Tuesday's Tip - Junior and Senior

Jamestown Weekly Alert - 26AUG1909, pg6

So as I was searching newspapers for "Prosper Naze" (the husband of my spouse's great, grand-aunt and a very unique name) I quickly realized that there was a Prosper Naze Jr and Sr.

Prosper Naze Jr was married to Ella Villers and belongs in my tree. I don't normally put parents to those who marry-in to the family because I don't want to deal with all the hints Ancestry will start me on for non-relative people. So I chalked it up to Prosper Sr must be the dad to Prosper Jr. Nope. His dad was Theodore. His grandfather was Sr.

In the long run this matters little in my family tree. Theodore and Prosper Sr won't go in the tree, but it is a good reminder that just because there is a junior doesn't mean they were next in line generationally-speaking.

I was always taught that if a name skipped a generation that it would be the second, i.e. - Prosper Naze and Prosper Naze II. This isn't done here and it's not a hard and fast rule. No one is coming to haul you to prison for naming your kid "junior" when it's their grandpa they're named after. Heck my father-in-law was a junior and his father's name wasn't exactly the same as his. It was Patrick Henry Cayemberg, Sr and Patrick Wallace Cayemberg Jr.

Juniors, seniors, II's, IV's, etc are great hints that there is someone else you could be looking for, but keep in mind that I can name myself Bobby Schmackwagon XXIV and it means little. What's in a name? Sometimes, not exactly what you were thinking.

"Death of Theo. Naze

Old Time Time (sic) Resident of Montpelier Passes away at Jamestown After Short Illness

The death occurred at the residence of his son, Prosper Naze Jr., on 4th avenue south, Aug. 19, of Theodore Naze of Montpelier. The deceased has been a sufferer from a complication of kidney and bladder trouble for some time and has been in this city for treatment. He was 57 years of age and was born in Belgium. His father was Prosper Naze Sr. The deceased leaves eight children living and was the father of eleven. The funeral will be held at the Catholic church in Montpelier and burial will be at the Montpelier cemetery Saturday afternoon. The remains will be taken to Montpelier on the morning train Saturday. The deceased was one of the pioneer residents in the southern part of the county and had a wide acquintance."