > 3rd son = was named after the father > 4 th son = was named after the father's oldest brother > 5th son = father's 2nd oldest brother or mother's oldest brother > 1st dau = was named after the mother's mother > 2nd dau = was named after the father's mother > 3rd dau = was named after the mother > 4th dau = was named after the mother's oldest sister > 5th dau = after the mother's 2nd oldest sister or father's oldest sister > > > > Old German > The first name of each Daughter was usually the first name of the Mother > The first name of the Son was usually the first name of the Father > Often times the middle name of each child was the name of the baby's > baptismal sponsor and they were usually called by his/her middle name > > English and Welsh 1700-1870 > First Daughter was named after the Mother's Mother > Second Daughter was named after the Mother's Father's Mother > Third Daughter was named after the Mother > Fourth Daughter was named after the Mother's oldest Sister > First Son was named after the Father's Father > Second Son was named after the Mother's Father. Third Son was named after > the Father > Fourth Son was named after the Father's oldest Brother > > Irish 1800's > First Daughter was named after the Paternal Grandmother > Second Daughter was named after the Maternal Grandmother > First Son was named after the Paternal Grandfather > Second Son was named after the Maternal Grandfather > Then alternate names using the Grandmother's, Grandfather's, Mother's, > Aunt's, and Uncle's names > > Scottish 1700 - 1800 and early Dutch > First Daughter was named for her Maternal Grandmother > Second Daughter was named for her Paternal Grandmother > Third Daughter was named after her Mother > Other Daughters were named after other Family Members > First Son was named after his Paternal Grandfather (sometimes Maternal) > Second Son was named after his Maternal Grandfather (sometimes > Paternal) > Third Son was named after his Father > +++++++++ > CHOOSING FORENAMES FOR CHILDREN NOT NAMED FOR PARENT OR > GRANDPARENT [this is a partial, but if anybody wants the full article, I'll > send it to you] > > Naming customs tend to restrict the number of forenames in use. In the three > English parishes studied by Price and in the Rutmans' Virginia County, for > instance, those parents who named their first child after a grandparent > often named their second after themselves. The core pattern of naming boys > put father's father first and then father; for girls, it was mother's mother > and then mother. Similarly, in New England, of those naming their firstborn > for one of their own parents, half or more went on to name the second for > themselves. By contrast, only 15 to 20 percent of those New Englanders > naming their first for themselves went on to name the second for their > parents. The consequence of these opposing patterns was to limit the choice > of forenames for second children far less often in New England than in old > England and Virginia.(19) > Restriction of choice was further compounded in Virginia by that region's > much higher mortality rate for children - one out of two or three compared > to one out of five or six in England and New England. Because the English > and their American cousins tended to pass the forename of a deceased child > on to the next infant of the same sex, parents in Virginia recycled the > existing pool of forenames more often than the English and far more often > than New Englanders. The long life expectancy for adults in New England > allowed them to produce three times as many children per first marriage as > Virginians did, greatly extending the opportunities for selecting names.(20) > How did New England parents respond to their freedom of choice? In accord > with their religiosity, they relied heavily on the Bible as a source for new > forenames; however, they did not concentrate on a limited number of them. A > small percentage of children from the whole bore the most popular names, but > many other names were in circulation as well. Long ago, Stewart demonstrated > the striking proportion of biblical names among native-born New England > males, compared with the founders and the English in general. Reformed > Protestantism throughout Europe placed great importance on reading the > Bible, offering translations in the vernacular of the people. Since most New > England families owned such copies, it is hardly surprising that they drew > heavily on the Good Book for forenames, as Table 3 confirms.(21) > Stewart's summary of "the factors which seem to have led to the popularity > of a name in seventeenth-century New England" is worth restatement: Besides > those already in popular English use, the names that parents chose were > biblical and Hebrew, with a pious signification and no close Papist > associations, especially if borne by an important person in the Bible "who > was on the Lord's side." Smith's counts of names on the 1771 Massachusetts > tax list shows the continuing popularity of biblical names even in the late > colonial period, although the householders identified by them were born, and > hence named, some decades earlier > > > > > > > > ==== YOUNGER Mailing List ==== > For a place To Store and show pictures of your ancesters, goto www.ancientfaces.com (If anyone has a problem with this little ad, let me know.) > > ============================== > Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: > Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. > http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com >