Names - Just for the Fun of It

One of my favorite hobbies is personal names. I like learning the history of names and how they change, the variants in different countries or various pronunciations, nicknames, etc. And coming up with combinations of first and middle names, compiling lists of names I like or of unusual names. It's a lot of fun. There are actually a lot of name sites out there if this sort of thing interests you. The Social Security Administration puts out a list of the 1000 most popular names each year in mid-may. You can see how a name has risen or fallen in popularity since 1880 or see how popular a name is for a girl versus a boy (Hayden is more popular for boys, for instance, but has become pretty popular for girls as well, if not yet quite as popular as for boys). You can see the most popular names in your own state as well. Another good site is babyzone where you can post questions about names or make comments on the message board as well as create polls to get people's opinions on a name. Sites I like to visit that I consider to give good information on names as far as pronunciation, origin, meaning, history, variants, etc. are babynamesworld, behindthename, babynamespedia, babynamewizard,and appellation mountain. Appellation does a name of the day where the author goes into detail about the name, her thoughts on it, comparisons, etc. Babynamewizard has a nice little thing that generates the perfect sibling names to go with a name you type in. Behind the name has the most detailed information on etymology and origin and history and usage, but babynamespedia I find very reliable for this and it explains the pronunciation somewhat better sometimes but mainly, it has very neat charts that show how popular a name is and compare it to similar names and how popular they are, including names that sound similar. So if you like Ava but want something less popular, this is a great site, you can either find a variant that is less popular or a name that sounds similar even if they have different origins, or just a variant spelling. My favorite chart they do though is one that draws lines showing how variants relate to each other. Where does Ellie come from? Is it a nickname for Elizabeth? Is it a nickname for something else? Is it related to any boy names? It's a fabulous chart. Either this site or babynamewizard shows a names popularity over the last hundred years, also a very cool chart (more visual than what the social security administration offers). I actually wind up using babynamesword the most, next to babyzone, though, because of the very cool features it has for looking up names. If I want to find a name ending in ty, I can search for that, one of Hungarian origin, that, of a certain popularity, number of syllables, that begins with y or contains y, etc, and etc. It gives the origins, pronunciation, meaning, historical information (like Dominic was traditionally given to babies born on Sunday) and still gives you a list of similar names, either derived from the same origin, nicknames, or just sounds similar, you can also type in a name and it will give a bunch of names that go with that name, both boy and girl if you are looking for a sibling name or if you want the perfect middle name. You can also see what people think of a name, how popular it is, etc. you can search for names that mean rose (or whatever), search only for girl names, boy names, or both, and when it lists a name, there's a hand little symbol that tells you if it's considered a girl name, a boy name, or a name for both.

That's my rundown of my favorite naming sites. I haven't really been looking for new sites or I'm sure I'd have a bunch more to share. Wikipedia is also handy for learning about names. Type it in and you will get origin, etymology, history, as well as be able to see who the famous people are with that name (behind the name has a nice feature for this as well).

Is this Samuel Lockhart a relative?

That's what I'm trying to determine. This Samuel Lockhart who was in Augusta County, Virginia in the 1740s, is he in any way related to my 5th great grandfather Major Robert Lockhart who lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and later Frederick County, Virginia (owning a tavern in Timber Ridge and a farm in Round Hill, in Loudoun County, Virginia as well as land in Adams County, Ohio)? That is what I have yet to figure out.






Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish settlement in Virginia: extracted ..., Volume 3 By Augusta County (Va.), Lyman Chalkley
page 441, 497

I think it's interesting to notice how place names were spelt back then. Shanandore and Shanando are closer to how my mother pronounces Shenandoah than that spelling would suggest. I say "shehn ahn doe uh" just like someone not from the area, saying the word based on the letters I see. My mother says "Shanandore" or "Shanando", absolutely, 40+ years in Utah wearing her Virginia accent down will not erase certain things. Thank God. I will be glad if in 30 years someone can detect I am from Southern Utah by the way I say Escalante, Salina, Levan, and creek. The beautiful thing for how Shenandoah is perhaps supposed to be pronounced is that it is probably closer to the original Shawnee way than my modern interpretation. That, of course, is all beside the point of whether or not Samuel Lockhart is my relative or no.

Edgar Miller Streit, Martha E., and Ada B. Streit - Research I did in 2005 or 2006

Let me start by telling you how I'm related to these folks. Edgar and Ada Streit are my 1st cousins, 3 times removed.
Like this:
Dellitt Elizabeth Wilson (me)>my mom>her mom Dellitt Elizabeth Jenkins>her mom Ada May Wingerter (1st cousin of Edgar and Ada Streit)>her father David Wingerter (Ada and Edgar's uncle)>his parents John Wingerter and Barbara Dellitt

Edgar and Ada Streit>Catherine D. Wingerter (David's younger sister)>John Wingerter and Barbara Dellit

First cousins because there is just one intervening generation between Edgar and Ada and our common ancestors, John and Barbara Wingerter. 3 times removed because first cousins not removed are the same generation, once removed are the children or parents of your first cousin, and twice removed are the grandchildren or grandparents of your first cousins, and 3 times removed if they are the great grandchildren or great grandparents of your first cousin.

Obviously, I'm only related to Martha through her marriage to Edgar.

