House, The merchant, William, was called by many of the colonists “The Blanket Merchant,” because of the large quantities of blankets he handled in his trade, which he continued back and forth between London, the islands and colonies until the spring of 1688, when he settled near his brothers, but on the Maryland side of the line, near the present town of Delmar, in Somerset County, where he built a residence that he occupied till his death.

From London Tit-Bits (1906).

Some romantic parents love to christen their infants with high falutin’ names. Religious persons search the Scriptures before the baptismal ceremony. Parents in search of a fortune will label their luckless babes with the surname of the expected testator. But, nev- ertheless, the list of common English Christian names is a very small one. Out of every 100 fathers and mothers of male children some eighty-four limit their choice to fifteen familiar names.

The favorite name is undoubtedly William. In all ranks of society--in the peerage as in the workhouse--William is the commonest of male Christian names.

Stop the first 1,000 men you meet in the street. No fewer than 170 are Williams. A long way behind come the Johns, closely followed by the Georges. Of every 1,000 men ninety-four are called John and ninety-two George.

The next commonest name is Thomas, which has seventy-four owners, while James claims seventy-two. Henry and Harry between them are seventy in number. Of these about one in four have received the name of Harry at the Baptismal font. Following them come Frederick with fifty-seven, Charles with forty-eight, Alfred with forty-five, and Albert some way behind with thirty-one. The popularity of Albert has arisen entirely from the personal popularity of our late queen’s beloved consort. It was practically unknown in England before Queen Victoria’s marriage.

The good old Saxon appellation of Edward is given to five and twenty out of every 1,000 citizens, Arthur and Robert having each twenty-three, while of the remainder of these 1,000 men you have accosted in the street seventeen are’called Joseph and fifteen Herbert.

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