Thanks for setting that straight, James. William Houston/Houstoun was a Georgia delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 as well as a member of the the Continental Congress, 1783-86. The story I learned in my History of Georgia class was that Houston spent so much time in NYC wooing Miss Bayard that he missed the signing of the Constitution in September 1787. Another version is that he declined to sign. Allegedly, he was so popular in NY the residents named a street for him (but your version makes as much or more sense). Various dates are given for Houston's death but he's said to be buried at St. Paul's Chapel in NYC. Russell New Yorker in Georgia On Aug 24, 2010, at 3:10 PM, James Nevius wrote: > Irene, > > Houston Street is named for Mary Bayard, who married William > Houstoun in > 1788. The Bayards were large landowners in the area and, presumably, > part of > Mary's dowry would have been land in that general vicinity. Houstoun > was > from Georgia and a delegate to the Continental Congress. > > The "toun" part of his name probably means "town" but the "Hous" > part is in > dispute. It may mean house, but it also may be a corruption of the > name Hugh > and thus mean "Hugh's town." > > James >