Changing Names (#52Ancestors Week 9)

 #52Ancestors

(Still trying to play catch-up on #52ancestors writing prompts, so here's one I wrote in Feb. 2000):

Why we have trouble finding our ancestors!

(sent to Burgess email list Saturday, February 12, 2000 11:58 PM)

 

Thought I would share a little humor with other frustrated searchers.  My grandmother (born a Burgess), now age 91, has been very helpful and patient with all my family history questions.  However, doing census searches in between asking her questions sheds some light on why we have trouble finding those elusive ancestors:

 

Armed with a list of her daddy’s siblings in random order, I began my search.  Very few of the names matched those on the census, so I went back to ask her more questions:

 

“Do you think ‘Mary J’ in the census could be your aunt Mae?”  “I don’t know – her name was Mary, but we always called her Mae.”  Score 1!

 

“Do you think ‘Nancy M’ could be your Aunt Minnie?”  “Could be.  I was named after her.”  Score?

 

“Was Uncle Lee’s first name Walter?  There is a Walter L in the census.”  “I don’t know.  I never saw him but once or twice.  He lived in McKinney, TX.”  (Info from another researcher showed a Walter L in McKinney, TX)  Score 1!

 

“I haven’t been able to find Sam, Arlene, and John Haley in any of the censuses.”  “Oh!  They were my daddy’s half-siblings!  His second wife was named Ella, Pappy called her Miss Ella, and she out-lived Pa Burgess.”  (They apparently married in late 1890’s and were never in a census together; Pa Burgess died in Jan. of 1900, before Ella & the 3 children were counted in the census in April; she was 37 years younger than him, so I never would have guessed her to be his wife!)  Score 3!

 

“I can’t find your Uncle Jack in any census, but there is a Millard living with your daddy who is listed as his brother.”  “Uncle Jack didn’t like his name, so he changed it.  He moved to Amarillo, TX.”  Score 1!

 

“In the 1910, census, there is a 5-month-old named Margrette, but that’s how old your sister Ellen should have been.”  “Pappy wanted to name her Margrette, but Mama wanted to name her Ellen Rose.  Her name really is Ellen Rose, but Pappy called her Margrette most of the time, and we all just called her Baby.”  (Guess who answered the census-taker’s questions?)  Score 1!

 

These are just a few of the examples.  Is it any wonder we can’t find our ancestors?  What a blessing it is to still have my grandparents to ask.  Be sure to ask questions of your living relatives – when they’re gone, so much information is gone with them.