• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Relevance of naming child after parent

F

forward

master brummie
Hi,

I'm aware some message boards have chosen Thomas & Ann as parents of Benjamin Whitehouse 1853. However from health forum I'm very much aware over the years of the tendency for a cluster of belief based on following rather than own research. Hence my caution.

From censuses (Whitehouse)

Thomas and Ann children: Alfred 1839, Thomas 1846, James 1849, Charles 1851, Benjamin 1854, William 1858.

Thomas & Phoebe children: Reuben 1840, William 1842, Maria 1844, Mary A 1848, Eliza 1850, Benjamin 1853, Ellen 1858, Joseph 1860. .

Benjamin & Sarah Whitehouse nee Slater children: Arthur Benjamin 1874, Phoeba1875, lilly 1880, Rose 1882, Lilly Emma 1883. Benjamin died 1882 - aged 29.

Question: in helping to decide which are Benjamin's parents how relevant is naming child 'Phoebe', and perhaps a lesser point a Lilly (Eliza)?

There could be a Samuel 1837 & Selina 1839 Whitehouse. However
I can't find any parents of Phoebe nee Lowe 1819 Darlaston to tie in Samuel or Selina as parents.

Thanks.
 
I don't think there's any dispute that the Benjamin that married Sarah Slater was the son of Benjamin & Phoebe.

The Benjamin son of Thomas & Ann with the siblings mentionioned was a Benjamin William Whitehouse born in Worcester. He married a Frances Nightingale.

Just using naming conventions to determine parents can be risky but in this instance there's no need.
 
Last edited:
Not sure where you've got the name Lowe from.

Phoebe's maiden name was Calloway b1821 Oldbury, daughter of Benjamin Calloway & Mary Stevens. Phoebe married Thomas Whitehouse 7 Jan 1840 Birmingham.
 
But returning to naming conventions it appears that Phoebe was named after her grandmother because it seems Benjamin was the illegitmate son of a Phoebe Calloway, born Tipton 16 Mar 1799.
 
Thank you for the reassurance on Thomas & Phoebe and her background. Have the marriage date and note baptism date of Rueben Charkes 7 June 1840

As regards Lowe I only came across a Freereg listing for Phebe: Baptism 24/09/1820, parents Wiliam & Sarah Lowe abode Tipton Dudley Worcs so took that as a good maybe..

In general terms clusters of the same first and second names and sisters marrying brothers of another household can make selecting the right parents as 'ife". So Is there a way to arrive at a least highly likely?

Ray
 
It's always best to have corroboration from censuses and such like, which pre 1841 is not easy.

The problem with just using first names to match ancestors is that it's impossible to know from which side of the family they might come from.

My great great grandfather died before the 1841 census so his birthplace is unknown. Surname is not all that common and searching the surrounding area I have found a candidate with parents Thomas & Martha.

Two of his children are called Thomas & Martha but are they named after his parents or members of his wife's family? If his wife's mother is called Martha then that makes it less likely that Martha is significant for him. You just don't know.
 
Most of my relatives have used one of a previous name, in our childrens name. My full name is. Anthony John William Crump this includes my Dads name William. My son Paul Anthony John Crump
 
My parents had an argument with the vicar about naming their first son Allen, "You can't spell Allen that way. " :)

That didn't go down well with Alice and Leonard.

I was named after Eric Houghton ) a Villa player) and William Lees, mom's sister's husband.
 
My Dad's family had a trio of name - Thomas, John and James - that go back to the 1700s!! My Mom didn't care for any of those, luckily I was a girl ! ;)
 
The names that come from the in laws surname can be interesting.

My 8 x great grandfather Joseph Greaves married a Mary Austin in 1712 and Austin was still be used as a given name more than 200 years later.

And my step brother has a number of relatives with the given name Sumption!
 
There is quite often some kind of link in forenames, but don't bank on it. My mother quite fancied the name Maurice for me (goodness knows why) and she had Harvey (in later years a damned rabbit) as second choice. She had no idea why she liked the name for Roy, for my late brother.

I had an easier choice for my three sons, Alexis (after Alexis Korner the blues player), Calvin (after vibes player Cal Tjader), and Denzil Miles (after drummer Denzil Best) and Miles (after (Miles Davis). Seemed quite reasonable choices for a jazz musician. But then when my daughter came along, that posed a slight problem and she was christened Justina (because we liked the name) Alwyn (after the two grandmothers, Alma & Winifred and because I knew a girl at BCT that was called Alwyn) Erica (after my wife's Uncle Eric, who had just passed away).

Whether any of this will help genealogists in the future I somewhat doubt. :)

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
There is quite often some kind of link in forenames, but don't bank on it. My mother quite fancied the name Maurice for me (goodness knows why) and she had Harvey (in later years a damned rabbit) as second choice. She had no idea why she liked the name for Roy, for my late brother.

I had an easier choice for my three sons, Alexis (after Alexis Korner the blues player), Calvin (after vibes player Cal Tjader), and Denzil Miles (after drummer Denzil Best) and Miles (after (Miles Davis). Seemed quite reasonable choices for a jazz musician. But then when my daughter came along, that posed a slight problem and she was christened Justina (because we liked the name) Alwyn (after the two grandmothers, Alma & Winifred and because I knew a girl at BCT that was called Alwyn) Erica (after my wife's Uncle Eric, who had just passed away).

Whether any of this will help genealogists in the future I somewhat doubt. :)

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...
I was named ANTHONY John William. but everyone called me "JOHN" My Dad William James Herbert was always called BERT?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top