What's In a Name?

Joe Blow block 212

One of the little pleasures I get from recording burials at Oak Hill on the Find a Grave site, is occasionally finding interesting names.  Sometimes it's just that the name is old-fashioned, or foreign sounding, or alliterative, and sometimes it's something else.  Recently I found headstones for the Blow family, including Joe Blow.  I wonder if he was just an ordinary guy.

Preserved Albee block 73

Another name that always makes me scratch my head a little is Preserved Albee, who apparently was a well respected farmer, originally from New York state.  I suspect the name has religious connotations, "preserved" as in "saved."  But one cannot help considering other meanings for the name.

Electa Bangs block 16

One of the earliest names I recorded was that of Electa Bangs, which always sounds rather electric, or possibly explosive.  She also was born in New York state, as were many early Rock county settlers, and her son George was a US Postal Service official who developed a railroad mail car, and made the idea of quick mail delivery a reality. 

Frances Paris block 61

Orlando Florida block 101

These names are geographic,  Mrs. Paris may or may not have traveled to the City of Light, but I do know she passed away in 1955. It's surprising how many stones lack a date of death - I found her obituary in the archives of the local newspaper.  Mr. Florida was a farmer and cheese maker. One of the men who mows lawn for the city parks department confided to me that when his supervisor asked how far he got in mowing the cemetery, he said he got as far as Orlando Florida.  

Ithamar Conkey Sloan vault near the chapel

Finally there is Mr. Ithamar Conkey Sloan, who despite his unusual and multi-syllabic name, was a US congressman in the Lincoln administration, and also served to represent Wisconsin's second district in the House of Representatives.  Unusual names ran in that family. His grandson carried the same moniker. His wife was Celestia, and another son was named Horace Greeley Sloan.

There are other name I enjoy at Oak Hill, but this is a fair introduction to some of my favorites.