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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Sussex Lookup Requests => Sussex => England => Sussex Completed Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Steph on Saturday 25 October 08 17:31 BST (UK)

Title: Completed: Puritan Names
Post by: Steph on Saturday 25 October 08 17:31 BST (UK)
When researching my family I have found a number of Puritan names, eg Goodgift, Faintnot, Rejoyce etc.  Today, I came across an e-text of an out of copyright book Highways & Byways in Sussex, by E.V. Lucas and it had such lovely names in it that I thought I would include the section here.  Do they belong to anybody?


"Some of the oddest of the composite pietistic names that broke out over England during the Puritan revolution are to be found in Sussex registers. In 1632, Master Performe-thy-vowes Seers of Maresfield married Thomasine Edwards. His full name was too much for the village, and four years later is found an entry recording the burial of "Vowes Seers" pure and simple. The searcher of parish registers from whose articles in the _Sussex Daily News_ I have already quoted, has also found that Heathfield had many Puritan names, among them "Replenished," which was given to the daughter of Robert Pryor in 1600. There was also a Heathfield damsel known as "More-Fruits." Mr. Lower prints the following names from a Sussex jury list in the seventeenth century: Redeemed Compton of Battel, Stand-fast-on-high Stringer of Crowhurst, Weep-not Billing of Lewes, Called Lower of Warbleton, Elected Mitchell of Heathfield, Renewed Wisberry of Hailsham, Fly-fornication Richardson of Waldron, The-Peace-of-God Knight of Burwash, Fight-the-good-fight-of-Faith White of Ewhurst, and Kill-sin Pemble of Withyham. Also a Master More-Fruits Fowler of East Hoathly, for it seems that in such names there was no sex.

Among the curious Sussex surnames found by the student of the county
archives who is quoted above are the following:--

     Pitchfork    Sweetname  Lies
     Devil        Slybody    Hogsflesh
     Leper        Fidge      Backfield
     Handshut     Beatup     Breathing
     Juglery      Rougehead  Whiskey
     Hollowbone   Punch      Wildgoose
     Stillborne   Padge      Ann.


Wonderful aren't they?
Title: Re: Puritan Names
Post by: Jane Masri on Sunday 26 October 08 06:45 GMT (UK)
Hi Steph,
Thanks for sharing that you've expanded my education  :)
Funny, but when I was searching around yesterday re your look-up request concerning Fowle, I saw the name, 'Faintnot' on the Sussex Marriage Index & wondered if it was a spelling mistake, now I know it wasn't  ::)

jane
Title: Re: Puritan Names
Post by: kerryb on Sunday 26 October 08 06:59 GMT (UK)
Its certainly true about some of the oddest being in Sussex!  I've seen some of them in parish registers over time, some are those you have listed.  Fly Fornication was quite popular, I've seen it as Flee Fornicaton. 

These poor children thou  ::)

Kerry