In genealogy we usually concentrate on surnames since they are the most important way of identifying people who are related. A surnames is usually inherited and, while it may be changed, some form of it is usually retained. Given names are more important in a way because they represent a voluntary choice by the parents. A name is usually not given lightly. It represents thought and feelings and can be significant to the researcher. Such is the case of my Great Great Grandfather Rene Marion Pittman.
In the Pittman Family naming history, the names 'Rene' or 'Marion' were not found among the ancestors, at least from the Colonial Period to the time of Rene Marion Pittman's birth on January 28, 1812. In the Pittman Family you will often see the same names used over and over again. While certain names are popular in different areas in different times in history, the repetition represents a pattern. Many cultures believe in honoring their elders and do so by naming children after them. For example during the period between 1700-1875 the pattern was thus...
~first son was named after the father's father
~second son was named after the mother's father
~third son was named after the father
~fourth son was named after the father's eldest brother
~first daughter after the mother's mother
~second daughter after the father's mother
~third daughter after the mother
~fourth daughter after mother's eldest sister
Rene Marion Pittman was the 'Second Son' of Ichabod Byrd and Francis Jackson Stone Pittman. Their 'First Son' was Thomas Augustus. Already they have broken the pattern by not naming him after his Pittman grandfather John Ichabod. When it came time to name their second son, it seems Frances was reluctant to name her child with her father's name of Marvel...which may have been due to the estrangement from her father at the time of her marriage when her brother Washington Ware Stone was the signee on the marriage bond. That story HERE.
Francis broke tradition by going to her mother's side of the family and named her second son after her maternal grandfather Rene Napier. Since the focus of my Georgia Ancestors has been on the 'Paternal Lineage' and the Pittman name, the discovery and the source of my Great Great Grandfather Rene Marion's name was one I could not resist digging into. What a surprise and significant treasure of genealogical information the name NAPIER has revealed.
At this point in Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors if I were to continue with the established pattern of a 'Generation Timeline', I would be initiating the 'Fourth Generation of Pittman's in Georgia'. This would begin with the children of Rene Marion and Mary Anne Howell Pittman of the 'Third Generation', and include my Great Grandfather George Washington Pittman who was the first to migrate to Texas.
However, like my 3X Great Grandmother Francis, I am going to break the pattern and take this time to share the research on the family of my 4X Great Grandmother Mary Julia Napier Stone and her Napier family name.
