Thursday, September 9, 2010

Gravestone of the Day: Thomas Dorril Hasey

Thomas Dorril Hasey, 1741, NCBG, Newport, RI
In Memory of
Thos. Dorril Hasey
Son of Jacob &
Johannah Hasey,
died Septm: ye 9th:
1741: Aged 1 Year
& 9 Weeks.

I found this stone when I was going through my pictures to look for early examples of New Englanders with middle names. Johannah Hasey's middle name was Eggerton, but either she or Jacob may have been related to a Dorril family — I haven't found much evidence one way or another.

3 comments:

Jim Blachowicz said...

I think I mentioned this before, but I've found that middle names occur most often with children under 10. My impression is that they're "of the mother" -- using her maiden name as their middle name. Older children (12+?) have far fewer middle names, having become "of the father," I guess. But I don't have hard data on this; maybe you're gathering this?

Marian said...

Caitlin,

Can you help me out with a 1742 stone in a Plymouth cemetery? My friend and I are debating whether the name is Hurtliff and Shurtliff. Was the S at the beginning an add-on, a squiggle, or intentionally a long s? Thanks for your help.
http://symbolicpast.blogspot.com/2010/09/mary-hurtliff-plymouth-ma-1742.html

Marian

Caitlin GD Hopkins said...

Hi Marian,

It looks like Shurtliff to me. The s looks intentional. Beyond that, there are other members of a Shurtliff/Shurtleff family buried in Plymouth, but, as far as I can tell, no Hurtliffs.