Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1855-05-31
Anecdotes Of Names.

: names as is more common; for 1T is
not every one having a first name
that has a Christian name, as was ex'
emplifed in the case Of MIR. Levi,
who appeared as witness before the
Lord Mayor of London.
-"What is you Christian name,
Mr.. Leyi?" said that civic tunc-
tionary.
81 have7not any, my Lord" was
the reply. Il am Jew, but my
first name is Moses"
Some people are not particular in
names, provided they smack of an
clients, owing to which, it happens that
there is a boy living in Philadelphia
| who has been christened-if We may
thus use the werd-aiter Commodus,
one of the most famous of the Ro-
man Emperors.
The late bishop Chase, of Illinois,
had dislike to having Greek and
Roman namesimposed upon children,
which he displayed very pointedly,
on one occasion, when child was
brought to him to be baptised.
"Name this child, !" said the bish-
op.
"Marcus Tullius Cicero" answered
the father.
"What?"
"Marcus Tullius Cicero"
"Tut! tut! with your heathen non-
sense; Peter! l baptize thee the
child was Peter theneeforth and for
ever.
The story is we'll known of the
man who, having called four sons
after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
wished the fifth to be christened Acts,
because as be said he wanted to COM
pliment the apostles bit, but the
sequel as given by Mr.. Lower in the
last edition Of his valuable work |
on English surnames, is not so IA
miliar to US. 1t appears that thf
father had two other sons, who weie
christened Richard and Thomas, and
that the story of the name that had
been proposed for No. 8 getting wind T
amongst his school-mates, he was
annoyed with having this 6istich /
repeated of better metre than rhyme:
"Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Acts of 'PostIes, Dick. and Tom."'
Some persons appear to have tried
how near they could come to the
height of absurditv, in giving names
to their children. Benjaman Stokely,
the first white settler in Mercer
county, Pennsylvania, (whose account !
thereof is in the fourth volume OF
the Memoirs of the Historical Soci-
ETY. of Pennsylvania gave the most
extraordinary names to all OF bis
children; at present but one OF
them occurs to our.memory-Aurora
Borealis-by which be thought prop
per to designate one Of bis daughters.
A Mr.. Stickney, a distant relative Of
DR.. Franklin, numbered his children,
calling them One Stickney, Two
Stickney, sc. We might mention
here the case of Mr.. New, who is {
said to have called bis first child
Something, and the next, Nothing; !
but the story is probably the creation
of the fertile Imagination of Mr..
Joseph Miller, or some Of his sue
cessors.
An eminent lawyer, who adorned
the Philadelphia bar, forty or fifty
years ago, had son with the same
first name as himself, who was stud
ying law in his office. One day a
letter arrived without any addition
of Junior, but intended for the young
er, which the elder gentleman opened
and read. 1t was from q source not
very creditable to any one.
II am ashamed Of you, said the
father, indignantly handing it to his
son. - fe~.a-.e
81 am ashamed of you, SIR replied
the son handing it back, with his
finger pointed at the, direction.
One of the sons Of Benz. Stokeiy,
of whom we have spoken Of aboye,was
born during his s-father's absence from
home. On his return, bis wife told
him that she called him Benjamin alter
him. "None of that," cried he, ~
have no notion of hearing people
talk of old Ben Stokely."
No name should be given child
that will suggest ludicrous idea
whenwritten infull, l,orwhen the initial
only, is used. We always pitied Mr.
P. Cox. and Mr.. 7. Potts, both wor-