At 02:23 AM 05/03/2001 -0700, Ida Skarson McCormick wrote:
>For centuries it was against English Common Law for commoners to have
>middle names. This included the English colonies. Most of the people
>with English origins did not ignore the law before the Revolution.

My ancestor, William Friend McMahon, Sr. was born in Frederick Co Va in 1749.
His Father and Grandfather were of Scot ancestory.  This leads me to wonder
if he adopted his middle name (Friend) later in life.  He m 1774 Nancy Ann Cox
who who had an Uncle named Friend Cox. They spent the latter part of their
lives in Ohio County, VA (Wellsburg).

Is it reasonable to suppose that he might have added  the middle name
Friend to his
name as a tribute to his wife's Uncle?  I have looked through the McMahon
family
names extensively and found no source for the name Friend.  However, his wife's
Cox family used the name Friend extensively as a given name and a surname.
(These Coxes and Friends were Swedes.)   William, his father Richard and his
wife's family were all very active participants in the American Revolution
and it
might be possible he added the middle name as an act of defiance to the English
law?

Thoughts anyone?  Or am I "whistling in the wind"?

Bill McMahon

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