Names in the Willey family: Alzada, Octavia, Idawalley

I wrote about Idawalley Zoradia Lewis a few years ago, but didn’t talk about the source of her unusual name.

She was named for her mother, Idawalley Zoradia Willey (1815-1879), who was born and raised in Rhode Island along with eight unusually named siblings and half-siblings — nearly all girls.

While I don’t know the names of all nine Willey children, I have tracked down these six:

  • Alzada Roslyn (her daughter was also named “Alzada Roslyn”)
  • Erasmus Darwin (apparently named for Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin)
  • Cordelia Joanna
  • Octavia Lodiska
  • Idawalley Zoradia
  • Laura E. (probably Effigenia, as her daughter was named “Laura Effigenia”)

Given the names above, what do you think the other three daughters in the Willey family might have been called?

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