THURSDAY'S TREASURE - Our Family Name, Barbara

In my grandfather's Bible, my mother once found this small article from a long-forgotten newspaper (copyright 1920) that he had torn out and saved. It is her name - Barbara. A name that has been passed down one branch of my family tree - from one continent to another, across states, for over 200 years. The name was chosen each time by new parents for their brand new baby daughter, to honor a mother or grandmother or sister whom they loved. Here is how my mother, and my older sister, came to have their name.

In our family I have been able to trace the name Barbara back to 18th century France. I found the name first given to my 6th great-grandmother Barbe Breyer Bour, born June 20, 1750, in Seingbouse, Moselle, France. [Barbe is the French personal name for Barbara.] Her parents, my 7th great-grandparents, were Pierre Breyer (1714-1764) and Anna Marie Schwartz (1713-1761). In February 1770, Barbe married Jean Melchoir Bour, who was born January 1745, in Tenteling, Moselle, France. They had at least two children, including Christine Bour, my 5th great-grandmother.

Christine Bour was born January 1763, in Seingbouse. In 1801 she married Pierre Lang, my 5th great-grandfather. Pierre was born March 1760, also in Seingbouse, France. Together they had at least five children. Their oldest child was Marguerite Lang, my 4th great-grandmother. She was born in April 1802; fourth child and younger sister, Barbe Lang, was born March 1806.

In May 1821, Marguerite married Joseph Frise (1796-1863) in their hometown. They had seven sons and two daughters. Their oldest child was Barbara Frisse, born in May 1822. Barbara is my 3rd great-grandmother. Joseph, Marguerite and their children immigrated to the United States. They settled in St. Anne's Village (now North Vernon), Jennings County, Indiana.

Barbara Frisse married Jean Michael Baptiste Brunette (1818-1863) one month after arriving in America, in August 1846. They had ten children, 7 girls and 3 boys. The name is passed down again at the birth of their fourth child Barbara Brunett. Born in April 1852, Barbara married Philip Huber (1847-1901), an immigrant from Germany, in April 1871, in Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky. Barbara and Philip are my 3rd great-grandparents.

Barbara and Philip had seven children while living in Bowling Green, including (my great-great-grandmother) oldest daughter Mary Bertha "Mayme" Huber, born in August 1873, and her younger sister Philomena Barbara "Minnie" Huber, born September 1876. Minnie never married. Mayme married John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937) in April 1904, after both had moved to Birmingham, Alabama.

Mayme and Johnny had three boys, including oldest son John Huber O'Donnell (my grandfather), born May 1906, and one daughter, Barbara Lena O'Donnell, born November 1909.
Barbara married Howard Alonzo Howard, (1908-1946), and together they had three children including daughter Barbara Beverly, born 1939.

Huber married my grandmother Susan Elizabeth Flemming, (1909-1999), and named their third child (my mother) Barbara Ann. My mother and father named their oldest daughter Barbara Ann, born 1958, almost exactly 208 years after Barbe Breyer was born. So I can trace our family name Barbara for over 200 years, from 1750 to 1958; from Seingbouse, France, to Birmingham, Alabama, for nine generations. Unfortunately, much like my own name which I traced back to Ireland, no Barbara's from this line have been born since 1958. Such a wonderful name....

What's in a name? The story of 'Susan'

When I was born in 1961, my parents named me 'Susan Frances'. I was named for my two grandmothers - 'Susan' for my maternal grandmother Susan "Susie" Elizabeth Flemming O'Donnell, and 'Frances' for my paternal grandmother Sarah Frances Baxter Powell, called "Frances". I always knew this was where my name came from, and it was my first awareness of being connected to generations before me. These weren't given to me because they were pretty names - 'Susan' is from Hebrew meaning 'lily' and 'Frances' is from Latin meaning 'free'. I wasn't named these because they were popular - according to the Census Bureau "Susan" was the second most popular name for baby girls in 1957-60, and 3rd the year I was born (Frances was 135th). My name was handed down from two women who had been living for more than 50 years before I was ever born. This fact joined me to them in a way that my other siblings would never have. But, by doing family history, I have recently found out that the name 'Susan' was handed down through our family for at least 6 generations before I was born.


