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| I was supposed to be just "Jan" |
Back when I was born, mothers were kept in the hospital for nine or ten days. As you can see from this little snippet from my birth certificate, I was born at Hanford Sanitarium in California, because my father was stationed at the time at an Air Force Base that didn't have its own maternity ward. As you can see from the time she spent in the hospital prior to my birth (two hours), she was obviously not ill.
But that's not the reason I took a picture of this. It's because of that first name, written in a different handwriting and short of stuck in. Well, that's because it was: my paternal grandmother, Dorothy, decided on her own that she would go into the hospital records and insert a proper first name on the birth certificate. Mama found out after the fact. As you can imagine, I was NEVER called "Dorothy" in the years when I was growing up.
She (the Dorothy in question) also never allowed us to call her anything but "Mommy," although she was actually only my father's mother. Didn't matter: this cheeky woman was very strong-willed and everyone did as she said. Here's a picture of her with her three sons.
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| Marlow, Mommy, my dad, and Jack |
She also gave birth to a daughter, but I never met her. For some reason I was never able to know for sure, she disowned Edith long before I was around. And nobody was telling. But I decided a few decades ago to add the initial "D" to the beginning of my name, becoming "DJan," which is unique enough to make it easy for me to find myself on Google. Anyway, that's the story of how I became DJan, and now I'm quite fond of it. "Jan" is still nice, though, which is what my family has always called me.
:-)
Such a great story. Your paternal grandmother was a force of nature.
ReplyDeleteI have Stewarts among my ancestors. Are you from one of the Stewart lines in Scotland too?
I had wondered about how your name came to be - and here it is!
ReplyDeleteThis totally sounds like something someone in my family would do!
DJan, don't you wonder why your Aunt Edith was disowned? I imagine if your paternal grandmother was strong-willed, there could have been countless reasons. So many mysteries in families that go unsolved. I have many questions about my own that will never be answered because they never occurred to me until there was no one left to ask. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteI like this story about your name, I had wondered about it. Such a mystery about her daughter.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story! It's surprising that you got this much detail about your name. Did you register the DJan?
ReplyDeleteHa - I love this story! I can't even imagine wanting to insert my name on my grandkids' birth certificates! I do like DJan though - you're one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteNow 8 understand!
ReplyDeleteAs much as you may not want to, I do believe you resemble your grandmother Dorothy.
ReplyDeleteIs there any way to research what became of Edith? It sounds like the kind of project my genealogist husband would have loved to take on if such a story existed in his family.
I agree you should research poor Edith and find out why she was disowned. Edith was probably a strong out spoken person is my bet.
ReplyDeleteYour "mommy" sure had the gall to go to the Office in the Hospital and add her own name...she sounds like a really bossy Grandma.
I think DJan suits you, but Jan does too:)
Great story! And I like your current name.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I have two N's in my name is because my mother wanted me called" just Jann," not Janet, or Janice, just Jann.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting story. Your grandmother certainly was strong and quite a force to be over bearing. Well Dorothy, DJan is really kool. I like where you were born and this is similar to my birth. My Dad was in Halifax waiting to be shipped overseas with the other soldiers, and my Mom said I was anxious to be born at 7 months. My Mum had come to Halifax with my Dad to see him off, and they were staying in a rooming house right across from the Salvation Army Hospital for soldiers and that's where I was born. All my brothers and sisters were born in Saint John, but I am Nova Scotia born. I love that. DJan, have a lovely day
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, you were born in my backyard! Hanford is just a stone's throw from Fresno. We have taken the train there as well as driven there for food and ice cream. It's such a delightful little town. And, just last evening, I was chatting with a woman who lives in Hanford. I'm assuming your dad was stationed at Lemoore? We have history with that place, too.
ReplyDeleteCheeky is a very polite description.
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder what happened to aunt Edith.
Interesting info. I wondered about the "D".
ReplyDeleteFinally! The case is solved. I always wondered about it. And with a great personal story to boot. Thanks for sharing. And thanks again for visiting my creative writing blog. It means a lot.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, that was sure forward of her. You can tell from that picture that she probably ruled the roost with a firm hand. That must have been a shock to your Mother but it all worked out. She still got to call you Jan and we get the combined, cool version to enjoy. You really are the only Djan I know.
ReplyDeleteI personally would never name my daughter/granddaughter if I had one....Dorothy! Too much of the OZ in that name.
ReplyDeleteI like Jan...or D J or DJan.
Families sometimes can be such a mystery. And even researching the 'ties' sometimes makes you wonder why you did research in the first place. Sometimes it's best to NOT know the truths.
Oh my! What a story! That's amazing, but a little similar to mine. My mother had a difficult time birthing me and was unconscious. I was born 2 months premature. My aunts decided on their own to name me before my mother came to. She wasn't pleased. Before my brother was born, mom made sure she had names ready for him.
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother Dorothy does look rather strong willed in the photo.
Wow, what a bold woman that grandmother was. If I were your mother, I would have been very angry.
ReplyDeleteThat a great story and you have a great, and unique, name. I like that!
ReplyDeletexo jj
oh, my word, she was a PILL! wow!!
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