Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Riddle Me This

So yesterday was working on defining the next step in tracking down more about Nehemiah Newans, my 5th GGF. (See many posts below... am kinda obsessed with this guy's life;)

Something was needling me, like a lot. Something in the back of my mind was really bothersome but for the longest time I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. Then it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks!

In the first section of the book, "The Ancestral History of Thomas F. Myers," it is established that Thomas F Myers' great grandfather is Nehemiah Newans and that Newans married a "Miss Kepplinger." Why would Myers, who presumably contracted for the book's writing, have her addressed as "Miss Kepplinger"? Sounds like he didn't know her first name! Strange, that.

Her given name was Catharine, which is proven by her pension claim for her presumed deceased husband Nehemiah Newans, of which I have a copy. So why doesn't the book use her full maiden name? I'm at a complete loss here. If you have any clues for me, I'd so very much appreciate knowing what they are. This one even stumped Mom, and that's saying a whole lot as she's been doing genealogy since 1970!!

Here's a comment:
Jenny Lanctot said...

Two questions: (1) When was the book written? It may have been customary at that time to refer to a woman as "Miss" to indicate that she was not a widow or divorcee.

(2) Was she ever referred to by her full name or by Catharine Newans in the book? The author may not have been told her given name, or it may be that Myers did not descend from that particular marriage, but a different marriage for Newans, and did not feel it was necessary to provide her full name.

Not sure this answers any questions, but maybe it's food for thought. Good luck!


My reply:
Hi Jenny!
Think you're on to something:) The book was written in the late 1800s  so it's entirely possible that using Miss would have been totally formal and appropriate way to indicate that she was not widowed or divorced and that she was from a proper family with stature in the community.
Her full name was never used in the book.
Thomas F. Myers, her great grandson who had the book published, lived from 1841 to about 1920.  

1 comment:

  1. Two questions: (1) When was the book written? It may have been customary at that time to refer to a woman as "Miss" to indicate that she was not a widow or divorcee.

    (2) Was she ever referred to by her full name or by Catharine Newans in the book? The author may not have been told her given name, or it may be that Myers did not descend from that particular marriage, but a different marriage for Newans, and did not feel it was necessary to provide her full name.

    Not sure this answers any questions, but maybe it's food for thought. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete