A Tale of Two Rebeccas

In the last post, I mentioned the death of John Culbert & Mary Ward's daughter Rebecca Culbert, age six, on 18 July 1841.

Rebecca Culbert's name and date of death inscribed on a headstone at St. James Cemetery, Clandeboye, Ontario.

Now, look at this list of John & Mary's 11 children and tell me if you notice anything unusual...

Elizabeth "Eliza" Culbert. Born 1829.

Susan Culbert. Born 1832.

Rebecca A. Culbert. Born 1835.

Henry Culbert. Born 1837.

Emma Culbert. Born c1839-1840. 

William Edward Culbert. Born 1842.

Rebecca Ann Culbert. Born 1845.

Thomas Culbert. Born 1847.

Joseph Culbert. Born 1848.

Richard Culbert. Born 1853.

Mary Ann Culbert. Born 1856.

Bonus points if you noticed that John & Mary had TWO daughters named Rebecca!

Rebecca 1st was born in 1835 but died six years later in 1841. Rebecca 2nd was born in 1845, three years after the death of Rebecca 1st.

Up until the first part of the 20th century, parents couldn't rely on all their children surviving until adulthood. Most families could expect to lose at least one child to disease, infection, or poor nutrition. Doctors were scarce and there was still much to learn about public health.

Long ago, it was the custom to name the next-born child (of the same sex) after the deceased child. Since Rebecca 2nd was the first girl to be born after the death of Rebecca 1st, she was given the same name.

Many people considered their family's first names to be of importance; something you passed down from one generation to the next. If a child died, that child's first name may have been used for the next child of the same gender, thus keeping alive an important family name.

So if you're researching your family history and you discover two or more children in the same family with the same first name, this could be the reason.