U is for Unice

U is for Eunice Iles. Technically, this name doesn’t always start with U  but it definitely has the U sound and when I first came across the name in my research it was spelt as Unice but is also spelled Eunice. Both spellings are recognised as valid variations of the same name. It’s quite a nice sounding name and one I’m not familiar with the meaning of, so of course I had to google it. Eunice is actually a latinised version of the Greek name Eunike which translates to ‘good victory’. In English usage, the name really took off after the Protestant Reformation and became popular as it is a name found in the New Testament, with the bearer famed for being without hypocrisy. But what about my Eunice?

Eunice would have been my 2nd great-aunt, as she was my great grandfather’s sister. Eunice was born in 1915 to parents Matthew Iles and Alice Maud Coxon in East Maitland, near Newcastle. She was the third of four children born to the couple, and the only girl. Unfortunately for Eunice, she contracted measles at the age of 5. As this was in the days before immunisation, Eunice didn’t survive this illness. She died on 10 September 1920, after suffering from convulsions for 4 hours secondary to having the measles for five days.

 

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