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A FELTWELL NAME.

On the 9th August, 1864, Nergal Sharezer, son of John and Maria Pidd, was baptised at Feltwell St. Mary's Church. Pidd is an old Feltwell surname which has completely died out. The original Nergal Sharezer, whose name occurs in the Old Testament, was King of Babylon B.C. 559 to B.C. 556; Nergal, after whom the King was named, was the Lion-God. Nergal Sharezer of Feltwell was known to everybody as Rezer Pidd. His father was a Mormon, and held meetings at the Elm Tree which were fairly well attended; he was known in the parish as the Mormonite. Mormons, according to the Oxford Dictionary are an American Religious Sect whose chief feature is polygamy. What became of Nergal Sharezer Pidd is difficult to say; like the baker in Lewis Carroll's Hunting of the Snark, he seems to have "softly and suddenly vanished away;" and sank, one would imagine, under the weight of his name. As a Christian name Nergal Sharezer is unusual; but perhaps most unusual of all were the godly names of Cromwell's Saints, many of which were adopted names not baptismal names. Most people have heard the name of Praise-God Barbone, the conspicuous member of the Parliament of 1653. But possibly many are not aware that Praise-God had a brother who rejoiced in the name of - If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-shouldst-have-been-damned Barbone. And this name, it is needless to say, was abbreviated by the profane to Damned Barbone.

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