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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 2005-04 > 1114121787


From: "Dora Smith" <>
Subject: Re: Help! Too many Bills!
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 17:16:27 -0500
References: <197.3d5ce171.2f9941fd@aol.com>


I don't know the context to this - but medieval families did sometimes give
more than one child the same first name. Not too often, but it pops up.
So you would have Bill the elder and Bill the younger.

Another thing that was more common and survived for a long time in this
country, was the practice of reusing the name of a child who had died.

Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 12:50 PM
Subject: Re: Help! Too many Bills!


> In a message dated 4/21/2005 10:32:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> writes:
>
>
> > Could this be a clerical mistake? Or is it possible that Thomas did
> > name two sons Bill? And if so, why did he do so? Furthermore, is it
> > more likely for this to have happened with two different marriages than
> > one, or is that irrelevant?
>
> This is interesting in light of the recent discussion of the two Joans and
> the two (possibly) Elen's. I have seen a family in which the same
firstname is
> used more than once, but in those cases for which the relevant records
exist,
> it is the case that the elder child had died *prior* to the second child
being
> named the same.
> In this case your will points out that both William's are in fact alive
at

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