January 11, 2020 A Rose is A Rose

My Great Grandmother Rose, My Grandmother Lena, My Mother Clara, My sister Rosemary c, 1950

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

We all know how important it is to get the names correct in genealogical research.  We go on the hunt armed with the name, date of birth, and date of death of each person we are researching.  But sometimes we are stopped by seemingly incorrect details.  Don’t let one detail stop you.  The facts might be wrong!

My 3^rd great grandmother died when she was two years old. It was there in black and white. The right name, the right two parents, and the right time frame.  Of course, the French were known to give the same name to multiple siblings.  My 3^rd great grandmother had an older sister of the same name who was born in 1776 and died in 1777.  My Cecelia LABADIE was born in 1778 and lived a long and fruitful life. 

My 2^nd great grandmother was a mystery.  We knew her name to be Eliza SANTURE.  It was on her death record, it was on her tombstone, it was what all the family said she was named.  In searching for her marriage record, we found her father’s name to be Dominic TESSIER; her mother’s name was correct.  Who was Dominic?  We couldn’t find any other records linking him to our tree until one late night web session when we made the connection. My sister and I yelled so loud in jubilation that her husband came barreling down the stairs sure there was something wrong!  Nope, we just found out for sure that Great Great Grandmother Eliza was named Euphrosine TESSIER.  Then she became known as Eliza SANTURE dit TESSIER, then just Eliza SANTURE.  Having the correct name, I was able to find a baptismal record in a book that had been on my shelf since 1975!  (Bay Settlement by Father Lavoie).  Although she was born to parents who attended St Antoine in Monroe, she was christened at St Joseph, Erie. 

My grandmother (Eliza’s granddaughter) was named Eliza Paulina RIVARD, but was always called Lena.  The only record calling her Eliza Paulina was her baptismal record.  Her school records, birth record with the state, marriage record, death certificate and tombstone call her Lena. My other grandmother was named Michelina. Most of her records, except her immigration record, marriage record, and tombstone called her Lena.  When I named by daughter after my two grandmothers, I stuck to the simple--she is just Lena.

My dad’s name was Aloysius Joseph JOBLINSKI, according to his baptismal record.  He was always called Allie or Alec.  A home birth, he needed an official birth certificate to get a pilot’s license.  He had to present two witnesses who knew him and could verify his birth to get a delayed Certificate of Birth. He took two elderly neighbor ladies to Lansing to testify, declaring his name to be Allie.  So, Allie he became and remained the rest of his life.  (He offered to take the two ladies up in his plane when he got his pilot’s license, but only one would do it.  He said she screeched and laughed and had a good time, especially when he buzzed the home place!) All his records report his name to be Allie: his new birth certificate, marriage license, death certificate, and tombstone.  Only the baptismal record uses the name Aloysius.

My brother was named Charles August JOBLINSKI when he was born, but no one outside of the immediate family knows his name is Charles.  My Grandmother took one look at the newborn and declared “He looks just like Gus.”  So, Gus (or Gussie) he became, a reminder of my Grandfather August WICKENHEISER.  “Gus” is my brother’s middle name but how many people know your middle name anyway? So, while all legal documents call him Charles, he has always been, and always will be Gus.  Don’t go looking for Gus’s records--not a single document will have that name.  Maybe “Gus” will go on his tombstone eventually, but that will be his wife’s call.

Now back to a more recent find in the search for my ancestors.  I wanted to get a copy of my Great Grandmother’s baptismal record.  The daughter of Eliza (aka Euphrasine) SANTURE and the mother of Lena (aka Eliza Paulina) RIVARD, I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.  But I had irrefutable proof her name was Rose or Rose Anna.  It was on her marriage papers, death certificate and tombstone.  There are six generations of little girls named Rose in her honor, and certainly her own mother and daughter knew her name!  Nope.  Her name wasn’t Rose.  On the microfiche copy of her baptism, there she is, right parents, right parish, right date of birth.  Her name?  Catherine Rosalie LADUKE!   Well, it is Catherine Rosalie, but still, it is Catherine.  A name I had never heard associated with my great grandmother. 

The point to all this?  Don’t insist that the facts fit your perception of things.  Names were changed, nicknames were used on official documents, middle names were used, and the original first names forgotten in time.  Before the advent of Social Security and the proper documentation required today, our ancestors played fast and easy with names, and even in my generation sometimes the nickname became the only name the person was ever known by.  Of course, getting the name correct is vital in citing our research.  But that correct name we could swear by may not be correct after all.  Just keep an open mind.  Happy researching!