Names can be the key to any genealogy effort. This can be a good thing, or sometimes a challenge. Knowing the right name enables one to correctly identify an ancestor. However, the name can also be the source of more confusion, not less. How? How about when three generations of men have the same given name, same middle name and same surname without any Jr. or III involved?
We have that on the Gupton side with three Benjamin Smith Guptons. The first was the son of Arrington Gupton, being the ninth child - young Benjamin Smith Gupton was born in 1873. B.S. tragically died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-eight and one month before the birth of his third child, Benjamin Smith Gupton, born on February 28, 1901. That Ben Gupton had four children, the eldest of which was…Benjamin Smith Gupton born in 1923 and still happily thriving in Washington State. Keeping matters simple, Ben wisely chose to have two daughters, so the matter is at rest. Sort of: Ben’s grandson, Robert Peters has contributed a great-grandson named Benjamin so the tradition takes a twist as the surname changed, but the given name does not peter out.
Over on the Ward side of the family the similar names trend can be seen in the popularity of the given name of Edith. There was Edith Ward Root, the sister of Jacob Ward whose third daughter was Edith Almeda Ward Gaylord (1829). Edith Alemda’s brother Zelotes had a daughter, Edith Lurena Ward Hunt (1808) and Edith Almeda’s other brother James also had a daughter, Edith Grace Ward( 1877). James’ son Wilbur later had a daughter, Edith Irma Harpster (1899). This frequency of names meant that the ladies almost always seemed to go by their first and middle names. It was either “Edith Grace” or “Edith Lurena” as the cousins sought to keep the conversations clear.
Another sort of confusion occurs with the succession of Bretons named John. Initially, back on the French-speaking island of Guernsey there were three generations of Jeans before our Jean Breton emigrated from Guernsey to the USA. Jean named his first-born Jean (1854), however Jean died at sea on the trip over (1857) and the name was later bestowed on the first-born in America child. John (Not Jean!) Walter Breton emerged in Racine, Wisconsin in 1859. John Walter often went by the name of Walter to avoid being confused with his father, John (formerly Jean). Later J.W. name d his first-born son Walter Sawyer Breton. To avoid similar confusion between father and son Walters, the son became commonly called “Bud.” “Uncle Bud” was my introduction to a living link to other generations and was most helpful in conversations and correspondence in the mid 1970s.
Among females a favorite given name on the Breton /Sawyer side was Marguerite. Marguerite Brehaut was the wife of Jean Breton and they named their first daughter, Marguerite. She married Abram Thompson while her youngest sister Sarah Elizabeth married Uzell Sawyer. Sarah’s daughter’s name was Marguerite and she married Herbert Purcell. Their daughter’s name was also Marguerite and she married Charles Campbell. Their daughter’s married name is Patricia Marguerite Campbell Nuyttten. So we see the given name survive through five different surnames!
Each of these people is unique and has an individual identity, making contributions to our family. It takes a bit of sleuthing to be sure who you’re talking about, but ultimately, the identity and the individual emerges. I kept track of the Guptons by always including their birth date when I was researching them. The Edith’s were easier due to their different middle names. The Bretons coped with their similar names by utilizing middle names or nicknames to differentiate themselves. Getting beyond the confusion of similar names requires an absorbing effort but perseverance will lead to clarity and then the fuller stories of these many wonderful people can be known.
MB 11-4-11
