Naming Traditions

Tonight is a special post with an even more personal twist. In five days we'll know whether we're naming a little girl or little boy! The Husband and I are expecting our first baby. He/she is at 19 weeks now and by Monday we should know which gender to research in our name search.

We already have quite a list in mind, the common denominator is they are mostly family names. I don't believe a genealogist can much help it. As a result most of the names we're considering have a, well, vintage sound.

One of the important considerations in naming our child is honoring my family name, Hande, not just my husband's, Featherstone. In researching my father's paternal genealogy I've found an inspirational naming pattern.

A great many of the Hand/Handes followed this naming pattern for their first born son:

• First name = Father's first name
• Middle name = Mother's maiden name

Typically they named their first born daughter in the same way after their mother's also. The Hand/Hande clan wasn't strict with this formula, but it is a noticeable enough pattern. The beauty of it is that not only does it honor the mother's often unacknowledged heritage, but it makes research a little easier for future generations of genealogists! 

A good example of this naming convention is found with my g-g-g-grandfather, Thomas Holmes Hand (25 Sept 1833 -1830). His parents Elijah Hand and Isabella did not follow this convention strictly, but his middle name gave me the vital clue to uncover his mother's maiden name, Holmes. My g-g-g-grandmother's family would have been lost to history were it not for her maiden name passed onto her son. She would have been another brick wall, or dead end, on my tree. Now I know she was Isabella Holmes. It is almost like putting a face to a name!

Here is this family in the 1870 U.S. Census in the Lower Township of New Jersey. You can also see Orlando Hand's (3 Jun 1861-before 1916) entry as a child. He was my g-g-grandfather.

Some genealogists researching Irish lines will likely be familiar with a similar Irish naming tradition. I found a good summary at this site:

• The 1st son was usually named after the father's father

• The 2nd son was usually named after the mother's father 

• The 3rd son was usually named after the father

• The 4th son was usually named after the father's eldest brother

• The 5th son was usually named after the mother's eldest brother 

• The 1st daughter was usually named after the mother's mother

• The 2nd daughter was usually named after the father's mother

• The 3rd daughter was usually named after the mother

• The 4th daughter was usually named after the mother's eldest sister

• The 5th daughter was usually named after the father's eldest sister 

This explains why there are so many James and Kathryn's in the Farrell line on my paternal side.


So given some of the things The Husband and I value most are family and roots we've discussed using my maiden name, despite the room for childhood jokes as the child's middle name.

If you want to read more about my life and the baby, check out the posts on my personal blog, Fine How About You?

Bringing a Family Story to Life

My grandfather Harry was known for his tall tales. In fact he used to say all the Hands were all over the Cape May Courthouse and we didn't believe him. My parents visited Cape May in the 1980's and couldn't find any Hands on the walls of the courthouse, but then discovered that there were indeed Hands all over Cape May County, New Jersey. Then they discovered Cape May Courthouse is a town, not a literal courthouse. (Though there are of course courthouses, and one in particular is important to the Hand family history, but that's a story for another time). It turns out some of Grandpa's tall tales were true.

Family lore he told also held a story that my great-great-grandmother Harriet (Johnson) Hand died when hit by a train while reading a letter from her son on their property in Rio Grande, Cape May County, New Jersey. It almost sounds fantastical, but it was too macabre of a story to not hold a grain of truth. So off I went on the genealogical hunt. I didn't find much, until one day I was piddling in a newspaper archive searching for another mysterious family member, Harriet's husband, Orlando Hand. Yes, I have a waspy gentleman in my history with the name Orlando, but more on that later.

I found a snippet view of an article published in 1916 that seemed to fit. The headline and date was about all I could see. So then I tried to find the newspaper. It turns out the Philadelphia Inquirer is now defunct. So, the next question was where to find the archive?

Well, what next but a case of serendipity. My mother discovered the Newspaper Department at the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and the Free Library of Pennsylvania. We sent off a request and soon had a PDF file of the full article.

Here is an article about the tragic death of Harriet Johnson Hand of Rio Grande, NJ published 20 July 1916 in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sure enough the story was true.

I've never met Harriet, but somehow in her death, on those pages printed in black in white in 1916 she's come to life. As I substantiate more of my Grandpa's tall tales I realize that I've lost a valuable resource. So, pester your older relatives for all their stories, no matter how tall the tale while you can!

(Harriet née Johnson Hand was married to Orlando Hand, son of Thomas Holmes Hand, a descendent of John Hand "The Immigrant." Their son was Harry Johnson Hand who moved to attend Rutgers then settled in Philadelphia. Harriet's father was John Wesley Johnson).