Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It may have been a kind of shorthand for writing names. Many people did and still do have the same names. Which would mean you had to include the middle name or initial. Names like; Michael Sullivan, Mark Johnson, Chris King, or Brian Jones seem to be ubiquitous. I know at least two or three of each. The Victorian era demanded a lot of formality in everyday life even for common folk. It could have been a convention of formal writing. There was always these titles people held on to. Like a military rank or Esq. Langston Hughes grandfather was always referred to as Esq. CH Langston.
Part of the explanation is the formality of inter personal relationships of the time. Generally speaking people were only addressed on a first names basis amongst friends and family. Greeting and speaking to strangers especially doing business was almost exclusively by last name such as Mr or Mrs Smith. And in written references first names would be reduced to initials.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
