Thursday, November 08, 2018

"Wilhelmina"

"Wilhelmina"

Wilhelmina is a feminine given name, the Dutch and German form of Wilhelm or William, which is derived from the Germanic wil, meaning "will, desire" and helm, meaning "helmet, protection."

The name is not often associated with Caswell County. As of this posting, the Caswell County Family Tree contains 81,555 people, and the name Wilhelmina is found only seven times. Except for two people, the name is associated with the Lea family:

1. Wilhelmina Chick (1825-1887)
2. Wilhelmina Lea (1843-1936)
3. Wilhelmina Agnes Lempke (1869-1937)
4. Cara Wilhelmina Lea (1890-1976)
5. Wilhelmina Shirley Lea (1897-1977)

6. Wilhelmina Lea Thomas (1897-1966)
7. Wilhelmina Ethel Rahner (1918-bef.2009)

Only two of these people actually lived in Caswell County:

Wilhelmina Lea (1843-1936), is a daughter of Reverend Solomon Lea (1807-1897) of Leasburg. Reverend Lea's father is William Lea (1776-1873), and this may account for his naming a daughter Wilhelmina. She never married and rests at the Leasburg Community Cemetery.

Wilhelmina Lea Thomas (1897-1966), born in Leasburg, is a great granddaughter of Reverend Solomon Lea and may be named in honor of her grandaunt Wilhelmina Lea. In 1920, Wilhelmina Lea Thomas married Frank Dixon Upchurch (1895-1968). She rests at Maplewood Cemetery in Durham, North Carolina.

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