I have lost count of the number of times I have gone over the fact that there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 365 days (unless it’s a leap year) in a year…. ad infinitum. It’s not the easiest concept as the conversion isn’t in tens, hundreds and thousands like the lovely metric system we have with centimetres, metres, kilometres etc. (but let’s not go into the fact we still measure distances and speeds in miles/miles per hour in the UK!)
Searching for minutes…. there isn’t really ‘one born every minute’ but there are a few scattered around the place – Violet Minute Britton died in 1978 in Sodbury having been born in 1899 as Violet Minnet Britton. There are just four Minute births on FreeBMD: Minute Gadsby, Rhodes, Poyser and Farrant. Oddly, there is no forward motion on these minutes. No marriages or deaths….
Second, Secondus, Secondo…. far more common, along with Secondina and a few Seconda’s…. but mostly connected to surnames of non-English origin. Italian seems to be the most obvious connection but Ohren, Wood and Rixson also feature. Second Richard Rixson born in 1899 in Dartford Registration District (RD) slightly concerns me. Was he really the second child of the Rixson family who was called Richard? Quite possibly, as there is a Richard Rixson born in 1893 in Dartford RD as well…. oh good heavens….
Fear not, the first Richard – born Richard – died aged 0 in March quarter 1894 but Second Richard was known as that his entire life! In the 1901 census and right up until his death in 1962….
The hours and years go by and Hours Thacker graces the world with his/her presence in 1902, followed by Hours Hardwick in 1920 – both in Chesterfield RD (and a number of others). Years are much rarer with Yearly/Yearley featuring more prominently than anything else in the ‘year arena’ – Yearley Waterer Dorrington married in Pancras RD in 1851 and a son/daughter was named after him (1854-1856). During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Yearley first name was frequently connected to the Waterer surname – I wonder why…. more research needed over the forthcoming year/s I think. I love genealogy.
Source image: Pinkcatshop.com
