General Chat

I have an ancestor in a tree I am doing, who's was baptised.....

Edward Herbert Wu Chen Harland

His brothers and sisters had ordinary English names, the only other unusual name in the family, is that of his mother, who's middle name was Wealthy, I can find no other unusual names, of there ancestors going back in the tree.

Any ideas as to why Wu Chen would be chosen?

I wonder if they had Chinese neighbours

Hope your not suggesting any Hanky Panky had taken place Carol :-0

Lynda....that's given me something to chew over tonight!

That has been suggested to me before Carol, it could well be, just wondered if there could beanother explanation :-D

No ,

just that often children are named after friends of the family or someone who had helped them :-D

Did the father perhaps travel to China in some capacity and picked up the names there? Wu means 'martial' or 'fight' as far as I can tell.

http://www.yitseng.net/names/chan.html

Aaah the chosen one!!

You'll probably find the answer is on your local Chinese take-away menu. I think Wu Chen is in between sweet & sour chicken and the sizzlin' pork :-)

Sorry Lynda, I just couldn't resist that :-D :-D :-D

I've just looked up the baptism of Edward (1 July 1897) along with his siblings. All of them have a 2nd name, none of those names unusual except for him who has been given 3rd & 4th christian names. Hmmmmm, I wonder if it was after a godparent, the dad's boss, or a particularly close neighbour? Someone who helped them out in a time of need maybe?
What about the neighbours names on the census of 1891 or 1900?

I think it's probably a friend.
I had a great uncle called Edwin Llewellyn P****. Absolutely no Welsh in the family at all!!

Must look at the names of GG uncle Edward's children - he workd in the Chinese Laundry in Southampton :-D

My cornish g g grandad was a card, he called his sons Ernest, Sylvanus, Gifford and Ivor. His sons (by the time they'd reached double figures) called themselves Ernest, Herbert, Sidney and Fred!!
Right pain their births were to find. Gifford was my g grandad, but, from the age of 10, called himself Sidney on all documents. Finally traced him through Ernest & their sister Beatrice!

Thanks for your imput ladies, even yours Karen :-D Edwards father was a pianoforte manufacturer, but don't think they travelled, will look on the census' to see if I can see any Eastern neighbours.

Thanks again :-D

I was just going to suggest that!!!!
In fact, I would be looking all over the neighbourhood - they could have worked together :-D

I wonder if a Chinese bloke (even a bloke called Wu Chen), owned the piano factory.
Or perhaps he was Edward's dad's business partner , something like that?


Maggie - I know what you mean, aren't they a pain at times....I had an Agnes who called herself Pat, a Charlotte called herself May, Ellizabeth who called herself Lil, and a Sarah who called herself Gwen (just why would you?) and this little group of siblings - Will, Wal, Poll, Doll, Nell, Doff and Glad :-|

They did it deliberately you know!!

Only thing I can offer is that 'Wu' would be the unidentified persons family name, and 'Chen' his personal name (it's a male name, I believe) = could well be a close friend of Edwards parents?

Just looked for "Wu Chen" on Y--oo

Seems to be the year of the dragon.

Last one was 2012 (starting late in January).

Could he have been born in the year of the dragon? (Chinese 'animal' years are on a twelve year cycle)

If Mum had forename of wealthy, perhaps thie maternal family believed in lucky names.

Might be worth looking at "Year of the Dragon" to see what charecteristics (sp?) people born in that year, shoul have.

Tess