Lemuel McCracken Mystery
Clues From Children’s Names
Sometimes the names of children provide clues as to the grandparents or aunts and uncles of the children. Names that can be explained are in blue.
His child with Sarah:
Delarma Lawrence: No origin has been found for the name Delarma (several spellings) in either the Dufer or McCracken records. Lawrence is from Lemuel’s middle name.
His children with Louisiana:
Lemuel Franklin: Lemuel is named after Lemuel. Franklin could possibly be after Louisiana’s brother Francis.
William Thomas: William possibly was named after Louisiana’s brother William who died in the Civil War.
Andrew Johnson: Given the time of Andrew’s birth, he was likely named for President Andrew Johnson.
Ida Belle: Louisiana had a sister with the middle initial B. It is possible that Belle came from that sister’s name.
Joseph (Henry): Of note is the 1875 Kansas Census that lists Henry as R.H. or B.H. It is clearly not J.H. One thing that was investigated is whether it could have been R.H. with the R standing for Robert since they lived near a Robert McCracken in Bates Co, Missouri. However, nothing was found to support it as anything other than an error.
Francis E./Minnie Alameda: Francis was Minnie’s original name. It changed for unknown reasons after 1880. Louisiana had a brother Francis.
None of the boys were named after Louisiana’s father, who lived in Lee County, Iowa and who she must have went west to be near. There are also very few ties to her sisters. Her daughter from her first marriage does appear, however, to have been named after her mother.
This leaves us with Delarma as possibly a tie to Lemuel or his wife Sarah and the names Franklin, Thomas, Ida, Belle, Joseph, and Henry as ties to Lemuel or possibly grandparents of Louisiana. I am excluding Minnie Alameda as that was a name change and it is not known when or how it came about.