Week 6 of 52: Same Name

February 5, 2020

For week 5 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks the theme was “Same Name.” I have been working on my McGinity line of the family tree lately for the NGS American Genealogical Studies course. Felix McGinity and Elizabeth Laughlin married in 1865 in Jamestown, NY and then settled in Randolph, NY having 6 known children.

Felix and Elizabeth with daughter Elizabeth standing behind them.

Both Felix and Elizabeth were born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States. I did a comparison with Traditional Irish Naming Patterns with their children. If you are not familiar with the Traditional Irish Naming Patterns, here they are:

For sons:

  • The first son was named after the father’s father
  • The second son was named after the mother’s father
  • The third son was named after the father
  • The fourth son was named after the father’s eldest brother
  • The fifth son was named after the mother’s eldest brother

For daughters:

  • The first daughter was named after the mother’s mother
  • The second daughter was named after the father’s mother
  • The third daughter was named after the mother
  • The fourth daughter was named after the mother’s eldest sister
  • The fifth daughter was named after the father’s eldest sister

Felix and Elizabeth’s Sons:

  1. Felix – should be the father’s father
  2. Ivo James – should be the mother’s father

Felix and Elizabeth’s Daughters:

  1. Margaret Ann – should be the mother’s mother
  2. Katie – should be the father’s mother
  3. Jennie – should be the mother
  4. Elizabeth Alice – should be the mother’s eldest sister

The names of the children do not seem to match the traditional Irish naming pattern as their 3rd daughter (Jennie) should have been named after the mother, but she wasn’t. Their 4th daughter (Elizabeth) was named after the mother. I wonder if they simply weren’t exactly following that tradition or if other children were born to the couple that are unknown.

The 1900 census states that Elizabeth had 6 children which matches the newspaper article about their golden anniversary so there is no indication at this point for other children. Church baptism records might help answer if other children were born to the couple.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these names were family names, just not exactly following the traditional Irish naming pattern.