(Note from the Hermit: I want to remind all my fellow History buffs to Subscribe to fellow Marine Mustang’s two blogs: Searching History and Fix Bayonets)
In modern times, parents give their children unusual first names to set them apart from other kids. Naming children is an interesting topic, made so by the number of “experts” who try to explain the phenomenon. For example, one “expert” opined that modern black parents give their kids African-sounding names even though they’re found nowhere in Africa.
In contrast, parents of the past often named their children after Bible personalities. That’s what happened to James Ebenezer McCord. The boy wasn’t happy with James, Jim, Jimmy, Jake, Eb, or even Ebenezer. So when he grew up, he told everyone that he was J. E. McCord. Folks either called him “J.E.” or McCord.
J. E. was born on the 4th of July 1834 to William P. and Lucinda Miller McCord in Abbeville, South Carolina.[1] In 1847, the family moved briefly to Mississippi, then in 1853 onward to Texas, where the McCords settled in Henderson, over in Rusk County. J. E. began working as a land surveyor soon after arriving in Texas. In 1856, he led a party of surveyors to map out the location of a chain of counties on the western fringe of frontier Texas.
