The Maternal Line or the Umbilical Line
Remember the Ladies!
Maternal naming patterns are much harder to spot since surnames change on each marriage and every generation. Sometimes a pattern may become apparent by looking at a straight maternal line.
Elizabeth (Diehl) Glatfelter Smyser had a daughter
Eva Christina Glatfelter Holland who had a daughter
Catherine Elizabeth or Elizabeth Catherine Holland Dixon who had a daughter
Helen Adelia Dixon Parker who had a daughter
Helen Elizabeth who had a daughter
Marilyn Elizabeth who had a daughter
Erin Elizabeth who might have a daughter
whose middle name just might be Elizabeth.
Looking backward, Erin was named after her grandmother Helen who was named after her grandmother Catherine who was named after her grandmother Elizabeth. Since this naming pattern is a bit harder to see because it is the middle name of Elizabeth that was handed down, every other generation, it might be missed. Also since the surnames are changed once or twice every generation, it may be possible to miss the entire pattern. In fact without knowledge of middle names this pattern would be invisible.
In another case:
Margaret Gerber Breitenstein had a daughter
Margaret Breitenstein Fischer who had a daughter
Margaret Caroline Fischer Richardson who had a daughter
Margaret Amanda Richardson Besson who had a daughter
Margaret L. etc. etc. With one break, this Margaret line goes on for seven or eight generations.
If and when I research the Evangelical records from the village of Rechtenbach, Bavaria, Germany, I will certainly be looking for a woman who married into the Gerber family whose first name just might be Margaret.
Side Note: I am a little excited to see if Erin Elizabeth’s upcoming baby will be a girl and wondering how she will keep the Elizabeth going.