Headstone of Susan McCaffrey
St. Patrick's Cemetery     Baltimore, Maryland
"SUSAN, Beloved Wife of Thomas McCaffrey
A native of county Tyrone, Ireland
Died Dec. 24th, 1869
Aged 76 years
May She rest in peace, Amen"
[photo by Robert Breneman]

           Susan McCaffrey, my fourth-great-grandmother, immigrated to the United States from County Tyrone in Ireland (now Northern Ireland) early in the 1800's. Susan (1793-December 24, 1869) married Thomas McCaffrey (1799-April 16, 1890), also from County Tyrone. They had five children - three daughters and two sons. Their fourth child and second daughter was named Susan McCaffrey. Susan was born in 1834 in Boston. On October 4, 1855, daughter Susan died in Baltimore where the family was now residing. She was just 21 years old. Thomas and Susan's third child was Thomas Joseph McCaffrey (April 17, 1832-May 21, 1896). Thomas was my 3rd-great-grandfather, and Susan's older brother.
          Son Thomas married Charlotte Elizabeth McCluskey (February 15, 1838-June 12, 1917). They had 13 children together, relocating first to Shelby County, Alabama during the Civil War, then settling in Rome, Georgia. Their second child, their first daughter, they named Susan McCaffrey and called her Susie. She was born March 3, 1856, five months after Thomas' sister Susan had died. Tragedy struck on May 28, 1861, when 5-year-old Susie died from Scarlet Fever, while the family was living in Philadelphia. Thomas and Charlotte's third child, and Susie's younger sister, was Elizabeth Agnes 'Lizzie' McCaffrey. She is my great-great-grandmother.
          Lizzie (December 23, 1858-July 17, 1922) met and married Charles Clinton 'Charlie' Flemming (June 23, 1854-January 26, 1932) while living in Georgia. They had ten children together. Their first daughter, and second child, was given the name Susie Elizabeth Flemming, no doubt in honor of Lizzie's older sister. Susie was born November 17, 1879. This Susie married John Moore in November 1906, but again tragedy struck and on November 24, 1908, Susie died during childbirth. Lizzie and Charlie Flemming's first child, and Susie's older brother, was Harry Clinton Flemming. Harry was my great-grandfather.
          Now in Birmingham, Harry (January 12, 1878-May 25, 1955) married Pearl Alphonsine Horst (November 19, 1884-September 25, 1961). They had married 7 months prior to his sister Susie's wedding. Harry and Pearl had 8 children. Their second child and second daughter was born 9 months after Harry's sister Susie died. In her memory, they named their daughter Susan Elizabeth 'Susie' Flemming. Susie was my grandmother.
          Susie (August 23, 1909-July 7, 1999) married John Huber O'Donnell (May 6, 1905-June 19, 1965) and they had 8 children together. This 'Susan' was the first in five generations to live past her 30th birthday and to have children of her own - not since the first Susan McCaffrey who had immigrated from Ireland. Susie's oldest daughter (and coincidentally her second child) was named Mary Susan 'Mary Sue' O'Donnell. Their oldest child Huber, Jr. (aka Jack) named his only daughter Susan Elizabeth O'Donnell (b. 1960). Susie and Huber's 3rd child, Barbara, was my mother, who named me after her mother.
          Unfortunately, after seven straight generations, this is where the name ends in our family. I had three sons, and there is no "boy named Sue" living with me. None of my cousins named their children Susan. Susan is no longer at the top of the popular name chart - in fact it's now #792, even less popular than the name Frances! But now I know just how meaningful my name has always been, and much more of how I'm connected to past generations. The lives, and deaths, of Susans before me effected how I was named - traveling across the ocean in the 1820's to come to America; dying before ever getting married, or in childbirth, or at just 5 years old; living to almost 90 years old, with 8 kids, 20 grandchildren and countless great-grandchildren. They each played a special part in making me who I am . . . Susan.