A census taker's joke?

[speleobat2]

Just a few days ago while I was trying to get organized--again--I discovered that I had never found the death certificate for the sister of my 2x great grandfather John Munro. Finding Jane's certificate was easy enough and brought a surprise. The informant was her nephew James Beattie which meant that there was another sister out there who married a Beattie. Sure enough I found Mary Munro married to James Beattie, Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire. They had 12 children which gives me a bunch more relatives to hunt up! I found most of the children, but was left with several who did the usual disappearing act so I did an advanced search on Ancestry, last name only--Beattie--born in Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire with the Belhelvie exact box checked, 1861 Census. I found pretty much what I had already seen except for:

Nebuchenezzar Ada Beattie
Age 12
Servant
Born Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire

etc.

Couldn't believe someone would name a child that, especially a girl which she would have been with the middle name Ada. I went to the IGI and searched for Beatties born in 1849 in Belhelvie and what popped up was Ebenezer Beattie, parents James Beattie and Mary Munro! One of mine whom I had thought must have died before 1855 as I couldn't find him anywhere. I went to SP and bought the 1861 Census for the above and there it was Nebuchanenzzar Beattie! The "ada" was written in above like someone was trying to correct the spelling which would be incorrect both ways! However, for a census taker in 1861 to be literate enough to even come close spelling that one, I have to think that he or someone gave Nebuchenezzar as Ebenezer's name on purpose as a joke! Or maybe it was Ebenezer himself!

So the next time you can't find a relative...!

Carol

[Russell]

Hi Carol

I gather another few donations to SP will be in order

Why are you surprised that the enumerator could spell Nebuchenezzar. Literacy was fairly high and the book most commonly found in a household was a great big family Bible. Some places even had a chair with a special broad arm to rest it on while they read it to the family.
My biblical names show up with Nathaniel Daniel Isaac Oman. It made him fairly easy to find I can tell you. His poor nephew was lumbered with Nathaniel Daniel Isaac Oman Gold. No wonder he became a doctor and never married.

Russell

[emanday]

My son-in-law has several Nehemiah's and a couple of Bromborough's in his line.

Needless to say he is much relieved they abandoned the names several generations ago

The poor guy who got Bromborough for the first time was named after his father's ship which was named after the village he was born in.

I was born in Rottenrow

[speleobat2]

Russell,

I had to look it up to get the correct spelling!

Mary, I was born in Pontiac--named after an Indian chief. Let's see Pontiacella, Pontiacamina, Pontiacette...

Carol