It took me forever to “realize” where the nickname probably came from. Some family members referred to my Aunt Luella as “Law.” I had known her by those names for so long that I never questioned it and never wondered where it came from. I just took as it was.
Until today. I was saying the name to myself for some reason or another and it dawned on me that the originator of the “Law” name probably said “Luella” in such a way that “law” was a part of it. I never heard it pronounced that way and didn’t say it that way myself.
Of course the reason I never heard anyone say “Lawella” or “Lawellaw” is because those people never said her full name. They called her “Law.”
Knowing the origination of her nickname is not crucial to my research–just a reminder that sometimes it takes a while for things to dawn on us. And that’s fine.
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In a similar vein, I always wondered why my mother and her siblings called my grandmother “Della Bell” until I found out Della was her middle name and her maiden name was Bell. Probably could have found out sooner if I had only asked!