My Grandfather was not so wrong

[dragonfly]

When I asked my grandfather about the origins of our German-ish surname, he said we were Scots-Irish and came from West Virginia. I was 13, and just made a note for future research.

I'm now a genealogy researcher, and have long since dismissed my grandfather's version of our family origins. It's a German name, so how is it Scots-Irish? The earliest (known, so far) progenitor of the name came from Pennsylvania and the family ended up in Illinois with a stop in Ohio. So how does West Virginia even get in there?

I figured some other line--female line--probably married in, and THEY were Scots-Irish and from West Virginia, but it never has shown up in my research. So, Grandpa had just heard something that was wrong, that's all.

Until I found where in Ohio the "stopover" was. I had assumed northern Ohio, since that's what's between Pennsylvania and Illinois. Uh, no. Apparently my family was working its way down the Ohio River. There's a whole nest of my ancestors in Gallia County, Ohio, and they were from Clay Township, which, as far as I can tell from a map, might be literally a stone's throw (across the river) from West Virginia.

Grandpa wasn't very wrong. (I still haven't found any Scots-Irish, though.)

Comments

[dantesspirit]

It's an unwritten Catholic tradition (and explains a lot about my tree, lol)-

"The unwritten Catholic Tradition dictates that children to be baptized should be given the name of a Saint. The following examples explain how Catholic names were chosen in the past.

1 st boy: Joseph John Anthony Smith
2 nd boy: Joseph Henry Robert Smith
3 rd boy: Joseph Francis Donald Smith

1 st girl: Mary Magdeleine Esther Smith
2 nd girl: Mary Agnes Anna Smith
3 rd girl: Mary Claire Monica Smith

Each child has 3 surnames and 1 family name.

The first name of every boy is always Joseph. The first name of every girl is always Mary. These names represent the names of Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus.

The second name represents the child's given name, the name of a female saint for a girl and the name of a male saint for a boy.

The third name represents, if it is the first girl or the first boy in the family, the name of the mother for the girl and the name of the father for the boy. For all the other children, the 2 nd, the 3 rd, etc..., the third name is the name of the godmother for a girl and the name of the godfather for a boy.

Therefore, the names are..

(Joseph or Mary)(A Saint)(The parent [1 st] / godparent [2+])(Family name)

As a general rule, the child is called by the name of the Saint when spoken to. When he/she writes his/her name, it involves writing the name of the saint and the family name. If an initial must be used, it is the initial of the 3 rd name, the name of the parent or godparent, which ever applies. "

http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu197.htm

[dragonfly]

Oh. my.

This could be helpful if you knew what tradition people were working with, but it also looks awfully ... complicated.

[dantesspirit]

I agree. And let me tell ya, when you see the same name 4-5 times in one family, you start wonder if they really ARE their kids after all...}:P