The Indianapolis journal., 1885-07-29
GRANTS REAL NAME.
An Old Letter from His Father Which! Tells
How He Was Given 1t.


Hartford Comm Times.
Dir. Richard A. Wheeler, of Stonington, is
much interested in genealogical matters, and,
twenty years ago. when he was engaged in gath
erlng statistics regarding the Grant family in
Connecticut. he wrote to Dir. Jesse r. Grant,
father of General Grant who was at that time
living in Covington, Ky, and from him obtained
some important facts. The letter itself is now
in possession of the Hon. Charles j. Hoadly,
State librarian. One curious revelation made
of the name of Ulysses for his son.
1t has been generally understood that
the name gwen him by his parents was
Hiram Ulysses, and that the congressman who
obtained his appointment at West Point made a
mistake in having his name appear on the cadet
roll as Ulysses S. Grant, but mis- father tells
different story, which is made public
for the first time. He says, in writing
for Mr.. Wheeler, in 1865: ''In June,
1921, j. r. Grant and Miss Hannah Simpson
married and settled at Point Pleasant, O.
On the 9th of April, 1922 their first child WAS
born. AS is usually the with the first, there
was a good deal of anxiety about selecting a
name for the child. 1t was finally settled that
the half a dozen names selected by II family
should be all put III hat, and the fiji drawn
should be the name Ulysses was drawn. and his
mothers maiden name (Simpsonl adopted for the
middle name"
concerning his son, and gives these particulars of
MS early life:
"In very early life Ulysses showed a great apt
ness for business which he executed with great
energy and promptness He also had a great
fondness for horses, with great skill and judg-
ment IN their management. Such was his skill
and tact in the handling of horses that it
said when quite small boy he would take
team that refused TO pull for the owner-an ex-
perienced drver--and in few minutes it would
start off as if nothing were the mater. He was
very fond of school, and when he attended
learned rapidly, and especially such studies as
involved mathematics. Ulysses was of quiet,
modest, unassuming turn of mind, and vet in
all his intercourse with his playfellows he was
universally and by common consent made their
leader. At seventeen years of age Ulysses sug
gested desire TO be educated in preference to
following the tanning business. | suggested to
him West Point which fully met his views.
Although there was supposed to be no
vacancy from the district, l wrote to
the Hon. Thomas L. Hamer, who then
represented the district asking him if he could
get him in some other vacant district The
letter was received the last day of Mr.. Hamers
term, and it happened the district was vacant
by the failure of the cadet previously appointed.
Dir. Hamer then directed the appointment of
Ulysses, and he went immediately on, passed an
examination, and was admitted cadet
Mr. Hoadly has in his possession another auto
graph letter of Jesse Il. Grant, in which he goes
into matters OF more private nature and OF of
public interest In this letter he mentions that
he was named after Judge Jesse Root, of Gov
entry, who was an intimate friend of his father
Judge Root las many Connecticut readers know
was Judge of the Superior Court and chief
justice in 1896 He was IA member of the Con
tinental Congress in 1881, and his own copy
of the record of proceedings with two of his
autograph sgnatures-one on the cover and the
other on the title page-is another of Mr.. Hoad-
ly's collections The State Librarian has also
page of manuscript-an inventory-in the
handwriting of Matthew Grant, land including
his signature, the first American ancestor of
Genera Grant, who settled in Windsor in 1630.
This inventory was made up III 1878.