Exford L. King
My dad always went by the name Exford Louis King. I notice, however, that in an old census report he is listed as Louis Xavier Exford Roy. Cousin Cheryl has explained the complexities of exploring and interpreting French-Canadian names. I won’t get into that. Anyhow, as the story goes Dad was born in the year 1900. His mother Emma ran what today would be called a bed and breakfast. There would only be a few guests at a time. In those days the expression “English” meant anyone who spoke English as their native tongue. And so, an English-speaking couple was enjoying the fresh mountain air in and around Chazy Lake. Grandmother Emma put them up while she was pregnant with my dad. The time of delivery came, and Dad was born at home. The “English” lady promised that if she could name the child, he would receive a handsome legacy. She named him Exford, perhaps partly after his father’s name of Xavier. Time passed but no monetary award ever followed. The name lived on, however. Dad named his oldest son James Exford and I named my son Michael Exford so the name continues. Incidentally, I was born in the same house thirty-two years later, and my grandfather added Xavier to my birth certificate.
cleadslinger32
cheryljk
All four sons of Xavier and Emma King had rather ‘English’ names: Filmore, Howard, Exford and Sullivan. Exford was baptized at Saint Bernards in Lyon Mountain as Louis Xavier Exford, son of F.X. Roy (King) and E. Descourbrons. His godfather was also his maternal grandfather Louis Descourbrons (Coulbron). In his Detroit days Exford was known as Jim, and in the 1930 census he is listed as James L. King with wife Catherine and children James, Valeda and Francis. Relatives from Michigan still called him Jim into the 1960’s.
Just an update and correction. Through studying the Coulbron/Colburn history, I now believe that Exford King’s godparents were Emma’s brother Levi Coulbron (who was baptized Louis Descourbrons) and Levi’s wife Emma Boivert aka Emily Greenwood. Levi and Emily lived nearby in Dannemora where he was a blacksmith. Emma and Levi’s father Louis Coulbron died in 1901, the year after Exford’s birth.
[...] Exford L. King My dad always went by the name Exford Louis King. I notice, however, that in an old census report he is listed as Louis Xavier Exford Roy. Cousin Cheryl has explained the complexities of exploring and interpreting French-Canadian names. I won’t get into that. Anyhow, as the story goes Dad was born in the year 1900. His mother Emma ran what today would be called a bed and breakfast. There would only be a few guests at a time. In those days the expression “English” meant anyone who spoke English as their native tongue. And so, an English-speaking couple was enjoying the fresh mountain air in and around Chazy Lake. Grandmother Emma put them up while she was pregnant with my dad. The time of delivery came, and Dad was born at home. The “English” lady promised that if she could name the child, he would receive a handsome legacy. She named him Exford, perhaps partly after his father’s name of Xavier. Time passed but no monetary award ever followed. The name lived on, however. Dad named his oldest son James Exford and I named my son Michael Exford so the name continues. Incidentally, I was born in the same house thirty-two years later, and my grandfather added Xavier to my birth certificate. [...]
hey do u know my dad James Exford King II
Obviously the latter.
I never met my great-grandfather, but I get the impression that he was a man who you would not forget if you met him and who wanted to be remembered. Maybe that is why he attached his name to yours, or maybe he just thought such a cute baby was the one to have the name to carry on.