Nicknames

Folks don't use nicknames like they used to. In these 1930s and '40s photos Hamilton "Punk" Blake is at the upper right. [This photo has disappeared. It will be replaced ASAP.] High school friends and cousins "Nick" Stutler and "Windy" Hamilton are below.

One of Alexander and Phoebe (Conrad) Skinner's younger sons, born in 1848, was named Alexander and their son Luther named one of his boys Alexander, born 1861. David Parmer mentioned "According to some old notes I have in the Skinner file, Alexander the son of Luther and Miriam (Walton) Skinner was called 'Alley Hoss' and Alexander, son of alexander and Phoebe (Conrad) Skinner was 'Alley Grande'."

Ron Skinner and David Parmer both mention that the boys' older cousin, Alfred and Christina (Curtis) Poseys' boy Andrew Newton Posey, born 1851, was called "Ruddle"

David goes on to tell us "Speaking of nicknames in his section crew, Uncle Zeke in one of his columns said, 'J. F. Skinner, foreman, is called "Fuzz", N. J. Henline, is called "Stacher", Roy Henline is called "Heaterhuck", Ernie Fox is called "Clay", Pete Blake is called "Punk", Earl Beckner is called "Red", and P. N. Blake is called "Uncle Zeke".

To the left are top row: Heaterhuck, Clay, Fuzz, bottom row: Red, Punk, Uncle Zeke and Stacher.

"Next, referencing, a Burnsville resident, Uncle Zeke said, "Some of the boys claim that "Dook" Riddle is the hardest riddle they ever tried to solve."

My grandmother's sister Jennett Skinner who married Worthington Hurst was called "Tom." She was "Aunt Tom," never "Aunt Jeannette." My grandfather's brother Ovie Merlin Stutler, Jr. was always called Mutt by the Stutlers.

When she was a kid my mother Mary Stutler's nickname was Nicodemus. Click on the page from my mother's autograph book (to the left) to read the note cousin "Windy" (Helen Hamilton) writes to "Nick" (Mary Stutler) (both to the right.).