52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 14 – Begins With a Vowel

NOTE: I accepted the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge headed by fellow genealogy blogger Amy Johnson Crow in January 2023. The idea behind this challenge is that you will receive email prompts, a word or phrase, every week, and you find something about your research or family history to write about.  I write in a journal about all the prompts, but I blog about at least one prompt a month.  Click HERE to read about how I have incorporated this challenge in my blogging.

When I first saw this prompt, I didn’t know what I was going to write about. So, I looked at my family tree to see the names that started with a vowel to get some inspiration. I first noticed that all of the surnames on my family tree started with consonants. Then I noticed that given names in my family all started with the letter E: Ernestine, Evva, and Evaline. Then I noticed that they are all on my maternal side. I’m not sure why I think that was so interesting, but I do.

I’m not sure of how or why my grandmother was named Ernestine. But I do know from my research that my 2X great grandmother Evaline died shortly after giving birth to her son, Evva. So, I have always assumed that he was named after his mother. At least that is the story I’m going with anyway.

One of the things I love about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, is that I look at my family tree, my research, and my ancestors in such a different way. Now I’m curious about why my grandmother was named Ernestine. I guess that will be my next challenge.