Houston Lee Louis Veal

What's in a Name? (by Lee Veal, 2nd son of HlLLV) When I used to ask my father who he was named after he'd tell me that 'Houston' was after Sam Houston, the Texas hero in the war between Texas Colonists and Mexico. And who later became president of the Republic of Texas, and later still was the governor of the State of Texas. Then he'd tell me that the 'Lee' was after Robert E. Lee. The Supreme commander of the Confederate Army in the War between the States (sometimes called the Civil War, but how can a war be 'civil'?) Anyway, he told me that the 'Louis' was from his Grandfather Zuspann, his mother's father. As the 'Louis' story goes, his dad (Asa Edwin Veal) was filling out the birth certificate papers shortly after Dad's birth. In walks Louis Zuspann, and he says "I'll give you five dollars to name the boy after me." In 1918, five dollars was a lot of money. So, Asa Edwin wrote in 'Louis' after 'Houston Lee', and he snatched up the fiver that was on the table. The story could ring true as far as the 'Louis' part goes, because rarely do people have three given names. However, it's probably apocryphal*. Houston's son, Louis Monte, did carry the name to the next generation, but it stopped there as Monte, as the immediate family knew him, had no male children to which he could have given the name. As for the 'Lee' part, well, it seems that Robert E. Lee may not really be the person being honored, at least not directly, by Dad carrying that name, even though Asa Lott Warren Veal did serve in the Confederate Army for just over 4 months before being discharged due to disability. After delving into the Veal family history a bit, I've discovered that Asa Edwin Veal had a brother, Joseph Lee Veal. It now appears quite likely that Lee Veal, Asa Edwin's brother, may have been the honoree. Now it's possible that the brother was named after Robert E. Lee, but there's no documentation of that so far as I know. * After a lot of genealogical research, the story about how Louis was added to the 'baby' Veal born on Mar. 2, 1918 appears to be fictional. The first birth certificate for the child born to HLLV's parents on that day in March 1918 shows the name Frank (period). That birth certificate was on file and not corrected until 1942 by affidavit. Likely that documentation change was necessitated by the requirement to register for the draft at the start of WWII. HLLV's grandfather, Louis Zuspann, died in 1940, so his alleged petition to "name the boy after me" seems lack veracity. The 'corrected' Frank/HLLV birth certificate spelled his 3rd given name 'Lewis' and 'Louis'; the latter spelling was his grandfather's name. His nuclear family (sisters & mother' called him 'Houston' or 'Son'. He was the only boy in a family of 8, I never heard his father call him by name. The family of his 2nd wife (my mother) called him Lee. I was called Lee, too, but since I wasn't a 'junior', most of my family called and still calls me 'Lee Lee', The Mexican (Spanish-speaker) called me Leelito (meaning Little Lee). So, it appears that my father was born 'Frank Veal', in 1942 his name was changed officially by changing 'Frank' to Houston Lee Lewis Veal. And his name at death was recorded as 'Houston Lee Louis Veal', in fact, 'it's carved in stone'. Why all the twists and turns about my father's names? No clue. ============================================= Obit published in June 2002 Houston Lee Louis Veal, 84, died Monday, June 3, 2002 in Fort Worth. Memorial service: 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Greenwood Chapel. Houston was born March 2, 1918 in Bridgeport. He was valedictorian of the senior class of Bridgeport High School, class of 1938, as well as class president. He was a three-year letterman in football. At the age of 13, to help his family out during the Great Depression, he worked in the two old coal mines in Bridgeport on Saturdays and Sundays. It was believed that he had been the last surviving coal miner who worked in the coal mines that used mules underground. He spent all of his life in the Wise and Tarrant county areas except for two years in Corpus Christi. Houston was the City Class "A" Singles Bowling Champion of the Fort Worth CityTournament in 1945. His team, "The Veal Cutlets," was national champion of 23 aircraft teams that entered. He was employed at General Dynamics for 38 years as a tool planner, and was vice chairman of the F.I.T.U. Union when he retired in 1980. He was baptized into The Assembly of God Church in Bridgeport. He was well known for his wit and great sense of humor and will be missed by all who knew and loved him. (source: Ft. Worth Star Telegram, 5 June 2002)