Yes, Grandpa Calkins' middle name was Carlton. However, it not necessary for me to explain that we are not related to Dr. Mary E. Carleton who was born in Clinton, Mass., and who in 1894 founded a medical clinic in Foochow, China. However, the Calkins family lack of a medical degree does not mean that we are in any way related to the so-called "German princess" who was executed in the 1600s on charges of bigamy and seducing a number of men and robbing them of their keys and money. Her name also was Mary Carleton. However, the seductress of Old England should not be confused with Mary Sing-Gien Carleton who was Dr. Carleton's Chinese-born adopted daughter, the Mary Carleton who became naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1961 at the age of 74 and died still unmarried in 1976 in Pasadena, Calif. Yes, those Butterfield-Bates really enjoy playing Chinese checkers with their dragon-sharp fingernails.
However, the fact remains that Grandpa Calkins' middle name Carlton is just a family thing. His father's first name was Carlton and Carlton's middle name was Reuben. Carlton Reuben's father was named Reuben Arthur. We don't know where Reuben Arthur got his name because his father's name was David McHuron so the middle name thing does not work before or after. My Dad's middle name was Bruce but we do not understand what my grandparents were thinking in that regard. Also, my Dad was not the American diplomat Harold Tracy who signed someone's passport application. We don't know who that guy would be. We are not ashamed to say that our surname is Calkins and don't forget it.
