Hi there list members, Concerning the name James Russel(l) King. This name is of my second great grandfather's older brother. It has been giving me fits for years. One of my cousins is sure that the middle name Russell had some connection to one of our ancestors wives. Up until recently we did not have a Russell surname possible in our lineup. This King family has been extensively researched until it gets rubbed raw. As of now it is well established that my William King born 1710 and is the son of Jonathan and Sarah (Cooke) King of Salem. Salem vital records connect him in papers filed in June 1719 as proof. It might possibly be by some mere chance that we might have a second marriage of William King to a Russell. It is William's grandson who named their son James Russell King. The James we are certain could be to honor his maternal grandfather James Alexander Norton of Canaan, Columbia county, New York and Madison County, Ohio. Or maybe not that is still a question unanswered at this time. I could be mistaken as I wasn't around to ask and neither was anyone else that I know. My grand aunt once upon a time had Nahum King's family bible. James Russel(l) King is the only child of 16 live births with a middle name male or female children that they raised. Historically we know that our William King married first Hannah Mitchell. Someone believes that she was an older woman in 1741 and they had two children. By the time that Hannah could have added more children who started with our Amos Nahum King born 1756 in New Salem, Hamilton County, Massachusetts she would have been more than 50 years old. Knowing this fact I figure that William must have married a second time but we don't know who that woman in a second marriage would be. The underlying reason is that for many years there was a William King, thought to be our William, who married about that time to Mary Andrews daughter of Captain Nathaniel and Mary (Higginson) Andrews of Salem. However recently I discovered that the Mary Andrews who married William had to be another William King who turns out to be the son of Samuel and Elizabeth King of Salem. Still he is a first cousin to my William. The reason that he is missed is possibly due to the fact that Samuel married a second woman named Elizabeth and she is a widow but Samuel King had children by both women. Their marriage is missed on most records except for the vital records of Salem MA. Mary Andrews King died in 1759 and did not have children with our King names. In 1756 Hannah King wrote a letter to the city fathers of New Salem saying that her father moved his family to New Salem. In 1756 Amos Nahum was born to them. We believe that Amos was named to honor Amos Nahum Foster his brother in law husband of Abigail King. In 1759 Sarah joined the King family followed by Jonathan in 1761. The family moved after this to Shutesbury where Stephen was born into the family. Stephen is not previously a King given name either in this lies another possibility that certainly points to the name in the wife's family. About 1781 William is then a widower living once again with the Foster family in New Salem. Abigail has died previously. Neither William or his wife's place of death or internment has been located. I am looking to find if it is possible that the missing second wife of William who might somehow be connected to the Russell family through marriage possibly about 1755. This might answer the question of the naming of James with a middle name when all his siblings did not have a middle name. All this is just grasping at intelligent straws that may bear fruit some day. Thank you for listening to this query. I have tried to cover all the angles that one might ask in this situation. Daniel