ELLEN, HELEN, HELENA (General)

by mrsbruso @, Monday, October 01, 2012, 13:03 (4431 days ago) @ Jefff

Might be worth mentioning that the Forest's silent "H" may come to play here.

The ministers, and enumerators for that matter, tended to write what they heard. Some of them were more familiar with the local dialect than others.

One might hear "Ellen", and assume that the "H" had been left off. One might hear "Hannah" and assume it was "Anna".

It's fairly common for someone with a name like Hannah, for instance, to be Hannah in some instances and Anna in another . . . same with Helen/Ellen, and Esther/Hester and wasn't there an instance quoted recently where there was an Athaway/Hathaway?

I have a gg aunt who was registered at birth as "Hannah Maria", but after her chirstening is almost universally referred to as Anna or Annie Maria.

"Second verse, same as the first".


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