In Memory of
Lucy BickerstaffDate of BirthJuly 13, 1893Date of DeathOctober 25, 1967Place and Time of ServicesFriday, October 27, 1967Lane Funeral HomeMineral Ridge Chapel 1:30 P.M.ClergymanRev. Thomas McArthyPlace of IntermentKerr CemeteryArrangements by
Lane Funeral Home
Lucy lived all her adult life in Mineral Ridge but I don't remember ever meeting her.
--Nancy.
.
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteDo you have any information confirming Lucy's middle name? I have seen many references to "Catherine" and a possible spelling with a "K" which is also used on her grave marker.
Kirk
Hi, Kirk! Great to see you online again, working on family history.
DeleteI didn't have any sources giving Lucy a middle name but searched this morning and found only one document with her middle name as either "Catherine" or "Cathrine." It is her birth record from Jefferson County (which is indexed in two different locations as "Catherine" and Catharine."). You can see it here, entry 225: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRYW-SWQ8?i=301&cc=1932106&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AWFBC-QNMM
Trying to decide the spelling, I looked at other entries to compare handwriting but didn't find any that were helpful for comparison. How do you think it's spelled in that entry?
What other sources/documents do you have that give her a middle name?
Thanks, Nancy. I tend to pursue the family history in concentrated "waves" as opposed to a constant steady endeavor (probably more so due to my personal/work schedules.) Most of the time there is sufficient new data available to hook me again into this wonderful hobby.
ReplyDeleteThe handwritten birth record that you provided is a tough one. I am leaning more towards "Catherine." The lowercase "e" is written in at least two different forms within this page... seemingly dependent upon the preceding character.
Another bias towards "Catherine" is that, according to my research, that was the spelling of her paternal grandmother "Catherine Snyder" and apparently her g-grandmother as well.
That being said, given the strong indications of illiteracy I think we need to wonder what the intent was. There is conflicting information as to whether many of the family members could even read and write. I think that's why we see so much variance in their names: Katherine vs. Catherine vs. Cathrine and Vankirk vs Van Kirk. It also complicates matters that most instances of her name appears to have been made by a third party who may have imposed their own assumptions.
It looks like shortly after marriage, beginning with the 1910 Census (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLNR-DQS) Lucy's middle initial becomes a "K" - which probably just stuck with her from that point forward. Ultimately morphing into "Lucy Katherine Van Kirk" as seen here: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSX1-6SB8-T?cc=1614804
Perhaps, unfortunately, the best we can hope for is to be phonetically accurate. I suppose this is one case in which spelling simply doesn't matter so much.
I would love to come across a letter of document baring her signature (or mark) to have a more diffinitive answer on how SHE identified herself.
I'm not researching as consistently as I did a few years ago. There are just SO MANY ancestors!
DeleteThe birth record (from above)--I think the name was spelled as spoken, as in, Cathrine. We don't usually make it three syllables, just two. It's tough when a variety of records give a variety of names/spellings/etc. The other variation of her surname that I see is Vankirk. I don't think I've seen "Van Kirk" yet.
My guess as far as literacy is that during this generation, the highest grade level achieved for many people would probably have been 8th, and for others possibly only 6th or 4th, so not totally illiterate.
I haven't researched Lucy in any depth since she's a collateral relative but I'll keep an eye out for a document that she's signed or given her own name.
After looking closely at the reference that you provided I tend to lean towards the spelling of "Catherine" for THAT document. There is a strong indication, however, that many of the family members were illiterate despite the responses on the US Census questionaires. For example her father making his mark on her marriage consent: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZYN-WCG
ReplyDeleteIn all likelyhood, Lucy's middle name was probably derived from her paternal grandmother: Catherine Snyder. Unfortunately, there are also discrepancies in how her name was spelled - sometimes seen as "Catharine" as well.
It appears that beginning around the 1910 census, briefly after her marriage to William Bickerstaff, that Lucy's middle name takes on the "K" spelling of "Katherine."
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLNR-DQS
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQG-QN77
Further complicating the question is that all of the documents that I have found appear to have been written by a third parties who inconsistently made their own assumptions as to the correct spelling.
I'd love to find something in Lucy's own handwriting and signiture if it exists which, given the inconsistencies, I would be biased towards. In any case, it appears that Katherine must have stuck among her loved ones which is likely why her middle initial is "K" on her grave marker.