#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks
How many of us have the same name as an ancestor? How many thought we had a name completely different only to find at a later date, that the name had already been used within the family?
One name that is commonly used within the LOADES family is Edward Waller LOADES. Teddy LOADES on the motorcycle was born Edward Waller LOADES as was his father, grandfather and second born son. Variations of the name Edward were used including: Ted, Teddy, Neddy and Ned to distinguish one from the other. Edward Waller has been a name that has passed down through the family since 1819 when the first record was found in the baptismal register of St Nicholas Church in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
The use of the Edward Waller was disrupted when my brother was born and was called Peter Edward Waller. Today for a number of reasons he is called Ned, so the tradition continues. Ned like his sisters had a family name for his middle name, the christian name was one that could be lip read distinctly from the other names of the children in the family. The ancestors were honoured by the use of name as a middle name.
So my eldest sister was named for her paternal grandmother Jessie May HALL who married Edward Waller LOADES. The story goes that Jessie who had four boys had hoped that any granddaughter would be named after her. None of her grandchildren were called Jessie, but all the first born girls in the family had May as a middle name.
My younger sister’s middle name honoured her great great grandmother Grace DUFTY who married George Drew NOSWORTHY. Bothe Grace and George were born in Devon, and were young children when they migrated to South Australia.
My middle name was a combination of Rose from Rose Elania Tilbrook COOPER and Mary from Margaret Ann REED who was commonly known as Mary. Rose married Herbert George NOSWORTHY and Margaret Ann REED married one of the many Edward Waller LOADES. It is likely that Margaret was called Mary as she was named for her sister who died before she was born.
I would wager that when my brother and his partner named their daughter Eleanor they did not know that Eleanor was a family name. This was one family name that had not been carried down the years. Ella must have been around the age of 10 when I was in Cambridge in the archives and came across the marriage of Edward COOPER to Elizabeth PRECIOUS in Shudycamps, 1794. Following the PRECIOUS line you come across the marriage of a Robert PRECIOUS, Elizabeth’s grandfather to Eleanor (Ellen) DISS. So the use of family names continues.
What stories do you have about where you names came from ?
loades of branches 
Have you ever come up with the original Edward Waller? As in Waller was his last name, not middle name.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is something that we have wondered and still haven’t found the answer to that. I thought his apprenticeship papers would help. They were listed in the Norfolk Archives but not in the bundle when we looked. I have also extended out across the family to see if WALLER was his mother’s name or another family name. No luck. I know all his children had Waller as a middle name. Something that I will keep looking for the answer to. It may be just around the corner.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Of course, Waller may not be a relative at all. One of my subjects was named Peter Nevins Liestenfeltz. Fortunately a family legend provided an explanation which I supported with census data. When Conrad and Susan Liestenfeltz immigrated to New York from Germany with their two sons in 1828 they could not find work. Eventually, a farmer named Peter Nevins in New Jersey hired both adults. Their next child was named in his honor. The name continued to be passed down in the family for generations on all their sons’ lines.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, and another relative liked to name his sons after men he admired, not necessarily famous ones. I’m still trying to figure out one of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person