The midland journal., 1917-09-21
CHOSE own NAMES
Long List of Prominent Men Who.
Changed Cognomens.
Contrary to General Belief, 1t Is Not:
Necessary to Apply to Any Court
or Other Tribunal to OBJ
tain Permission.

ing made to the courts to change the
names of persons. Most of those peO-
pie probably do not know that any
man, woman or child can legally
change his or her name without going
tain permission to do so.
In Smith VS.. United States Casualty
Company, 1877 N. Y, 420, the highest
court of New York state, following the
decisions in many other states, effectu-
ally settled that every person had the
right, without let or hindrance, to
change his name according to his de-
sire. Judge Vann wrote the unanimous
opinion of the court of appeals.
In the course of his opinion Judge
Vann said:
A predecessor of Honore de Balzaci
was born a Guez, which means beg
gar, and grew to manhood under that
surname. When the great author be-
came conscious of his powers as a
writer he did not wish his works to be
published under that humble name so
he selected the surname Balzac from
an estate that he had owned.
Voltaire, Moliere, Dante, Petrarch,
Richelieu, LOyoia, Erasmus and Lin
neaus were assumed names. Napoleon
Bonaparte changed his name after his
amazing victories had lured him to-
ward crown and he wanted a grand
er name to aid his daring aspirations.
The Duke of Wellington was not by
blood a Wellesley, but a Colley, his
grandfather, Richard Colley, having
assumed the name of a relative named
Wesley, which was afterward ex-
panded to Wellesley.
Mr.. Walsh, in his Handbook of Lit
erary Curiosities," makes an interest
ing statement Herbert
Lythe became famous as Maurice Bar
audience as Rosa d'Erina, John III.
Broadribb becomes Henry Irving, Sam
uel L. Clemens and Charles r. Browne
attract attention under the eccentric
masks of Mark Twain and Artemus
Ward. John Rowlands would never
have become great explorer unless
he had first changed his name to Henry
NJ Stanley. James B. Matthews and
James B. Taylor might have remained
lost among the mass of magazine con-
tributors but for their cunning in drop
ping James and standing forth as
Brander Matthews and Bayard Taylor;
Would Jacob w. Reid have succeeded
as well as Whitelaw Reid? While some
of these names were merely profession
al pseudonyms, others were adopted
as the real name and in time became
the only name of the person who as
sumed it,
In Larke's General Grant and His
Campaigns" it is stated that
General Grants baptismal name was
Hiram Ulysses, and he bore that ap-
pellation until he was appointed ca
Diet at West Point. General Hamer,
who nominated him for a cadetship, by
some means got his name mixed up
with that of his brother. He was
therefore appointed as ulysses Sid
ney Grant, and that name once so
recorded on the books of the military
academy could not be changed. He
was baptized into the military school
as U. S. Grant, and he has ever since
been thus designated"
Another instance is that or
President Cleveland, who had the bap-
tismal name Of Stephen G. Cleveland.
After he entered his teens he omitted
the word "Stephen" and assumed the
name of Grover Cleveland, by which
he was known throughout his distin-
guished career.
President Woodrow Wilson dropped
his first name.
Notwithstanding that the change OF
name made by person himself, if he
becomes known and recognized by his
new name, is just as strong and effec-
tive in law as if officially authorized
by all the courts in the land, it is wise,
although not necessary, to resort to
the courts in these cases, because In
that way evidence Of the change is
established in permanent form.-Henry
Wollman, in New York Times.