In the course of my frenetic genealogical research, I often come across funny old names. The other day I came across a man named Preserved Fish, who was born in 1679 in Rhode Island. It gave me pause.
His mother's name was Grizigan Strange.
Turns out Preserved's family were some of the original settlers in Portsmouth, RI, and there are about 10 people in his line named Preserved Fish. One is famous enough to be in Wikipedia. It says this other Preserved (b. 1766) "was an American businessman who was a prominent New York City shipping merchant in the early 19th century."
The name "Preserved" was pronounced Pre Zer Ved - three syllables, and it means preserved from sin.
Today I came across a man named Fearnot. His brother was named Return. I love this stuff!
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| a tree of life quilt I made a long time ago for my husband |
Lovely quilt!
ReplyDeleteOn Ancestry.com, I have a distant cousin with the last name of Fish. It's not a common name. Fascinating that they are 10 people named Preserved Fish.
Thanks. In this case, Fish is an English name.
DeleteI love some of the strange names found when researching families. I have one ancestor named Supply.
ReplyDeleteSupply! Wow.
DeleteThat is a lovely quilt! Maori children in NZ often have an English name added to their Maori one, something like Muchloved or Sweetest or Morningsun.
ReplyDeleteAnd I swear this is true, I had a student once called Rainer Zufall, which translates to Pure Coincidence.
Hahahaha! Good one.
DeletePreserved Fish is a wonderful name. Not a name you would forget easily!
ReplyDeleteI certainly won't forget it.
DeleteI have a 3rd or 4th great grandmother who was named Mourning Van Pelt. Who the hell looks at a tiny baby and thinks, "We'll call her Mourning!"
ReplyDeleteYou know I've seen that name more than once. Like you, I wonder why the parents would wish that name on those baby girls.
DeleteI know where Preserved Fish is buried! I used to pass his grave now and then in New York City and it always gave me a laugh. I might even have a picture of it somewhere.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! That's kind of a thrill for me. lol
DeleteLove the quilt, and those names! And people thought naming my eldest son Emil in 1988 was old-fashioned! -Kate
ReplyDeleteOh, I used to date a boy named Emil. I like that name.
DeleteI can either extend my novel or add another blog post. But not both. I lack the energy. I've tended to favour the former given that I've contrived to bring my central character (a woman, natch) to an enormous fork in her life and the possibilities are enormous. But, even so, Trump's most recent act of hideousness has forced my hand and I have blogged this AM. On the grounds that opposites attract I've titled it Boring Old Stuff; Just Ignore.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed your new post. It was not the least bit boring to me.
DeleteWe seem to have become much more tame with our choice of names. I once taught a young red-headed girl called Molody McQueen and I thought, 'yes, you're going to have fun all your life!'
ReplyDeleteDuring the "hippie' years, people were a little more whimsical naming their children, but that has gone by the wayside.
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