400 years since the Mayflower: Oceanus

I learned about my 11th great-uncle in elementary school.  I never forgot his name.  But at the time I had no idea we were related.

Family member name: Oceanus Hopkins

Lifetime: 1620 - before 1627

Places lived: The Mayflower; Plymouth, MA
Tree branch: Smith
Relation: My 11x great-uncle (My my dad's mom's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's mom's dad's brother)

My 11th great-grandfather's wife was pregnant when she stepped foot on the Mayflower.  Her name was Elizabeth Fisher Hopkins and she and her husband Stephen and her two step-children were starting a new life in America.

Elizabeth famously gave birth to the only baby born aboard the Mayflower.  They appropriately named him Oceanus.  His exact date of birth is not known, but had to have been between September 16 and November 21, 1620.  Records indicate that Oceanus unfortunately passed away in childhood sometime before June 1, 1627.

Since Stephen Hopkins is my 11x great-grandfather, then his son Oceanus is my 11th great-uncle.

This picture of the Mayflower II was taken by Oceanus' 9x great-grandniece, Charlotte Smith Webber.

Source:

American Ancestors

Namesakes: My five Euphemias

Euphemia (pronounced you-FEM-ee-ah or oh-FEM-ee-ah) is not a common name these days.  According to the Social Security Administration, its peak popularity as a baby name in the US was between 1903 and 1915.  However, it is more popular in Scotland.

I'm happy to have FIVE Euphemias in my family.

Euphemia #1

Family member name: Euphemia McMillen

Lifetime: 1785 - unknown
Tree branch: Boyle
Relation: My 4x great-grandmother (my mom's dad's mom's mom's mom's mom)

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1785.  We don't know much about her except that one of her children was Agnes Gilchrest, who named her own daughter after her mother.  (See Euphemia #2)

Euphemia #2

Family member name: Euphemia Crosser Anderson

Lifetime: 1859 - 1918
Tree branch: Boyle
Relation: My great-great-grandmother (my mom's dad's mom's mom)

Named after her grandmother, she was born in Scotland and married Robert Anderson there. At the age of 35, they moved to the United States and settled in Indiana.  Among their 15 (!) children, they named their 8th Euphemia.

Euphemia #3 - nicknamed Effie
Family member name: Euphemia Anderson Moss
Lifetime: 1887 - 1917
Tree branch: Boyle
Relation: My 2nd great-aunt (my mom's dad's mom's sister)

Named after her mother, she was also born in Scotland and was 7 when she came to the US.  She married and had a daughter, named Mildred Euphemia.  Unfortunately, both she and her 6-year old daughter were killed in a tragic car accident on May 10, 1917, which is 103 years ago today.

Euphemia #4 - nicknamed Famie
Family member name: Euphemia Catherine Boyle Koos
Lifetime: 1918 - 1988
Tree branch: Boyle
Relation: My great-aunt (my mom's dad's sister)

Named after her grandmother or aunt who both passed away shortly before her birth. I remember Aunt Famie from our visits to grandma and grandpa's in Michigan.  My mom describes her as "bright and opinionated and suffered no fools." For her husband Vic's work, they moved their young family to Geneva, Switzerland for several years.  

Euphemia #5 - nicknamed Phemie (Phemia in Spanish)
Family member name: Euphemia Melissa Hight Hargreaves
Lifetime: 1975 - 
Tree branch: Hargreaves
Relation: My sister-in-law

A completely British name for my wonderful sister-in-law with Mexican heritage. She was named after her great-grandmother, Eufemia Rosales Osuna from Sinaloa, Mexico.  Fun-loving and smart, she's raising her two lovely daughters in sunny California.

I'm happy to have a picture of 3 out of 5 of my Euphemias.

Namesakes: Charlotte Ellen Smith

Installment #2 in my series of namesakes is my paternal grandmother, Charlotte Ellen Smith.  Let's learn about the family members she may have been named after.

Family member name: Charlotte Ellen Smith Webber
Tree branch: Smith
Lifetime: 1915 - 2014
Relation: My grandmother (my dad's mom)

First name: Charlotte

There were two special Charlottes in her parents’ life. Who were they?

Special Charlotte #1:  Her father’s step-grandmother: Charlotte Whitton Gould Hardy Smith

Charles Nelson Smith was my grandmother's father.  His grandmother (Susan Stetson) died before he was born.  But his grandfather remarried just eight months later to a widow named Charlotte Whitton Gould Hardy.  According to the Hardy Family History, her first husband passed away when he was 30 years old aboard a ship bound for San Francisco when a fire destroyed the ship. This Charlotte Hardy Smith was the Smith grandmother that Charles knew from when he was born.  And he grew up nearby his grandparents.  

Did Charlotte treat Charles like he was her own grandchild? Did they have a special relationship? 

Then in 1914, this Charlotte passed away just four months before my grandma was born. Did Charles Nelson Smith want to honor his grandmother's recent passing? If so, he may have named his daughter after her.

Special Charlotte #2:  Her father's aunt: Charlotte H. Morse Gibbs

Uncle Gran (Granville Micah Gibbs) was married to Aunt Lottie (Charlotte Morse).  She seemed to be a favorite among the cousins.  Aunt Lottie was an expert seamstress who would make clothing for family members.

Was Aunt Lottie close with her nephew, Charles and his wife Florence? Could my grandmother be named after her great aunt?  

By naming her Charlotte, they got two for the price of one!

Middle name: Ellen

This is an easy one.  Ellen was the name of my grandmother's maternal grandma, Ellen Fripp Bromley, who was very close to her.

According to the US Social Security Administration, Charlotte was the sixth most popular name for a baby girl in 2019.  Wow, what a comeback!

Sources:

Hardy and Hardie, page 6 - A scanned online PDF file of the Hardy family history

US Social Security Administration - Popular baby names

"My Memories of the Family" - a typed paper copy in my possession written by Pearl K. (Gibbs) Thomas

New England, Select United Methodist Church Records, 1787-1922 page 60 via Ancestry.com