Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Way We Were Wednesday - Rollo


This photo of my mother's parents was probably taken before I was born, definitely before his health forced them to retire.  He looks very robust in this photo. He was born into a large family on a farm. He preferred to farm with horses or mules, resisted using a tractor (and a tractor accident started the cascade of health problems that led to his retirement.)

When I was sorting photos after my parents died, I came across a baby photo of him, and discovered that his middle name was Rollo.  I have no idea where that came from.  The best I can determine his family was primarily German in ancestry. As was my grandmother's. She had an unusual first name, Mina. (Yes like the bird.) 

Any unusual names in your family history? 

16 comments:

  1. Two of my great aunts on my father's side were named Josephina and Leopoldina. I suspect my great-grandfather was a Habsburg loyalist (like me) since these are feminine versions of imperial names.

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  2. My maternal grandfather's middle name was Pink; my maternal step-grandfather's middle name was Lamb.
    I once worked with a girl named Mina.

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    Replies
    1. And at times we think unusual names are a new thing

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  3. I had a great-great-grandmother with the first name of Cripe, aka Zipa. SG had a Flutie Sowerbutts in his family! And his great-grandmother’s first name was Wealthy, but that wasn’t unusual in 19th-century New England.

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  4. great-great-grandmother for SG, great-grandmother for me...

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    1. My dad’s first name was J. His brother’s name was Loy.

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    2. There is a J in my life

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  5. One of my United Empire Loyalist forebears who came to Canada after the American Revolution was named "Eleazar" -- in the Bible, Eleazar was the second High Priest of Israel, the son of Aaron who was the brother of Moses.

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    1. One of my grandmothers was born near Greenwich England, she missed having a queen

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  6. My grandmother's name was Leara and my mother's first name was Alta which she hated and never used.

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    Replies
    1. Interesting history. My parents went with pretty simple names

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  7. My great-grandparents' names were Alois, Magdalena, Ervina Carolina, and John. There's always one in the group.

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