Deacon John Hanchett - John Deacon Hanchett

http://www.suffieldhistoricalsociety.org/families/hanchett.htm, Reference Documents: 8, 12, 158, 177

Unless I made a mistake (quite possible), I used this site as my source for the Suffield families, a number of which I am descended from. You might want to ask the historical society.

I always thought "Deacon" was a job function, like a Pastor's helper and raises one (John Hanchett) to a higher level of respect.

The other thing to look at is the era in which middle names were used. For the most part, middle names came into vogue later.

Private User - is the birth record from a reliable source?

Good Point Hatte. Looking back at it, it is from the family data collection, which may not be that reliable.

In general, if I see a middle name (whatever it is) from before the 1700s, I suspect it. In this case, the Suffield Historical Society is quite reliable and its genealogies are well documented with good sources.

As an aside - I ran across an annotation in a very good source (Narranganset Historical Society, based on the primary records in Kingstown, RI, many of which records apparently were half destroyed)

'"Job coock jenkens was born to them, 2nd month 1655. Annotated as "Surely one of the earliest uses of a middle name."

For Job Cooke Jenkins born in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts - and part of a prominent Quaker community.

Job Cooke Jenkins

It's good to see counterexamples, but interesting that use of a middle name was rare enough to be annotated!

My cousin Fay Elizabeth Dyer and I are in awe of the amazing middle names and in general of the change in naming in the late 1700s or so. If you read a lot of vital records from towns like Sherburne and others my ancestors lived in, you can see middle names come into vogue. In our family, they were generally a family name, such as Wilbur, which was used either as a middle or more often as a given name. Perry was another one I believe.

Moses Wilbur Johnson Alice Wilbur Carothers Ruth Wilbur Carpenter, ♊ Wilbur Forester Johnson Wilbur Moses Johnson, III all from the Wildbore family of Massachusetts (Taunton) and Rhode Island.

Cooke was this fellow's mother's maiden name (her parents are not identified).

Yes, that was my point - it was so very rare to have a documented middle name in 1655 that a special annotation was made.

Also interesting that your Wilbores were also southern MA / Rhode Island. I was thinking it was perhaps a Quaker practice, but maybe not, maybe more regional.

Roger......Deacon WAS a job title (usually)....but I have seen it also as a first name....I actually know a man whose first name is Major....and I just encountered a man whose name was Roy Junior Barton.....

But Hatte has a very good point....until the mid 1700's middle names were not common...then they started being included....(probably even families were getting confused by the re-use of names within their ranks...or at least, they should have been)....but often a mother's birth surname would be used either as a first name or the middle name name of a child....so Mary Curtis (who married Smith) might have a son whose first name was Curtis....

And check census records for children if you can't find a record....because the census takers sometimes got a little confused in their spelling of names....if you have all the siblings you have more options to look for (and an easier time sorting through the census') to find the parents.....William could be Wm......George could be Geo....my favorite was finding Charlotte as Sharlet.....

Further back than the 1700's, middle names were rare....but not impossible.....and often used to differentiate close relatives...and, like Hatte said, to be thoroughly confirmed...

People (families) also went through different stages of naming their children....standard names...gave way to names like Patience, Thankful, Prudence, Deliverance (almost like samplers).....then the habit of naming after heroes of the day (George Wahington, John Hancock, Andrew Jackson, Lafayette....etc).....I have a Van Buren Martin in my close family...

Names are very interesting and can tell you if you are on the right track in your research....IF you know enough about the family.....and the full names of the parents.

Erica - those I linked to were later that the early Wildbore / Wilbor family. As I remember the Johnson family in my line married a Wilbur female and the name passed down after that.

Here she is, the wife of David Lysander Johnson was a Wilbur and ever since, Wilbur has been a family name. Lois Johnson