An unusual given name

[Top-of-the-hill]

  "Oh Gosh coombs -- I really like the given name of Deverson. Sounds very autocratic and posh!"

   Quite a common surname in East Kent, but I don't think there are many specially posh ones!

[BumbleB]

My Great grandfather was baptised in 1847 as Alison Appleyard, and his cousin was baptised as Alison Appleyard in 1851.

Assumption - Their grandmother's maiden name was actually Allenson - married Wadsworth Appleyard in 1802 as a widow (Binns), having previous been married to Isaac Binns in 1793.

[Pennines]

I have always wondered why the christian name of 'Doctor' was supposedly given to the seventh son of a seventh son. Why? Where did that belief come from? (These are rhetorical questions unless, of course, someone knows the answer).

It seemed to be most common in Lancashire - but maybe that's because I am from Lancashire and have seen it a lot on census records and have a mis-balanced view.

[Petros]

My 4XGF was christened Loveless in 1751. He doesn't feature in his father's will, written in 1751, so perhaps his father was dubious about his youngest son's parentage. 

The name featured a few times in both his and his brother's descendants one of whom tends to have his Christian names transcribed as Loveliest John!

[Pennines]

Oh what a shame.

I am actually surprised that the family carried that name down the generations. Lovliest is nice though!!

I have a Foundling in my tree - baptised at the London Foundling Hospital - they are given a new name on baptism, even if they have one already.

 I know this isn't a particularly unusual name - but he was baptised as Gustavus Smith. He was sent to Ackworth, Yorkshire - aged 6. (At that time Ackworth was one of the off-shoots of the London Foundling Hospital)

I was SO thankful he had been given the name Gustavus, with that dreaded surname of Smith.

There weren't many called Gustavus in God's Own County, if any, - so he was easy to track -- that name carried down 2 further generations (from memory).

[Top-of-the-hill]

  What sort of date was that? There are quite a few burials in one of our local church registers (East Kent) in the mid 1750s of children "from the Foundling Hospital", which we think are children sent from London.

[Viktoria]

Coram’s Hospital was The Foundling’s Hospital.
Many babies were taken there by their mothers, often girls left “ holding the baby” ,no husbands and no means of providing .
Some babies were handed over and a name given plus mother’s name ,also ,a simple identification token was registered and left .a little button,a bit of lace,a small shell etc,just in case a mother could ever claim her baby back in years to come .
Some babies might have been left in a “lazy Betty “ type turning cupboard in the door.
Handel composed “ The Messiah” to raise funds for the hospital.
Such a sad place , the many many simple tokens ,still there ,mean hardly any
babies were reclaimed.
Some mothers were girls taken advantage of,others were poor street girls .
All left with no support.
I wonder if babies could be sent by Parishes out of London too?
Viktoria.

[Pennines]

My ancestor was baptised there in 1757. There is some brief info here;

https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/about/our-history

There must be more info somewhere, because I discovered that off-shoots were established in other places round the country, but I can't remember how I found that out.

Records of children taken in are held at London Metropilitan Archives.

There are details of Ackworth on Peter Higginbottom's website;

http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/AckworthFoundling/

there it mentions other places Aylesbury, Barnet, Chester, Shrewsbury and Wrexham.

[Pennines]

I am conscious that we have gone off topic here - my fault for mentioning Gustavus!!

I obtained his papers from the London Metropolitan Archives - cost £50 a good few years ago now - but worth it to me. Told me who baptised him - what he was dressed in - the name of the lady where he was sent to be nursed. In addition, when he was sent to Ackworth, and the master to whom he was apprenticed (at age 6!).

I also discovered that only the healthiest children were sent on that arduous journey North (as it would be in those days) - as many didn't survive these journeys.