Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Have You Seen This?

This Blackbird pattern is coming soon. I want to stitch it for my mother, but instead of putting in children and grandchildren (since that will be pretty pathetic given the current lack of  progeny in our family), I'd go backwards. I'd like to have my mother's matrilineal line as far back as I can take it...or eight generations because there are eight trees. I'm only at five--Maureen, Marguerite, Mary Anne, Maria Eugenie, Mary (whose initial are MOM). If things don't pan out, I can always put myself on there because I make my mother a mother, right?

And if you're one of those people who recognize patterns, no I don't feel bad that my mother didn't name me a name beginning with M. Maria Eugenie was probably called Eugenie because that's how the French Canadians did things back then. All Catholic girls were named Marie and all boys named Joseph with everyone going by their middle name. Although usually it's "Marie" rather than "Maria" so I wonder if her name were more deliberately chosen? Who knows? She's the one who got married in Lowell, Massachusetts one day and then two days later got married in Nashua, New Hampshire. (Probably a religious thing, but two separate marriage licenses. AND she lied about her age on both of them.)

You can probably tell what I've been doing instead of stitching, right?

12 comments:

Erica said...

My grandmother was 8 years old than my grandfather - something she didn't like to tell *anyone*. She not only lied on her marriage license (in 1934) about her age (she made herself a year younger than she really was), she also lied on her immigration papers when she came to Canada - back in 1951!

I accidentally let slip to her hairdresser that she was 8 years older than my grandfather - and I never heard the end of it for *years*. I was about 12 at the time and didn't see why it was such a big deal....

Stephanie M. said...

Love it, just have to finish "The Wedding" from Lavender and Lace for my daughters October wedding, before I start anything else!!

Beth said...

It's a lovely pattern and a wonderful way to honor the matriarchs in your family. I've been a genealogy nut since high school - even before the series "Roots" - doesn't that date me? I figure it's our own unique to us (and our siblings) puzzle.

Thoeria said...

A beautiful pattern and a lovely idea - unfortunately our family records do not go that far back and with our colourful past there is no real way of tracking history (there were no real records kept).
I'm very curious about the 2 weddings and the lying on the certificates!

Charlene ♥ NC said...

That's a lovely idea, and I'm sure your mother will think so, too. Such a wonderful heirloom to pass along!

jhm said...

Do you need help with tracking the last three generations to put on the tree? I'm always willing to help another stitcher with geneaolgy. It's my other big passion in life.

JHM

Alice said...

Gorgeous pattern! As to naming, all of my brothers have three names, one of which is Joseph and I have five, one of which is Marie. This is in accordance with French Canadian tradition. (The Joseph and Mary tradition, not being given multiple names. That was just my family) So I am sure that Marie in Marie Eugenie counts for Mary.

Kate said...

Beautiful pattern, and I like your idea for modifying it. That Catholic naming tradition was also rampant in my German Catholic family in Wisconsin in the 1700 and 1800's. Almost every girl's name started with "Maria" (or "Anna" coincidentally) and almost every boy's name started with "Josef" (with "Johann" or "Johannes" as a close second).

doris said...

I love finding out things about my fossils. We have some pretty interesting (and shady) stories in the family. No wonder you haven't been stitching.

Mouse said...

love the new pattern and like how you are going to personalise it too and oooooo really curious to find out why two wedding certificates .... my sisters middle name is maria but from our Scottish heritage :) love mouse xxxxx

Deb said...

That's a great pattern and I like your ideas for personalizing it. You must have been some time on Ancestry.com. I have yet to really do much on that site but will someday. Then I may have to stitch this sampler - it's a pretty one.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I love this sampler. The family history is fascinating. My uncle has traced our's back to the 1800s. There are alot of Benjamins! They also had a habit of naming later children after earlier ones that had died young.
We tend pass family names via the middle name with Mary being the female one.