Common to have a "replacement" son?

[margaretmarch]

Lol! I think I may have tried a name change a bit earlier! Bless, he was obviously very keen for a namesake!

Yes, but at what cost!! must have been a slow learner.

Margaret

[Olde Crone Holden]

Yes, I have this a lot too, but the strikng one is three Samuels in a row, all died, then a girl, then a fourth Samuel, who survived long enough to be killed in WW1.

OC

[colin taylor]

In the 1850s one of my Joseph Dixon family had 11 children, all lived to be adults except the 2 boys named Edwin who died age d 3 and 4.. Perhaps in homage one of the cildren named Joseph named one of his 4 children Edwin and he died in infancy.. the others lived to be adults.
The name Edwin does not appear again....

[Fuzzy]

I too have had lots of replacement children! I do not understand how they could call a second child the same name as the one who had died, to me it is like putting the mockers on the poor child! I agree that the goodwin is probably a maiden name somewhere down the track, again i have had this lot in my tree and most recently in my husbands tree, generations were called Walter Thorne Tarrant, it was only when I got right the way back the the late 1700's I found a John Tarrant whose wife mothers name was Mary Thorne

[Konovolov]

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm slowly getting back into this- well, I say slowly, but I was digging around like a maniac on A******y last night! I'd forgotten what a great support network we have here.

[Loopy Linda in La La Land]

I had that when I was looking for my Grandma's birth certificate. The first one I ordered came back with birth date in June. She lived with us all her life so I knew it was 31st May.

When I delved further I saw that Great Grandma lost a child to measles at 16 months named Rosetta and when Grandma was born 5 months later she was called Rosetta

Linda

[Joy Dean]

Great-grandfather's name was John as was his older brother (about two years older than him); possibly the elder John was poorly and they thought name the next one just in case. The older brother did die young.

Another instance was when a William was born and died, then the next was named William, etc, etc etc and eventually one named William survived.

[Olde Crone Holden]

There was superstition involved too - it was thought that the Devil, having already taken one child called Samuel, or whatever, would miss another one called Samuel and that one would survive.

OC

[Fuzzy]

There was superstition involved too - it was thought that the Devil, having already taken one child called Samuel, or whatever, would miss another one called Samuel and that one would survive.

OC

I didn't know that! Thanks for that OC

[kylejustin]

fascinating oc!!