My Middle Name

I have a pretty common name. At least my first and last names are common. My middle name though is not that common at all. Although it is a fairly stereotypical yet atypical name for southern white males.

I have my father's first & last names. My middle name is a family tradition from my mother's side of the family. Back during the Recent Unpleasantness, an ancestor of my mother's (I'm thinking her great-grandfather) served under this general.

Ever since then at least one male per generation in my mother's family has had the general's surname as his middle name. One of my mother's first cousins had the Middle Name & he did pretty good for himself. I happen to be one male in my generation who has it. Also, one of my cousins recently gave his newborn son the Middle Name. When I was younger, I gave my English Bulldog the Middle Name.

The ancestor in question who started the tradition is buried at Beauvoir. He was a resident of the Confederate Soldiers Home.

At this point, this post becomes more Katrina-related-- the subject of many of my recent posts.

Beauvoir and the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library were heavily damaged by Katrina. For several days I had thought that Beauvoir itself was totally destroyed, but in a fairly recent conversation with my old school's longtime headmaster who also happens to be a former national commander-in-chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, I was told otherwise. You can see the details in this press release.

From what I recall, he said he was grateful for the assistance from various groups-- ranging from guardsmen from Indiana & Kansas for making sure the site was secure & the veterans' cemetery cleared to archivists (I think the Universities of Delaware & Utah were mentioned) helping with recovery efforts.

Tax deductable contributions can be mailed to:

Beauvoir Relief
P O Box 7
Meridian, MS 39302-0007