52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #6 - Favourite Name

Parents have an important task when they name their children. Will they give the baby a name that honours someone in the family past or present? Do they use a surname as the personal name? Perhaps it is a name they like.

Although the title is My Favourite Name", I will talk about three names.

One name I find interesting is Patience. I have only discovered one in my family and that is my great-great-great grandmother, Patience Blandford. 

Patience is from the derivative "pati" of the Latin word "patientia" meaning "to suffer". The Cambridge on-line dictionary defines patience as "the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed".

Before her marriage to Richard Eyles [Iles] and while still single, Patience brought three children to the Brimpsfield Parish Church for baptism. First was Mary Ann Blandford who was baptized 14 April 1818. [1] Three years later Patience brought her twins, Reuben and Harriet, to the church on 4 November 1821. [2]

On 6 June 1822, Patience's son, seven-month-old Reuben Blandford, was buried from the Brimpsfield Parish Church. [3]

The original publishing of the banns in the Parish church happened on 2, 9 and 16 of December 1821. The wedding was delayed. The curate added a note on a piece of paper that stated he, John Davies, read the banns on October 6, 1822. There is no indication that the curate read the banns the customary three times before the wedding.


Finally, on 21 October 1822 in the same parish Church, Richard and Patience exchanged vows. John Davies, the curate, performed the ceremony. Both Richard and Patience made their marks. William Blandford and John Edginton witnessed their marriage. 

For about 23 years, Patience was pregnant or caring for and likely nursing a little one. She gave birth to 17 known children.

Patience would have lived up to her name many times in her life.

My two favourite names in my tree are Hannah and Josiah.  Hannah is based on the Hebrew word meaning "favour or grace". Samuel's mother was Hannah. As an English name it was used more after the Protestant Reformation. Josiah comes also from the Hebrew and means "Yahweh supports".  Josiah was a boy king who "had a spiritual awakening at the age of eight and during his reign, dedicated himself to restoring his people's covenant with God."

 The name Hannah appears a few times in my family.  In my direct line, I have Hannah Hemingway, 1819-1887, (daughter of Josiah Hemingway and Anna Stiver), Hannah Dunn, 1796-1876 and Hannah Cowley, abt. 1826-1903 (daughter of Thomas Cowley).

The name Josiah also appears a few times in my family. In my direct line, I have Josiah Hemingway Johnston, 1845-1919 (son of David Johnston and Hannah Hemingway), Josiah Hemingway, 1771-1851 (son of Samuel Hemingway) and Josiah Dudley, 1847-1901 (son of Ann Dudley). 

[1] Church of England. Parish Church of Brimpsfield (Gloucestershire), Parish Baptismal Register,  entry for Mary Ann Blandford, microfilm 991292, item 1 p. 7, no. 56, Family History Library, Salt Lake City.
 [2] Church of England. Parish Church of Brimpsfield (Gloucestershire), Parish Baptismal Register,  entry for Harriet and Reuben Blandford, microfilm  991292 item 1 p. 10, no. 86, Family History Library, Salt Lake City.
[3] Church of England. Parish Church of Brimpsfield (Gloucestershire). Parish Burial Register, entry for Reuben Blandford, p. 8 no. 64; Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 9 July 2016) citing Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, England; Reference Numbers: P58 IN 1/9
[4] Church of England. Parish Church of Brimpsfield (Gloucestershire). Parish Register - banns; entry for Patience Blandford and Richard Eyles, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 9 July 2016) citing Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, England; Reference Numbers: P58 IN 1/8.

[5] Church of England. Parish Church of Brimpsfield (Gloucestershire), Parish Marriage Register,  entry for Patience Blandford and Richard Eyles, microfilm 991292 item 1, p. 6, no. 16, Family History Library, Salt Lake City.

© 2018 Janet Iles