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Shellie
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Joined: 18 Feb 2009
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:25 pm Post subject: G-mother maiden name, not mother’s in church records

Great-Grandmother’s maiden name in place of grand-mother’s name in Polish church records.

I have found several entries in church records where the the mother's maiden name is replaced with the grandmother's maiden name. The first name is correct, but the surname is one generation off. I first noticed this when I looked at my grandfather’s Poland baptism record and noticed that his grandmother’s surname did not match what was on his father's US death certificate.

Originally I thought that it was evidence of a remarriage. However, it was only after some digging back through more church records that I discovered the surname shown for his grandmother’s maiden name was actually that of his great grandmother! I thought that this was an isolated case, but I’ve found that this has happened in other church records, in other villages.

I would like to know if other members have experienced this – it seems to be more common than I first suspected - and it is now the first thing I consider when a surname does not match up.

We talked about this a little bit in another posting last year - but I can't remember which posting! LOL

Can anyone explain this odd practice of identifying a woman by her mother's maiden name? What is the benefit of this?

Last edited by Shellie on Tue May 31, 2011 10:32 pm; edited 3 times in total

MDuplaga
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:10 am Post subject:

Hi Shellie,

My first thought is to inquire at the LDS church where I assume you may have viewed their records, to see if they have come across this situation and have an explanation for it.

My Second thought is to ask a Polish Priest, if you are in touch with any from your Tour in Poland.

I have Rosemary Chorzempa's Polish Roots book-I checked in there to see if she addressed this subject, but didn't find any mention of it.

Good Luck and let us know if you discover the meaning of this certainly strange situation,
MaryAnne

Ute
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:29 am Post subject: Re: G-mother maiden name, not mother’s name in church record

Shellie wrote:

Grandmother’s maiden name in place of mother’s name in Polish church records.
Can anyone explain this odd practice of identifying a woman by her grandmother's maiden name? What is the benefit of this?

Shellie,
I found some information on old naming patterns that may be at least a little helpful -
http://genealogy.about.com/od/surnames/tp/maiden_names.htm
"10. Naming Patterns
It is only a clue, but the maiden name of a mother can sometimes be found buried somewhere among the names of her children. Unusual middle names, among boys or girls, might be the maiden name of a mother or grandmother. Or the eldest daughter might be named for her maternal grandmother."

http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/gfaol/beginners/trends.htm
"… The eldest daughter is often named for her maternal grandmother. Once again maiden names are often used as middle names. Sometimes, if the family is very large, you will only find one or two of the daughters with a maiden name as a middle name. Ironically, to find your female ancestor, you might have to take the first name of the eldest daughter, and the middle name of the second son. …"

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