This might not be a glitch. It might just be my imagination running away with me. But I’ll put it out there anyway.
We all know there are flaws with the SSA data. I’ve blogged about the baby name glitch of 1989 and the Korea-Kansas mis-codes, for instance. And data scientist David Taylor made a slide deck illustrating several issues with the SSA data a few years ago.
So my question is this: Could Essfa, a one-hit wonder from 1921, be another flaw?
According to the SSA data, the name Essfa was given to 6 babies in 1921, and all 6 of these babies were born in Vermont.
But when we look for these Essfas in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), we get…nothing. Not a single Essfa from anywhere, born in any year.
This doesn’t prove anything, but it is very curious.
Then there’s the fact that all these Essfas were born in Vermont, a relatively small state not known for adventurous baby-naming. The SSA’s Vermont-specific data from 1921 puts oddball Essfa on par with classics like Emma and Julia:
| All baby names given to 6 babies in Vermont in 1921, according to SSA |
|
VT,F,1921,Emma,6 VT,F,1921,Essfa,6 VT,F,1921,Germaine,6 VT,F,1921,Glenna,6 VT,F,1921,Gloria,6 VT,F,1921,Harriett,6 VT,F,1921,Julia,6 VT,F,1921,Kathryn,6 VT,F,1921,Mae,6 VT,F,1921,Margery,6 VT,F,1921,Wilma,6 |
Again, very curious.
After doing more research, I was only able to find a single person named Essfa who was born in Vermont in 1921. The intriguing part? She had multiple identities:
- She was born Essfa Estella Bickford Vermont on May 7, 1921.
- She became Essfa E. Davis upon marrying William Earl Davis in Vermont in 1937.
- She became Essfa E. Millette upon marrying Rupert Frank Millette in New Hampshire in 1941.
- She became Essfa E. Walker upon marrying Howard C. Walker in New Hampshire in 1953.
- She became Essfa E. Davis (again) upon marrying Arthur I. Davis in Connecticut in 1964, and passed away in 1976 as a Davis.
And I found a sixth alias — in Billboard magazine, oddly enough. For decades Billboard operated a mail-forwarding service for traveling performers. The name “Essfa E. White” appeared regularly on their Letter List from 1945 until 1948. (She was also listed under the surname Millette once, in 1946.)
So we know for sure that one Essfa was born in Vermont in 1921, and that this Essfa used at least six different names (if you count Davis twice) throughout her lifetime.
At this point, I can’t help but wonder whether this particular Essfa was counted 6 different times in the SSA data somehow.
What do you think?
Source: Billboard – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Data loss of image file (public domain)
