John Wesley was the theologian who, basically, was responsible for the church that became the Methodist Church. He died in 1791. Many of our ancestors were named for people who were famous or well thought-of in their time. Like kids today who are named "Elvis" or "Brittany" or their derivatives. "Sterling" is used in English for "strong, firm or immovable," or "of the highest quality." Franklin Ross (named for a relative who was probably named for Benjamin Franklin, not Franklin Delano Roosevelt) lclevers <lclevers@cfl.rr.com> wrote: I have 3 John Wesley's in my PA ROSS line. First one born 1837, strange thing is that the other two are not in the same direct line. I also have Sterling's in several different branches, was there a special reason for parents to name their son's Wesley and Sterling's? My ROSS line were pioneer settlers of Scranton which was know as Slocum Hollow when they first settled there. Where they came from before then is a mystery. Lisa Cleversey Martin ----- Original Message ----- --------------------------------- All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.