Published: December 31, 2005 06:14 pm         

Genealogy: Religion, church often played central role in naming newborns

The naming patterns and customs found in eastern European countries are quite different from the naming traditions of western Europe and the British isles. The role of religion and the church often played a central role in naming a Polish newborn.

Rather than being named after someone in the family, a newly born child in Poland would often be named after the saint whose feast day was on or close to his/her date of birth. Parents would sometimes consult their priest during the naming process, looking for the right saint’s name and feast day. The saint whom the child was named after usually had a feast day within three weeks of the date of the child’s birth.

Another Polish naming custom would be to name the child after his/her godparent. This tradition was less common than naming the child after a saint, but could be found in some Polish localities. In Poland, the godfather is called a kumoter and the godmother is called a kumoszka.

Something for the family researcher to remember is that Poles did not acknowledge and celebrate their birthdays as we do, but instead they celebrated the feast day of their namesake or the anniversary of their baptism. So the date of birth that immigrant Poles gave to census takers and other officials may not have been their actual birthday, but the date of their saint’s feast day or their baptism.

For a list of saints’ names in Polish and the dates of their feast days, go to www.rootsweb.com/~polwgw/namelist.

Queries

n I am looking for the parents/siblings of Mary Ann Bishop who married Jonathan Clark on Feb. 26, 1860, in Vermillion County, Ind. They are on the 1860 Clinton, Vermillion County census. Jonathan was age 32 and Mary, 19. Jonathan enrolled on Dec. 11, 1863, at Clinton for three years as a private of Company A, 6th regiment, Indiana Cavalry. Prisoner of war records show him captured at Atlanta, Aug. 3, 1864, after his horse fell on him, injuring his right side. He received no medical treatment and was sent to Andersonville Prison. In 1870, Jonathan and Mary Ann Clark were still living in Clinton, Vermillion County, with their two children Louisa and Grant. The family then moved to Dallas County, Iowa, and appear on the 1880 census there. I have information that Mary Ann Bishop’s father might have been known as Jasper Bishop. I believe Jonathan’s father may have been Artemus Clark, who appears on the 1840 census in Clinton, Vermillion County. I located Jonathan Clark on the 1850 Clinton, Vermillion County census, where he was reported as a farmer and living with his mother, June or Jane, 44, born in Pennsylvania. His siblings were: Louisa, Jane, Israel, and Caroline Clark. Thank you for any information you may have on these families. Contact Kara Lee Stubbert, 1001 S. Chestnut St., No. 1121, Ellensburg, WA 98926, phone (425) 503-1959, e-mail kstubb2@charter.net.

n I am searching for the Daniel Bain family. They were living in Vigo County in the 1829-1839 time period. Some of their children were born in Vigo County. Daniel owned land that he registered in Vincennes, Knox County, Ind. I found them on the 1830 census with several children. The wife’s name was Nancy and one of the children born in 1829 was James Bain. Would love to know more about this family. Thank you for your help. Peggy Jentgens, 12484 Melrose Circle, Fishers, IN 46038, e-mail PPJent@aol.com.