To: The Sasser group From: Glenn E. Perry Maybe my observations are too obvious, but Earl's question about first names caused me to think again about some interesting aspects of the names Henry and Nancy Kirby Sasser gave to their children. No son was named for Henry or Henry's father at least until child #9 (son #5), i.e., William Henry Crawford Sasser. And that had to await a year when there was a presidential candidate named William Henry Crawford. (As I pointed out in an earlier message, the name is written--as odd as it seems--as William Henry Crawood--not Crawford--in the Bible. Did Henry later decide he didn't like the Georgian who had presumably been his choice for president in 1824, or did somebody else write the names in the Bible?) There seems to have been a preference for the names of maternal ancestors. Child #8 (daughter #4) was named for Henry's mother, Martha Bishop. Child #11 (son #7), i.e., Jesse, was named for his maternal grandfather, Jesse Kirby. (I have wondered whether his full name was Jesse Kirby Sasser; I am not quite sure whether my grandmother told me of such a tradition or whether this is merely a possibility that has sporadically come to my mind. Child #13 (daughter #5) was named for her maternal grandmother, Patience Watkins Kirby. One of the names was from the Old Testament (Adin), as I mentioned once before. The name of one daughter, Piety, represented the parents' religiosity. The name Martha of course is from the New Testament as well as being that of Henry's mother. The name James Henderson was that of an important figure in the early settlement of Kentucky. It is interesting that Henry gave that name to his newborn son one year before moving to Kentucky. Perhaps in writing this quick note I have overlooked the significance of some of the names. And trying to read Henry and Nanny Sasser's minds at this time may seem rather silly anyway. Glenn ***************************************** Glenn E. Perry Department of Political Science Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN 47809 USA E-Mail: psperrg@scifac.indstate.edu (812)237-2505 (office) (812)234-5661 (home) ****************************************