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Jerry Bryan's Web Pages
Fourth Generation
62. Stanley
Marcus Woodhead3
was born on 25 Jan 1905 in Elkland Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania.
He died on 18 Feb 1998 in Sarasota, Florida. He was buried after
18 Feb 1998 in Elkland Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
----------------------------------
Recently, in our Residents Association Monthly Bulletin there appeared to
be some confustion about one of us with "wood" as part of our name.
For the one directly involved in this, it was not the least bit embarrasing,
but brought back some poignant memories.
Growing up in the remote hill country of Pennsylvania, the Welsh name of Woodhead
was just another family name well known to all, since my great-grandfather (and
most of our neighbors) had arrived in this country from England in the early
1800's. That it might be consisdered pecular, or embarrasing never occured to
me. This was first brought up when I left Sullivan County and arrived at Penn
State University. As the college Doctor greeted the class of some 100 freshmen,
for some reason, he decided to personally call the roll. When he got down to
the name Woodhead, he stopped, smiled and wondered aloud, "Who would ever
take on a name like that as a wife?" In those days face could get very
red!
A few years later, when I started to teach high school in Southern Delaware,
I also helped organize and then lead a Boy Scout Troop. A problem arose when
several of the boys, who were also in my class, wanted to know if there wasn't
some name they might use in addressing me at scouting activities that was less
formal than Mr. Woodhead as was required in class. When I suggested that they
talk it over and consider the possiblities, they came up with "Uncle Woody"
which I accepted as being less formal but still duly respectful.
Then a couple of years later I acquired yet another name. I had transfered
to a school in the Penna Dutch country. All the farm boys in my shop class spoke
a hybrid Pennsylvania Dutch lingo or dialect. In the informal shop setting I
soon heard the boys calling me Mr. Hulscup. I soon discovered that this was
a translation of my name into their German-English dialect.
And so it has been all through the years, but with no feeling of embarrassment
along the way,especially since an incident involving an Akron, Ohio newspaper
columnist. This columnist, with a Welsh name and heritage, related in one of
his columns about reading in a book about the derivation of Welsh family names.
He cited the name "Woodhead" as an example. He explained that this
did not originate as one might expect from limited mental capacity, bu instead,
"He that lived at (guarded) the head of the wood. In today's designation,
he may have been the Chief Forest Ranger!
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
----------------------------------
Recently, in our Residents Association Monthly Bulletin there appeared to
be some confustion about one of us with "wood" as part of our name.
For the one directly involved in this, it was not the least bit embarrasing,
but brought back some poignant memories.
Growing up in the remote hill country of Pennsylvania, the Welsh name of
Woodhead was just another family name well known to all, since my great-grandfather
(and most of our neighbors) had arrived in this country from England in the early
1800's. That it might be consisdered pecular, or embarrasing never occured to
me. This was first brought up when I left Sullivan County and arrived at Penn
State University. As the college Doctor greeted the class of some 100 freshmen,
for some reason, he decided to personally call the roll. When he got down to
the name Woodhead, he stopped, smiled and wondered aloud, "Who would ever
take on a name like that as a wife?" In those days face could get very
red!
A few years later, when I started to teach high school in Southern Delaware,
I also helped organize and then lead a Boy Scout Troop. A problem arose when
several of the boys, who were also in my class, wanted to know if there wasn't
some name they might use in addressing me at scouting activities that was less
formal than Mr. Woodhead as was required in class. When I suggested that they
talk it over and consider the possiblities, they came up with "Uncle Woody"
which I accepted as being less formal but still duly respectful.
Then a couple of years later I acquired yet another name. I had transfered
to a school in the Penna Dutch country. All the farm boys in my shop class spoke
a hybrid Pennsylvania Dutch lingo or dialect. In the informal shop setting I
soon heard the boys calling me Mr. Hulscup. I soon discovered that this was
a translation of my name into their German-English dialect.
And so it has been all through the years, but with no feeling of embarrassment
along the way,especially since an incident involving an Akron, Ohio newspaper
columnist. This columnist, with a Welsh name and heritage, related in one of
his columns about reading in a book about the derivation of Welsh family names.
He cited the name "Woodhead" as an example. He explained that this
did not originate as one might expect from limited mental capacity, bu instead,
"He that lived at (guarded) the head of the wood. In today's designation,
he may have been the Chief Forest Ranger! Stanley Marcus Woodhead and Mary
Jane Clark were married on 15 Aug 1931 in family home near Bellefont.
Mary Jane Clark3
was born on 2 Apr 1907. She died on 9 Feb 1973 in Arizona. Stanley
Marcus Woodhead and Alice M. Molyneux Richey were married on 1 Jun 1974 in Sarasota,
Florida. Alice M. Molyneux Richey3 was born on 11 Feb 1901.
She died in 1984 in Florida. Stanley Marcus Woodhead and Ruth Firmbach
were married on 24 Apr 1987 in Sarasota, Florida. |