General Chat

I'm searching for for Gt Grandfather, William John. I believe he was married in 1899, bn abt 1873. His father was John. I thought I found the family in the 1891 census... father John, son William aged 17. I searched some more and found another family in the same area, same last name... father John, son William Jno, aged 17! Now I'm confused... Jno doesn't look like an abbreviation for John... maybe Jonathon? I thought I'd found them, now I'm back to square one! Their surname is not a common one either, it's Doney. My only other clue is that Williams father was born in Cornwall, and yes you've guessed correctly... both of these John Doney's were born in Cornwall, one in Launceston, one in North Hill! Banging my head on my keyboard in frustration! LOL. I don't know what's worse, too much info or none at all! Brenda

Junior??

hi i think it could be junior

Hi Brenda, I don't know for sure but when one of my lot had Jno as his 2nd name I assumed it to be Jonathan! Now we're both confused!! Sarah

I believe it's Jonathon. Possibly even John. Junior is unlikely, as tahts usually Jr or Jnr

Hi ! According to The Oxford Concise Dictionary Jno is an abbreviation of John. Elaine x.

Hope this will help you clarify things It is remarkable how these things evolve. One person, let's call him A (or her; it might well be a female person; the point to remember is that we are calling this person A) asks, "What about this Jno. business, hey?" Someone else, say Person B, replies, "I have no idea. Perhaps it's short for Jonathan." Persons C, D, and F (the names, you understand, are not important; the idea is that persons C, D, and F are distinct from both Person A and Person B, while Person E is wisely remaining out of the fray) then chip in with their own ideas. Some time later, Person G asks, "I mean to say, Jno.?" and Person A, who has become a vested authority, replies, "I understand that it is short for Jonathan." I may now unmask myself and admit that I am none other than Person D. And as D, let me explain what I know of the etymology of Jno. It was once the habit of men who wrote out legal documents and such for a living, to make abbreviations wherever possible. They were, after all, paid by the document, not by the letter. And so the name John, being a common name in England at this time, was commonly abbreviated something thusly: | n o _| --- That is, with a big J, followed by a little n and a little o over a line. There being no easy way of representing this in type, when printing came to be done on a press there needed to be some way of representing this. As it happened, the way settled on was as "Jno." (Similar processes produced "Thos." and "Jas." for "Thomas" and "James.") There are two followup questions to "What is 'Jno.' short for?," once the answer "John" is given. The first is typically, "Then why is the n before the o?" The second is typically, "And why abbreviate 'John' at all?" To these questions I reply, "Why not?" and, "Ask me after you try writing legal documents by hand for a couple of years." As for the endearing "Jonathan" theory, I first point out that it makes no more sense to transpose the n and the o of Jonathan than of John. There do exist documents, though, in which "Jonathan" is abbreviated as above, with the big J and the line, so "Jno." is at least potentially short for Jonathan. In Wodehouse, however, it seems safe to assume we are dealing with Johns all round. It has also been suggested that Jno. is short for the Latin Johannes. Apparently, those scribbling coves of yesteryear were known to use "Jo(h-bar)", where (h-bar) is an h with a bar through the top, indicating an abbreviation was taking place, for "Johannes" -- and, for that matter, for "John" as well. All very catch-as-catch-can. What the Middle Ages needed were a few Rev. Upjohns to straighten out the young scribblers in their formative years before they made a complete muck of the language. Paul

I always thought it was John; James can be shortened to Jas.

Im off to the Jno now..... lol Elaine x :o))

Right, so what I've got is two men born in the same year, with the same name, living in the same area, who's fathers have the same name and both come from the same county at birth! Thanks, you've been a great help!!!! Brenda

Brenda Join the club. I have two William Williams (how's that for originality) who lived in the same village. Both have a son called Charles the same age, but only one of the Charles' is my great-grandfather. Neither of them on the census is married to the woman who was Charles' mother. nell

Brenda You may have to research both these families for a while to decide which is yours. There is a good chance that the Johns were related, perhaps even cousins so your time won't be wasted. Perhaps the informants on certificates or witnesses at weddings will make it clearer which one is your own line.

Helen - If this was easy, it would be boring!! And we wouldn't make so many new friends or have a good laugh now and again! It's still frustrating tho! Good luck with your search. Gwyneth - Yes, I think you're right, Ill have to look at both families and there is the possibility they're related, in my fog of "oh crap!" I hadn't considered that! Brenda