I am participating (selectively) in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks program of prompts to help you with writing about genealogy and ancestors. The prompt for Week 3 (January 18-24) is “Namesake.”
I have earlier written about my (and my dad’s) personal namesake, Victor Bennett, so I sat down to think of other namesakes. That’s when I remembered an old naming custom in the Caton Community where I live…the practice of calling women with the same name by their husband’s name also.
I’m not sure if other areas around the county, state, or country, had this custom. Several Marys lived in Caton about the same time. To distinguish who you were speaking about, you added the name of the husband to the name of the lady you were talking about.
When I was younger, I recall people talking about an elderly woman in the neighborhood called “Mrs. Mary Abe.” I thought Abe was her last name, until I realized her last name was Toler. She had married my great-grandmother’s brother, Abraham Warren “Abe” Toler.
Mrs. Mary Abe wasn’t the only Mary given her husband’s moniker. The neighborhood also had Mary Allen (Mary Whitford Toler married Joshua Allen Toler) and Mary Mack (Mary Knox married Mack Wetherington).
Two Toler girls had the nickname “Puss”…in fact one has that name listed on her marriage license. While distant cousins, the girls both married Norman men. Since both would be known as Puss Norman, neighbors called one Puss Jess (Penny Toler married Jesse Norman) and the other Puss John Henry (Victoria Toler married John Henry Norman).
This custom has fallen by the wayside in present times, though people have been known to speak of Kirby’s Cathy or Wayne’s Cathy.
Do you know of any others who were called by their husband’s names that I have omitted? Name them in the comments section.
I always look forward to all your posts.
Thanks! I enjoy writing them and sharing what I find in my research.
Very interesting. Never heard of this custom. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it. Caton has quite a few “unique” customs.
Very interesting article! Thank you for sharing! I appreciate your hard work!
Thanks!
Neat. I never heard of the custom of using the husband’s name to distinguish the wives. Sounds sort of Welsh, like Jones th Baker from Jones the Milk.
I’ve never heard of it happening anywhere but in our neighborhood, and it appeared to originate in a brief time period in the early 1900s. Though as mentioned in the article, I remember Mrs. Mary Abe, and people called her that until her death in the 1990s.
Very interesting, Got t face it, Caton is somewhat unique!
That’s what I keep hearing! Caton is unique!!
What a interesting post. I’ve never heard of this naming system and find it fascinating all the twists and turns that one “word” evokes so many intriguing tales. Loved the photos and learning a new naming convention. Looking forward to reading your other entries.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I’m often amazed at how people interpret the prompts in the 52 Ancestors series. I also enjoy reading the stories of other people’s experiences.
Interesting article. Thank you. I had always heard of Mama (Lora Marie Whitford Gray) refer to Aunt Mary Mack and Aunt Mary Allen, but had not connected them to a special bygone naming convention. In Daddy’s (Robert Alton Gray) family of Pitt County, two of his six brothers married women named Peggy. They were called Peggy Jack and Peggy Key. Many who know Mama, know that her nickname with the nieces and nephews of Caton is Peggy, also. It’s a good thing that the Peggy nickname didn’t move to the Gray family, else we’d have a Peggy Alton, too!