Behind the Name

Do you have a favorite name you've encountered in your family research? Mine is my 1st cousin 3x removed - Zytilla Gertrude James (1853-1910). I started wondering where in the world the name Zytilla came from? It certainly hasn't popped up anywhere else in my research. 

I was surfing around and came upon Behind the Name. I really like all the information you can find on both given and surnames. When you first land on the site, you're on the given name page. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the homepage, there's an option for surnames as well. You can browse various names, search, find meanings and related/equivalent/diminutive names, see the popularity change over time in various areas of the world, and even find namesakes and various other bits of information. You can browse names not only by first letter, but by region, mythology, religion and other various categories. There are additional interactive features and message boards if you want to sign up. The site is FREE!

I had fun looking up my name. Doris, seemed to be most popular in the US in the late 1920's and early 1930's. By the time I was born, it was not just falling out of favor, it was plummeting! In fact, the only country where it currently shows any real use (albeit not much) is the Netherlands with 0.080%. I happened to be named after 3 different friends of my mother. Clearly, they were all born when the name was far more common. I was surprised to see all the usages: English, German, Swedish, Danish, Croatian, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology. I won't bore you with the other facts about my name, but suffice it to say, I thoroughly enjoyed poking around the site as I was writing this post.

Back to Zytille Gertrude! Gertrude probably hasn't been a favorite in a long time. Between 1880-1900 it accounted for about 1% of the female names per this site. Since then, it's fallen sharply and stopped registering on their graph in the mid-1960's. But how about Zytilla? Well, there's absolutely nothing on the site. So, like all good sleuths, I Googled. Again, nothing! I opened up ChatGPT and asked AI if it knew anything, and it responded:

The name "Zytilla" is quite unique and doesn't have a widely recognized origin or meaning in common name dictionaries or linguistic sources. It may be a modern creation or a rare name that is specific to a particular family or cultural group.

So there we have it. I can fairly confidently say, Zytilla's mother probably either had 2 other names she morphed together (possibly the Polish Zyta and the German Ottilla), or she made it up and simply liked the way it sounded. It certainly was unique! I wish I knew if Zytilla (also known as Tilla in some records) liked her name? I don't much care for Gertrude, but I do actually really like Zytilla. I wonder about her character. I imagine her as a little blond girl, who looked much like Alice in Wonderland. All I know for certain are these basic facts: she was born in Ohio, died in Illinois, was married, had two children, was a housewife and could read and write. She was a "unicorn", an individual with a unique name and perhaps a unique personality to go with it.

Taking Stock

I've written previously about the mysterious Abijah LeRoy, my 2nd great-grandfather, who started my genealogy journey and remains a very stubborn brick wall. 

I decided it was time to take stock of the facts I do know (spoiler alert, it's not very much!):

• My grandfather was Jesse Ben LeRoy (1907-1971) Born in Georgia
• My great-grandfather was John Robert LeRoy (1847-1927) Born in Georgia
• My great-great grandfather is the mysterious Abijah/Abijob (or whatever his given name turns out to be) probably born around 1819 (possibly earlier) since all of his children were born between 1839-1847 in Georgia. He's not listed in any census from 1850 forward with his known family. Based on 1880 and 1900 census of his son, he may have been born in Georgia or South Carolina. No birth, death or marriage records and no obituary has been located. No burial had been discovered. The only mention of him is on one of  his son's death certificate. I can find no mention of him in any records for his other children.

Many trees show Abijah as John, with his mother potentially being Dorcas Shoeboots/Boots, a Cherokee Indian. I'm 40% on board with Dorcas as the name of his mother, because of an 1860 census hint from her later years, showing her surname as Lukeray, with her occupation as domestic help in the household of two of her believed grandchildren. But I'm not at all convinced she was Cherokee. And I have no clue as to her maiden name. I've found no other records for her as of yet. She may not even be the right mother. I simply don't have enough information yet. 

