Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Posthumus Ditchfield

There's a chance that

Posthumus Ditchfield

is a designation rather than a name. Sometimes, birth records will say "Stillborn" where a first name would usually appear and it is possible that "Posthumus" might appear in place of an as yet unnamed posthumous baby's given name. However, I have never seen a live birth recorded without giving the baby's name. I think that Posthumus Ditchfield, son of Thomas and Anne Ditchfield (b. August, 1645 in Boston), may have been his real name — an unusual, but not a unique name.

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