Children's Names (Chapter 17)

Campbell and Jeanette had taken turns naming their children as they all arrived so quickly in the years fromk 1919 to 1926.

Mother named her first Martha Mary - after her own mother. Then Campbell named me Anne - after his mother. This was followed by Irving Eugene - simply because mother liked the name Irving, but we learned later that she had a boyfriend before she met Campbell whose name was Irving. Dad's turn came next, and he named the fourth, Helen - after his beloved sister. Baby Jeanette died at birth and was baptized by the attending priest after her mother. So, father was filled with chagrin when mother enrolled me in school in 1926 as Nancy Stewart! He wanted me to be called Anne - or Nan - which is the Scottish nickname for Anne. All my life he never called me Nancy - always Nannie. After a couple of months I got so used to the teacher and all my classmates calling me Nancy that I accepted it as my name.

Campbell had his own nicknames for all his children...Martha's was "Woos Poos"...Mine was "Nannie Bug"...Irving's was "Omink", but occasionally dad would call him "WILBURFORCE" And, surprisingly, Helen's was "Pink-Brown! Father never gave any explanation for his names for us, but he ALWAYS used them! When he would sit in his big red leather wing chair, his lap was a coveted place, especially when he would tell us stories or talk about his childhood in Scotland. He always referred to us, especially when we were small, as his "wee bairn", and in the case of Irv, his "braw laddie", and in the case of any of the girls, as his "wee lassie" or "bonnie lass". He would whisper these endearments in our ears if we came to him with a problem or a skinned knee. He was always a source of comfort. I always liked to watch him shave as he did it so slowly and methodically, and surprisingly, whenever he allowed it to grow, it came out RED! A sure testimony to his ancient PICT heritage as a Stewart and a Campbell. He was a direct descendant of the ancient Picts that occupied central Scotland for so long!

The redheaded PICTS!