Many Jewish people don't necessarily practice the Jewish faith. Samuel may well have been born a Jew and still been a Quaker. Cathy Eleam Gibson MMELAM@aol.com wrote: > Elam, of course, if an old biblical name. Elam was the son of Shem and > grandson of Noah. The nation of Elam, as you will see if you reference Old > Testament maps found in the backs of many Bible's, existed roughly where the > nation of Iraq is today. I have a single sheet which references everytime the > nation of Elam or its inhabitants, the Elamites, are mentioned. The Elamites > are even mentioned in the New Testament as one of the groups of people at > Pentecost who miraculously heard the disciples teaching in their own > languages. The Elamites at Petecost living in Jurusalem were apparently Jews, > but I suspect that most Elamites and there descendants were not. > > Whether Samuel Elam was a Jew, I do not know, but I would be surprised. The > best evidence I've seen suggests he would more likely be a Quaker. I would > enjoy seeing any evidence to the contrary. But the point of all this is that > the name Elam goes back much further than England. > > Mark Elam