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June 24, 2018 By Nancy H. Vest 6 Comments

Same Name: Renatus x 5 or 6

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The prompt for this week is: Same Name.

I had a few choices like Mordecai and Daniel. Instead I chose Renatus.

The first Renatus, Renatus Thomas, was born about 1799 in either South or North Carolina. His father was Billy THOMAS, Jr. (?-1820). I wrote about Billy Jr. and Sr. here.

Renatus was the oldest, and only, son of Billy and his wife, Polly WALSTON THOMAS (?-1851). Billy and Polly settled in the Richland County area of South Carolina when Renatus was a small child.

Map showing SC, NC, Georgia, and the Atlantic Ocean. Left and above the map is a drawing of rice fields and a large house.

Renatus married Mary Malaha FAUST (1808-1887).  They had 16 children. Renatus was a planter all his life with quite a large amount of land in Richland County, South Carolina.

The first Renatus had a son named Renatus. He may have gone by Nate or Nathan. The younger Renatus died from an injury sustained in an incident with a train. I wrote about it here.

Renatus N. “Wren” ABBOT (1851-?) was the nephew of the first Renatus. Wren’s mother, Dorcas THOMAS ABBOT (1816-1880), was sister of the first Renatus. I don’t know much about Wren.

 

tintype of a man about 30-40 wearing a light colored suit with a darker vest and a black bowtie. He is seated and his left leg crossed over the right and his left arm resting on a table. Dark hair, clean-shaven.

Wren Abbot

Howell Renatus THOMAS (1890-1897) was a grandson of the first Renatus. His father was Jeremiah M. “Jerry” THOMAS (1852-1930). Howell died of diphtheria according to a Thomas cousin.

James Renatus “Ren” THOMAS (1864-1949) was also a grandson of the first Renatus. Ren was on the son of James S. Thomas, oldest child of the first Renatus. Ren was a farmer first in Richland County and then in Orangeburg County.

 

 

 

B&W of 3 elderly people, 2 men standing and woman sitting. Men wearing white shirts, dark pants and ties. Man on left has white hair. Man on right is nearly bald. Woman wearing a light colored collared dress and a white apron. There is a car in the background.

Siblings L to R: Dan Thomas, Sallie Thomas Grant, Ren Thomas (Dan is my great-grandfather)

There is also possibly one more Renatus. Renatus H. THOMAS (1875-1947), who went by Nathan, all his life, may have actually been named Nathan. I’m just not sure. This possible Renatus was also a grandson of the first Renatus.

Why Renatus? No clue. Learn more about its meaning and origin here.

Will it be used again?

Maybe. My daughter wants to use it as a middle name for a girl and call her Wren. I guess we’ll see!

 

Copyright ©  2018 Nancy H. Vest   All Rights Reserved

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Comments

  1. Melissa Henderson says

    June 24, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    Interesting. I love the name Wren. 🙂

    Reply
    • Nancy H. Vest says

      June 24, 2018 at 9:10 pm

      I do, too. Maybe one day I’ll actually have a granddaughter called Wren.

      Reply
  2. Colleen Golafshan says

    June 25, 2018 at 12:37 am

    Interesting, Nancy! Renatus is not a common name. If I remember correctly, I worked with a Renato who’s ancestry was Sri Lankan.

    Reply
    • Nancy H. Vest says

      June 26, 2018 at 1:54 pm

      My husband went to elementary school with a Renata, a young man with Italian or Spanish ethnicity. Maybe all those names are related in meaning.

      Reply
  3. Linda Stufflebean says

    June 26, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    Renatus means “born again.” Could this family have had a religious awakening?

    Reply
    • Nancy H. Vest says

      June 26, 2018 at 1:56 pm

      I hadn’t considered that, Linda. Sounds like I need to do some research on revivals in the area where he was likely born. Thanks for that idea. 🙂

      Reply

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