Just thought I'd share this bit of Americana with y'all....... My gt gt grandparents were John B. and Mary C. Downing. Mary's maiden name was Downing, they were first cousins. Born and married in Chester co., PA, they moved to Kansas in 1877 with their family. John was a farmer and a schoolteacher, according to census reports. And they must have been astute students of American history, and here's why. Among their children were the following three: Thomas E. Downing Winfield S. Downing George W. Downing Nothing particularly exciting there. At least, that's what I thought, until recent research revealed their middle names. Thomas Ellsworth Downing was named after Ephraim Ellsworth, a Union Colonel in the Civil War, and the first fatality of the war. Ellsworth was shot and killed in 1861 as he tried to tear away a Confederate flag over an Inn in Virginia. He was given a state funeral on order of President Lincoln, and thousands of children born in the 1860's, as was Thomas, were given the name of Ellsworth. Winfield Scott Downing was named after a famed American general, Winfield Scott, who led the army in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. He, too, was idolized in the 1800's. And if I have to tell you who George Washington Downing was named after, it's probably not worth the effort. Three children named after famous Americans in the same family. Pretty interesting, and a unique insight into our nation in the 1800's. Ray