Saturday, August 10, 2013

Surname Saturday -- LNU (colonial Rhode Island)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  


I am in the 7th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #707, who is Sarah LNU (1659-????) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 7th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through one American generation of this LNU family line is:

1.  Randall J. Seaver (1943-living)

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)


10.  Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11.  Julia White (1848-1913)

22.  Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23.  Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864)

44.  Jonathan White (1806-1850)
45.  Miranda Wade (1804-1850)

88.  Humphrey White (1758-1814)
89.  Sybil Kirby (1764-1848)

176.  Jonathan White (1732-1804)
177. Abigail Wing (1734-1806)

352.  William White (1708-1780)
353.  Abigail Thurston (1700-????)

706.  Jonathan Thurston, born 04 January 1659 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States; died 15 April 1740 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 1412. Edward Thurston and 1413. Elizabeth Mott.  He married before 1678 in Rhode Island, United States.
707.  Sarah, born about 1659 in Rhode Island, United States.

Children of Jonathan Thurston and Sarah are:

*  Edward Thurston (1679-1739), married (1) 1706 Susanna Pearce (1688-1711); married (2) 1712 Sarah Carr (1685-????).
*  Elizabeth Thurston (1682-1717), married 1703 Jonathan Wood (1680-1759).
*  Mary Thurston (1685-1740), married 1706 George Brownell (1682-1756).
*  Jonathan Thurston (1687-1749), married (1) 1722 Pheby Holmes (1694-1739); married (2) 1740 Mehitable Claghorn (1708-1745).
*  Rebecca Thurston (1689-1735), married 1711 Edward Richmond (1665-1741).
*  Content Thurston (1691-????), married 1715 Henry Wood (1683-1738).
*  Sarah Thurston (1693-????), married 1712 Benjamin Sawdy.
*  John Thurston (1695-1755).
*  Eleanor Thurston (1696-????), married Peters.
*  Hope Thurston (1698-1716).
*  Abigail Thurston (1700-????), married 1729 William White (1708-1780)
*  Patience Thurston (1702-????), married 1723 Thomas Southworth.
*  Amey Thurston (1705-????)
*  Peleg Thurston (1706-????).
*  Jeremiah Thurston (1710-????).
*  Susanna Thurston (1712-????), married 1732 Carr (1710-????).
*  Joseph Thurston (1714-1741), married 1738 Mercy Burgess (1722-1746).
*  Job Thurston (1717-1780), married 1766 Mary Gibbs.

Wow - 18 children over 38 years - were they all by this one wife?  Or perhaps there were two Sarah LNUs?

Sarah --?-- is another of my Last Name Unknown persons.  Can anyone help me out here?

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/08/surname-saturday-lnu-colonial-rhode.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

1 comment:

Ida Skarson McCormick said...

The 38+ years is too long a birth span for a woman who had her first child at about age 20. What are the exact dates of birth of all the children? What are the source(s)?

The “rule of thumb” is that early in the marriage of a young couple, the births are about 18 months apart, during most of the childbearing period it is about every 2 years, and toward the end of the childbearing period it is about every 3 years.

Thus there is an unexplained gap between Edward (1679) and Elizabeth (1682).

Thus there is an unexplained gap between Elizabeth (1682) and Mary (1685).

Thus John (1695) and Eleanor (1696) are too close together.

Thus Patience (1702) and Amey (1705) are too far apart.

Thus Amey (1705) and Peleg (1706) may be too close together.

Thus Peleg (1706) and Jeremiah (1710) are too far apart.

Births too far apart may be explained by miscarriage(s), a missing deceased child, or remarriage.

Births too close together may be explained by remarriage, provided a wet nurse has been found for the older of the 2 children.

The Old Style (Julian) calendar may contribute to the perceived problem, if a birth occurred in January, February, or March.

Immigrants in Colonial America, having left the grandparent generation behind, tended to name the eldest son and daughter after themselves. The first names of immigrants often survived in America, even names that were not the Biblical and “virtue” names favored by New England Puritans. In this list Edward and Eleanor were historical English names of royalty. Susannah was a name from a story in the Apocrypha which was rejected from the canon of Scripture by the Puritans. Thus these 3 names stand out in the naming pattern. Susannah/Susan was popular in England. Its nickname Sukey survives in the nursery rhyme “Polly, put the kettle on.”

A custom brought to Colonial America was that if there was no child named for the previous spouse, the first child of the appropriate gender was named after the previous spouse.

Another custom brought to Colonial America was to name a child after a previously deceased sibling.

--Ida Skarson McCormick