The Week 3 prompt for Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is “Unusual Name.” I’ve been thinking about this most of the week – not sure what name I was going to pick. I mean, I have an Uncle Bervil (my dad’s brother) and a cousin to my maternal grandfather was named Urmine. Those are pretty unusual. In my family tree database I have some “Z” names – Zilpha, Zora, Zerilda, and Zellica. Then there’s the ones that start with “V” – Valorous, Vaughna, Vashti, and Valley. How do I pick just one?
That’s when I remembered my maternal grandmother’s first cousin. She was the daughter of William Frank Clawson and Margaret Ellen Stern. I’ve seen her name as Nancy on some records. Well, that’s pretty common. Nothing unusual about that! On the back of a picture my grandmother had the label gave her name as “Nanny” Clawson. Then a few years ago, I found her memorial on Find a Grave. Her headstone reads Nana Jane Welch (her married name).
What I find also interesting is that my grandmother went by “Nana” as her grandma name, as do I!
W.F. Clawson, Nana Clawson, and Margaet Ellen (Stern) Clawson
Nana Jane Clawson was born on August 19, 1886 in Noblesville, Indiana. She was the oldest daughter and second child in the family. Her older brother died at 13 months and her younger two sisters and one brother all died as infants. Nana and her youngest brother Ralph survived to adulthood. She married George C. Welch on November 29, 1905 in Madison county, Indiana and then moved to California where their two daughters, Dorothy and Leonore were born. Nana died at the age of 34 on April 19, 1921. She is buried at the Santa Maria Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California. Her husband George lived until April 5, 1966 and is buried in Cypress, California at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
(Images: Name pins – Creative Commons; Clawson family – Original photo in possession of Wendy Littrell.)
All My Branches Genealogy 
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