Notice that Streit is spelled a few different ways in these sources: Street and Strite besides Streit.

Edgar Miller Street
WWI Draft Registration
from Frederick County, Virginia
born 30 Jun 1873, age 45 when he registered
Occupation: Merchant
Place of business: 6 North Main Street
Winchester, Virginia
Nearest relative: Martha E. Streit
415 N Main
Winchester, VA

Edgar M. Strite - age 36 in the 1910 Census for Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia
Martha E. Strite - his wife, age 42, her father was from West Virginia and mother from Virginia according to this census

The couple appears again in the 1920 and 1930 censuses.


Ada B. Streit, Edgar's sister
1910 Census for Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia
she is 26 years old and living at home with her parents and single

She still lives with parents and is single in the 1920 Census as well.

Benjamin F. and Rebecca M. Carter (my 1st cousin 5 times removed) - Defendants

This is just a small decision in a case brought against Rebecca and her husband. Basically, it just decides that the whole case should be tried in state court, rather than allowing one person to have just that part of the case pertaining to them tried in federal court. It looks like they would have gotten their way, except the law that permitted such separation was repealed. This issue was part of a case by creditors of Benjamin and Rebecca seeking to sell the land in order to pay their debt to them (the Atlantic and Virginia Fertilizer Company). I just think this is a great example of how you can find genealogy information in sources you might not have thought about. For instance, if you were looking for a death date for someone, this would help establish that it was probably after the date the suit was brought. It also establishes that Benjamin and Rebecca lived in Virginia, it gives information on property that they owned as well as leased to a company Rebecca and Benjamin say that the Marble company defaulted on its lease and therefore forfeited the rights established by the lease.), and the fact that they needed to sell that land in order to pay their creditor. Since we know who the creditor was, we can surmise what sort of business they were in (farming of some sort), and due to the company they leased to leasing the property to develop a quarry, we can also know more about the land they owned.

How to Celebrate the Solstice

I would love to go to this one year. It's in Adams County, Ohio, where I have roots.



Of course, in this same county they have a Caramel Festival in September. What a great idea!

new poem in the works

As the British might say, "have a read". It's hardly finished and needs lots of work still, but, I do enjoy it enough as it is to share it. Some things just inspire me, but if your inspiration is a documentary on a serial killer, do not expect me to write a poem about pretty fall leaves and the nobility of the human race.

Into the woods, and away we go,

Into the darkest part of Skid Row.

I flee with you, my untrustworthy friend

Knowing you’ll guide me unto my end.

An end of existing in constant pain, though I suppose

You’re not leading me to fountains of bliss or fields of Elysium

Nor even to halls of Valhalla’s great Victors.

But Hel’s realm of horror of unending woes

Of waking each morning to a new vicious vector

Where nightmares are real and reality seems

A far distant fantasy of minor defeats, of melancholy and madness

And maybe some sweet

Bitter memory some gut wrenching knowledge of how things might have been.

But for now, I flee with you friend, I flee for the fleeing, the flight away

From all that defies me this middle of day.

Lead me, I beg you, to the house on the street

Where angels and demons are wont to meet

Where I might just as well be one of the victims

As one of the victors and ever so gladly partake of the nectars

Of forbidden fruits and of follies and vices

Of please make me forget all of my nicest

Laces and linens.

And don’t you think

I fit ever so well on this street of hell-bent

Heaven in Hell?

On with you I glide, ignoring the signs of ignominy

And depravity, of vicious beyond my wildest imagining.

Support Reading and a Whole Lot More

So, go to the above link to read about an idea sponsored by Heifer International, an organization that works to provide people in some parts of the world with things like cows and goats so that families have a way to have food.

My idea is this: Put spare change in a cup or jar. Label the jar even - maybe 'money for other people'. I don't know. If you know a child learning to read or who you want to encourage to read, or reward for being an amazing natural reader, offer to let them take money from the jar when they read to you (because what's the fun of the kid reading and you not getting to share in the experience?). If you don't live close to them, have them read to you over the phone or webcam or they can even record themselves reading or videotape it and send it to you. However you want to do it (turns out that reading to someone who is intent on hearing you read, is a great motivator). Anyway. Explain that the child needs to keep the money safe to give to this cause (because we are not paying the child to read. No need to bribe them. But it's also okay to let them see that something relatively passive, like reading, can affect the world. Or our role in it.)

Find out what the minimum donation level is for an organization like Heifer International. It's just an example. You can let the child donate the money to a different organization, they may even like to take the money to buy books or toys or clothes to donate to toys for tots or some similar program.

the idea is, start this with a child capable of not putting the money in their mouth - start young. You do not need to wait til the child is 9 or 10 to encourage reading, reaching out to others, or saving money. Any child who won't choke on the penny can participate. How? If you've got a two year old, let them read a book to you. No, they do not have to say the words on the page yet, though there's nothing wrong if they can or want to try. But they should be able to turn pages, hold the book themselves, and maybe make up a story or point to pictures. For that matter, a 12 month old should be able to start learning how to point to pictures. If you start developing the skill in the child and focus on how important it is, it will be important to the child.

Anyway. Haven't got any kids of my own, but, this is an invitation to clean out my spare change kids! The money is only available if you have a plan of how you will donate it to change the world. you can read pretty much anything you want.