A Rose By Any Other Name...
Wow... I've been a bad blogger. I've just been so busy blah, blah, blah...
Just returend recently from a trip to Pa. and will write about that later. Tonight I want to write about my birth certificate.
It all started when I was going through some old papers, looking for pictures and momentos of me to post on a bulletin board to introduce myself to my new class this year. As I was looking through all of my school things, I saw my name listed SEVERAL times as "Marjorie". I remember as a child having to justify my name as Margie, not Margaret, not Marjorie, not any other form but MARGIE. Teachers would ask me my REAL name and when I would say Margie, they would smile and say... "It's ok, we'll ask your mother." Sigh... fine but my name really IS just Margie.
But going through all of these papers, I saw the common theme of Marjorie. What exactly DID my birth certificate say? Did mom write down Marjorie and never mention that fact to me? Was I really a Margaret or a Marjorie and all of those years of righteous indignation at being ignored, when I insisted I was really given a nickname for my full name, were for naught? Was Harvey really my dad?! WHOSE name was on my certificate!? ALL of these bizarre thoughts started floating around in my head. I promptly sat down and wrote The Commonwealth of Pa. and gave them some money. In return, they sent me a copy of my birth certificate. (I'd never seen it!!!) Well -- it's actually a copy made recently but showing the information at my birth. It was noted that an amendment was made to my certificate on 5/16/72. That would be the year that my parents married (or it was 1971, not really sure) and they filed to have my last name changed to my dad's last name.
So the envelope arrives in the mail and Sparky ceremoniusly throws it my way. I take a deep breath... I open the envelope and for dramatic purposes, take a pause. Sparky rips the paper from my hand and opens it up. He doesn't look stunned so I figure it's what I've known all along... I really am a Margie, not a Margaret or a Marjorie. Sure enough.... there it is.
I then read down a line. Mother: Blanche Esther. Check. Maiden Name: McIntire. Check.
Father's Name: Harvard. Chec... wait... what the ?!??!!? HARVARD?! My dad's name was HARVARD?! HOW COME I DIDN'T KNOW THIS?! NOT once in my life did I ever hear he was anything but Harvey. That was a little shocker. Here I was wondering if my name was more formal than the nickname and it was MY DAD's name that was MORE FORMAL than I ever knew!!! Harvard. (Who names their kid Harvard?) Wow... I buried my dad as Harvey. I had NO idea. No one ever mentioned that little fact. Maybe that is why I have trouble finding information on geneology? Who knows... but NOW that I have this information, maybe I can get my parent's birth certificates and get some more names for the family tree.
Just returend recently from a trip to Pa. and will write about that later. Tonight I want to write about my birth certificate.
It all started when I was going through some old papers, looking for pictures and momentos of me to post on a bulletin board to introduce myself to my new class this year. As I was looking through all of my school things, I saw my name listed SEVERAL times as "Marjorie". I remember as a child having to justify my name as Margie, not Margaret, not Marjorie, not any other form but MARGIE. Teachers would ask me my REAL name and when I would say Margie, they would smile and say... "It's ok, we'll ask your mother." Sigh... fine but my name really IS just Margie.
But going through all of these papers, I saw the common theme of Marjorie. What exactly DID my birth certificate say? Did mom write down Marjorie and never mention that fact to me? Was I really a Margaret or a Marjorie and all of those years of righteous indignation at being ignored, when I insisted I was really given a nickname for my full name, were for naught? Was Harvey really my dad?! WHOSE name was on my certificate!? ALL of these bizarre thoughts started floating around in my head. I promptly sat down and wrote The Commonwealth of Pa. and gave them some money. In return, they sent me a copy of my birth certificate. (I'd never seen it!!!) Well -- it's actually a copy made recently but showing the information at my birth. It was noted that an amendment was made to my certificate on 5/16/72. That would be the year that my parents married (or it was 1971, not really sure) and they filed to have my last name changed to my dad's last name.
So the envelope arrives in the mail and Sparky ceremoniusly throws it my way. I take a deep breath... I open the envelope and for dramatic purposes, take a pause. Sparky rips the paper from my hand and opens it up. He doesn't look stunned so I figure it's what I've known all along... I really am a Margie, not a Margaret or a Marjorie. Sure enough.... there it is.
I then read down a line. Mother: Blanche Esther. Check. Maiden Name: McIntire. Check.
Father's Name: Harvard. Chec... wait... what the ?!??!!? HARVARD?! My dad's name was HARVARD?! HOW COME I DIDN'T KNOW THIS?! NOT once in my life did I ever hear he was anything but Harvey. That was a little shocker. Here I was wondering if my name was more formal than the nickname and it was MY DAD's name that was MORE FORMAL than I ever knew!!! Harvard. (Who names their kid Harvard?) Wow... I buried my dad as Harvey. I had NO idea. No one ever mentioned that little fact. Maybe that is why I have trouble finding information on geneology? Who knows... but NOW that I have this information, maybe I can get my parent's birth certificates and get some more names for the family tree.
posted by Indigo Robe | 8:18 PM
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