Hello, In this morning's MassMoments e-mail, there is a story about Frances PERKINS, the first woman to hold a Cabinet position. She was born in Boston. http://www.massmoments.org:80/moment.cfm?mid=109 If anyone of you have also watched "Dirty Dancing" many times, in the beginning of the movie Johnny asks Baby what her real name is. She replies, Frances, after the first woman to be in the Cabinet. Does anyone have an ancestor who was named after a famous person? First name? Surname? My gr-gr-grandfather was Charles Wellington RICE, b1850 Maine. He came down to MA ~1874 and married Adelaide HUTCHINSON from Winchester. The first of their 2 daughters was named Louise Wellington RICE. My sister did genealogy for a while (because of an antique photo album), and she always thought our gr-grandmother was given the middle-name Wellington, because of a WELLINGTON family from Belmont had a close relationship with the HUTCHINSON and CROSBY families (Arlington). But I wasn't sure about that. I had assumed she was given the middle name because it was her father's middle name. And, her father's parents had no connection to the Arlington and Winchester families. So, 4-5 years ago, I looked on-line and was reminded about the "Duke of Wellington." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley,_1st_Duke_of_Wellington He was a very important, military / political figure in Europe in mid-1800's, and I read that many children were named after him. -- I'll have to agree that my gr-grandmother, Mrs. Louise Wellington (RICE) KIDDER of Winchester, might have been given that middle name for 2 reasons. Her only sibling was given the name, Edith Crosby RICE. Their mother had been given the name, Adelaide Crosby HUTCHINSON, and her mother was Mrs. Eliza Ann (CROSBY) HUTCHINSON. Just an FYI for you. Betty (near Lowell, MA) ENJOY your Holiday weekend ! April and May what a wonderful way to spend your day. (one of 2 things I wrote when I was in more of a "poetry mood" in '80's; the other?) "Celebrate the Daffodils"