Thanks to Thru Lines, I think I know 2 of her other children though. The most important clue so far is both of them using the surname LeCroy (not LeRoy). It's not much, but it's something. I had long wondered if the surname morphed along the way. Certainly LeCroy to LeRoy isn't a big stretch. But searching for Abijah with any of the dozen or so spellings I've seen returns absolutely zilch! 

Then there's the matter of the little fact I totally forgot. John Robert LeRoy, on the 1910 census, shows as having served in the Confederate Army. I'd previously mined unproven details from his widow's unsuccessful bid for his pension. He was apparently not shown on the records she indicated he should be. And so, I dropped looking for him as a veteran, figuring she was just trying to get the money. Recently, I happened to get some hints for Civil War veterans for John Robert LeRoy. They were actually for John LeCroy! I'm not entirely sure they're for my John, but it did give me pause to rethink the surname again.

At this point, it seems viable Abijah was a nickname of some sort. The other 2 siblings I think I've identified are Thomas and Amanda. On the surface, John is a more likely given name. And, if some trees are to be believed, it's possible his father's name was also John...or Thomas...or Luke. I have found some full-text search results on FamilySearch, where Chief Shoeboots did actually transfer land to a John LeCroy, and John was an early settler on Indian lands. There's also a newspaper mention of Shoeboots giving him 4 slaves in 1830....but it's nowhere near enough information for me to confidently say he's Abijah's father, or Dorcas's husband. 

Another interesting tidbit is Abijah's wife Nancy Williams is shown in 1850 (as Nancy LeRoy) living next door to an Abijah Williams. He would be the right age to be her brother. Is it possible her brother's name was somehow provided instead of her spouse's on the death certificate? Or perhaps it was a name she also affectionately called her husband? Or maybe Abijah Williams isn't even her brother...

I've contemplated Abijah may have been away from the family. The Mexican-American war did occur in the proper time frame, as did the Cayuse War. But I somehow doubt he was involved in either. The list of killer diseases at the time is long. He could have died from any number of illnesses or farming accidents. He could have left his family, changed his name, and started over somewhere else too! So far, all I have is a lot of maybes...and lots more DNA cousins to fit into my tree. Maybe one of them will eventually turn into a lead.

Surname brick walls aren't terribly uncommon. There were numerous reasons names might have been recorded incorrectly. But have you ever had a given name you thought might be totally incorrect? If so, can you share how you attacked the problem?

Image by Jupi Lu from Pixabay

Collapsing Headers on Ancestry Profiles?

Full Header

 Ancestry appears to have made a change when I scroll on a person profile. The first image is how it's looked for a long time, and how it still looks when I initially open a profile. I call this the "Full Header". Note: I'm a big fan of adding tags, as you can tell. I also choose to show research tools. Depending on how you work, you may or may not have these showing. 

Collapsed Header

Today, when I log in and scroll on any page of a person's profile (oddly, with the notable exception of gallery), my screen jumps and shrinks the header to about 1/3 the size. as shown in the image labelled "Collapsed Header". The actual birth and death dates, as well as the locations and all tagging disappear to show birth/death years only and relationship.

In theory, I don't mind minimizing the photo, but I really detest it removes critical details we may need to refer to as we're adding new facts. And the screen jumping around between a full header and a collapsed header while scrolling up and down is extremely visually distracting. I don't know about you, but since I add a lot of facts, I'm constantly scrolling....so my screen is constantly jumping.

In a perfect world, I'd love to see an option to dock the header. Given a choice, I wouldn't collapse it. But, there may be reasons, such as the user experience on a tablet, where it may make sense to maximize use of visible area....but I'd still find the jumping back and forth very annoying no matter the size of the screen.

I really hope this is a beta feature. And I hope it's only temporary. Have you seen this change on your account? If so, how do feel about it?

