Dear Ya'll:
The following article was forwarded from a cousin who recieved it from
another list. I found the review interesting, and I am going to find one of
the books for my library! Hello
Amazon.com. I am on my way. Best wishes to
you all.
Dianne
"ALBION"S SEED"
by: david hackett fischer
The author David Hackett Fischer in his
book, "Albion's Seed" writes about naming patterns (as well as many other
issues in early British America) in New England (Puritans), Virginia
(Anglican), Delaware (Quaker), and Backcountry (a mixture of sects, but
mostly Presbyterian).
In Puritan New England, Biblical names were very common even using
scriptual
uniqueness. Perhaps some parents really did close their eyes and open the
Bible and point to a word at random resulting in names such as
"Notwithstanding" and "Maybe". However the leading Biblical names
for
girls
in the seventeenth century New England were Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah,
Rebecca,
Anne, Rachel, Ruth, etc. The leading boys names were John, Joseph, Samuel,
Josiah. Names of patriarchs or lawgivers were rarely used. Rarely, if
ever, were Puritan children named Jesus, or Emmanuel, or angel's names such
as Gabriel or Michael. These were too bold to use as given names to "sons
of mortality". In Puritan Massachusetts, 2/3 of first-born sons and
daughters were given the forenames of their parents. Another naming custom
of Puritan Massachusetts was the use of necronyms. When a child died, its
name was usually given to the next born child of the same sex.
In Anglican Virginia, Biblical names were less common. Virginians
preferred
to name their sons after warriors, knights and English kings. William,
Robert, Richard, Edward, George and Charles were common given names. Girls
received names of Christian saints who did not appear in the Bible and also
traditional English names such as Margaret, Jane, Catherine, Frances,
Alice,
Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Sarah. In early Virginia, first-born children
were most generally named for their grandparents, and second-born for
parents. Consulting astrologers, names were also chosen by parents to find
a fortunate name. Virginians did tend to repeat forenames like the
Puritans
did, but with more reluctance. After all, if the name wasn't lucky for the
first child that died, perhaps it would also be unlucky for the next child
named the same.
The Quakers used a "nomination" method for naming a child. The baby's
name
was carefully selected by the parents, certified by friends, witnessed by
neighbors, and entered in the meeting registers. Quakers named their
first-born children after grandparents, but the Quakers honored maternal
and
paternal lines in a more balanced way than did the Virginians. The eldest
son was most often named after the mother's father. The second son was
named after the father's father. The third son was named after the father.
The first-born daughter was named after the father's mother. The second
daughter named after the mother's mother. The third daughter named after
the mother. In this way the grandparents were honored first and descent of
names seemed to be balanced between maternal and paternal sides. This was
a
very common practice in the Delaware Valley of Quakers. Forenames often
came from the Bible, but not as often as the Puritans used Biblical names.
Traditional English and Teutonic names were common among the Quakers.
Names
common to this sect for boys were John, Joseph, William, Thomas, Samuel,
Francis, George, etc. Names popular for girls were more Biblical in nature
being Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah as the most common. Also used were
Anne/Anna, Hannah, Hester/Esther, and Phoebe, etc. The name Phoebe rarely
appeared in Puritan and Anglican families. Quakers also made use of grace
names such as Grace, Mercy, Chastity.
The Backcountry people were those who settled in the rolling interiors of
Pennsylvania and many drifted south and west along the mountains of
Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas, Tennessee Kentucky. Most came from
Scotland, Ireland and Northern England. Germans, French Hugenots, Swiss
Protestants, Welsh Baptists were also a part of this group. Favored given
names in the backcountry included Biblical (John was the most popular),
Teutonic (Robert, Richard) and Saints (Andrew, Patrick and David). Saint's
names were rare in all other British America at the time. Other names
sometimes used by the Backcountry people and unknown to the other parts of
British America at the time were: Ewen/Owen, Barry, Roy, Archibald, and
Ronald. Also used were names for Scottish kings; Alexander, Charles and
James. Brave warriors were not forgotten; Wallace, Bruce, Percy, Howard.
Place names from the old country were even used; Ross, Carlisle, Tyne,
Cumberland, Derry. Because of the mixture of so many different people from
different countries/cultures, there was a more complex combination of
names.
Their naming patterns from one generation to another were not unique
however. They were most similar to the Virginians. Eldest sons tended to
be named after grandfathers and second/third sons after fathers because
these patterns had also prevailed in the north of England, Scotland and
northern Ireland where the parents or their ancestors originally came from.
Anyway, I find this book fascinating and I would recommend anyone to read
it
who is interested in genealogy and our early country's cultures. I would
highly recommend one get it from your library first and read it.
Personally, I refer to this book often and it is a part of my library. It
is very easy reading.
"Albion's Seed" by David Hackett Fischer.