52 Ancestors Week No. 12- Same

The last couple of weeks have been truly occupied in a pleasant manner. Spending time with my mom’s niece on the island was very refreshing. Her visit gave me the opportunity to re-discover St. Croix and enjoy our one-of-a-kind culture.  Albeit, I am looking forward to getting up to speed with the 52 week Ancestor challenge. I thought I would begin week 12 with the theme – Same – What ancestor is a lot like you? What ancestor do you have a lot in common? Same name? Same home town?

Week 12 (March 19-25) –Same. While I was developing my maternal Bough family tree, I was surprised at how the middle name Curtis repeated itself in five generations. It is common tradition that names are repeated in honor of an ancestor.  Yet. I couldn’t find an ancestor who had Curtis as a given or middle name before 1841.   My research of the name did not reveal any historical timelines.  I turned to Wikipedia for name significance. “Origin: The name was Anglo-Norman. Meaning: Courteous, Polite, Well-Bred.”  Considering their lives through either family history, oral history, individual experiences; I was starting to understand the name Curtis and why it was picked as a middle name. also, all the more importantly how it matched the life they lived.

The basic facts from the Bough Family tree are these:

First Generation: Benjamin Curtis Bough (1841-1875) The son of Susan Crow and George A. Bough

Second Generation: August Curtis Bough (1866-1939) The son of Emelia Petersen and George Bough

Third Generation: Julius Curtis Bough born 1889-1936 The son of August Curtis Bough and Georgianna Agaard

Fourth Generation: Bernadine Curtis Bough (1895- 1974) The son of Ophillia Jackson and August Curtis Bough

Fifth Generation: Ishmael Curtis Bough (1929-2014) The son of Viola White and Bernadine Curtis Bough