Rings a 'Belle'?

[SJohn]

Hello, everybody. My first real posting on this forum. To start, a light-hearted query:

I'm trying to formulate a theory why my gt grandfather should have nicknamed his third wife, I believe a Florence, "Belle". Anyone else had a 'Belle' in their family?

I believe this particular lady was a Northern lass, may have been of striking appearance and several years his junior. Great Grandad had lost his other two wives at a relatively young age.

May have answered my own question, but can I pick anyone's brains to contribute to my theories?

[annaandchester]

I do, but mine was an Isabelle

Anna x

[JillJ]

Hi Ark Angel John and a warm welcome to RootsChat.

As Anna said, Isabelle/Isobel is commonly abbreviated to 'Belle' or 'Bella', but I have a vague recollection of my mother speaking about somebody called "Florabelle" - which could have been a name in its own right or maybe a mixture of "Flora/Florence" and "Isobel".

Jill

[avm228]

My guesses:

(1) She was very beautiful - his "belle", the belle of the ball etc, or
(2) She had a middle name ending "bel" or "belle", or
(3) The nickname "Belle" evolved from a longer pet name he created for her - such as Floribelle, or
(4) Belle was a pet name from her family - perhaps her mother was also named Florence and she was given a nickname to distinguish her in the family.

Of course, nicknames and pet names can be really rather random.  My gg-g'mother was christened Mary Ann, but always known as Flo or Florrie. The family story on that is that Papa wanted her named Mary Ann, Mama wanted Florence but was overruled, so they went officially with Mary Ann and then her mother insisted on calling her Flo (etc) for the rest of her life!

Anna

[wheeldon]

Hi John and welcome - I'm clutching at straws but maybe there was a song from the time about a beautiful lady called Belle?  I wonder when Beauty and the Beast was written, I'm not saying your G Grandad was a beast but I think the beauty in the story was called Belle.

[SJohn]

Thanks for your thoughts!

The story goes that gt grandad's second wife Ellen was Nell, Nellie or Nell-bell, so Florrie, Florrie-bell or Belle fits the pattern. Whether she was actually a beauty or not, I don't know. I have a photograph of them both, but Belle didn't survive being cut out (literally!) from the picture. Only a partial view of her remains: a side of a long sateen dress and one smooth-skinned hand, with ring.