With my New England Yankee ancestry, I have many ancestors with what would seem to be unusual names to the modern American ear: Remember, Wrestling, Submit, and Thankful, as choices from among the virtue names Puritans used. Even a Preserved {as in G-d preserved my soul}, whose family name was Fish. Yup, Preserved Fish. And he had a Preserved Fish, Jr.

Lots of more obscure Biblical names, as well: Amaziah, Azariah, Abiah, Abiel, Abijah ~ and that’s just those that start with A 😉

However, this aren’t the names I’m going to chat about. My choice is one that is much less unusual, but the circumstances are a bit amusing.

My couple greats grandmother was named Helen Putnam. Born in Danvers MA, lots of her ancestors were Putnams… she’s the Helen circled in the photograph, and I’ve found a couple more Putnam line to her since I wrote that up (as well as four lines back, via various ancestors, to Priscilla Gould’s brother Zaccheus and his wife….small founder population in action).

But it’s not her name I’m amused by. It’s her husband’s….

See, he was named Addison Putnam Learoyd ~ but I’ve found no trace of him having any Putnam ancestry at all. I’ve got three of his four grandparents’ lines traced back to at least Addison’s great great grandparents; his paternal grandmother’s family has been harder to trace, but she was born in England, so Putnams aren’t likely there.

The Learoyds did live in an area of Danvers that was full of Putnams, so it’s likely there’s a reason for choosing Putnam as a middle name for one of their sons, but it still amuses me that Addison Putnam Learoyd had no Putnam ancestry, but his children had lots through his wife Helen Putnam.