TV Review: "Naming the Dead"

 

When I'm researching my ancestors, there's a very good chance I have the television on too. Most often it's for background noise. But for some shows, like "Naming the Dead", I close the laptop and pay close attention.

"Naming the Dead" is a new show on the National Geographic Channel (NatGeo). From IMDb "This powerful new series follows the DNA Doe Project...as they partner with law enforcement agencies to solve the coldest of cases, name these unidentified bodies, and bring resolution to families across the country." The series debuted on NatGeo on August 3rd and is also available streaming on Hulu and Disney+. It currently has an 8.8 out of 10 rating on IMDb. 

In the first episode, after a brief review of the case, they follow the research from DNA extraction to meeting with families - and the challenges in between. The show is very well done. It's a wonderful way to highlight how DNA and genetic genealogy are bringing closure to families who've been waiting far too long to know what happened to their missing loved ones, and the efforts of the volunteers who help make the identifications. 

Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to the coming episodes. "Naming the Dead" is an excellent watch. If you check it out, let me know what you think!

Image by Patrick Schwarz from Pixabay

Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)

While reviewing a 1910 US Census from Dalton, Whitfield, Georgia, for Clara B Springfield (1896-1983), wife of my granduncle George Washington LeRoy Sr (1894-1965), I encountered an odd occupation I'd never seen before - drawing in hand. The industry was shown as cotton mill. I was keen to find out more about the tasks she may have performed at this job.

 

I have many ancestors and family who worked in the textile mills in the south. I'm familiar with the dangerous conditions people faced in these factories. Many, including children, were injured, maimed or even killed while working with the enormous and unforgiving machines. Mills relied heavily on unskilled cheap labor to keep their industry flowing. Since women and children could do much of the work as well as men, but were paid significantly less, it was common to see them employed in the mills. While it certainly did offer women a chance at employment and helped support them and their (often large) families, it was difficult work. It may have been the only viable employment opportunity for a 14 year old girl like Clara. It was aa job likely undertaken out of necessity.

To find out more about drawing in hand, I visited the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). This website, created in 1995 (just a couple years after the internet became available to the public) by Photius Coutsoukisas, has been updated and expanded for the last 30 years! From his bio, "his websites predated Wikipedia, Yahoo, and Google, making him an early pioneer in online information sharing." The DOT was just the resource I needed! (I've also added this site to my Genealogy Toolbox in the section for Glossaries, Dictionaries and Abbreviations.) 

A quick search revealed Clara's days drawing in hand likely involved "drawing warp yarn through loom parts to arrange warp for weaving specified pattern, following pattern chart" on any one of a number of different types of looms. While the description was far more detailed, this is the essence of Clara's job. She created textiles. It makes me wonder, were they upholstery fabrics, fabrics designed for sewing, or something more durable to be used in industry? Did she look at the fruits of her labor and wish she could use the fabric to sew something for herself? I'll never know the specifics, but I can imagine her toiling away for extended periods of time, in the oppressive heat and incessant noise of a factory, generating the palette others would create from. It saddens me to think she spent her days in the factory, instead of being able to enjoy being a teenager.

By the time she was 18, Clara had married. A few short years later, at the age of 24, she was no longer working in the factory, but was raising 3 children under the age of 5. Her husband George was working as a carder in the cotton mill at this time. By 1930, her family had grown to 7 children, and George was still working for the textile mills as a farmer. Their lives were tied to the industry for more than 20 years. I've yet to find where they were in 1940, but by 1950 they had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee and their family was blessed with several grandchildren. George died in 1965. I don't yet have information on Clara's later years, but it's likely she lived with one of her children until she passed away in 1983. Whether working in a factory or raising a large family, Clara worked hard all her life. I hope she found a measure of peace and enjoyment in her later years. 

Thanks to the records on Clara, I now know what drawing in hand was. If you encounter an unfamiliar occupation, consider checking out the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to see if it might shed light on the jobs of your ancestors.

Image by tove erbs from Pixabay