Cheyneys: And Damn Proud of It!

A couple of decendents of Squire Cheyney have written me to protest the changing of the name of the Cheyney post office. This comes from a woman named Holly Swanson-Booth.

I too am a proud ancestor of the remarkable Cheyney family and Squire Cheyney.

My Grandmother Mary Elva Cheyney would be hurt and equally angered to her very core with this change your are attempting to make.

One of the most precious gifts my grandmother treasured in life was knowledge and education. You should gain complete knowledge as well before you decide to change something that should be held sacred for hundreds of years more than the years it has so far.

So proud of our family heritage was I, that I named my son Cheyney. He is so proud of his name that he does not even want a nickname. His name is CHEYNEY.

When you have stood your ground in the face of personal danger and then delivered critical information to a United States General as "Squire Cheyney"... then and only then will you have the right to make this type of change.

Until then make changes to your column and leave historical buildings alone.

Thank you
Holly Swanson-Booth
Mother of CHEYNEY Booth
Ancestor of "The Cheyneys"

Fair enough. If I was a Cheyney I would be proud too. But seeing as how they have a whole town and a university named after them, is it really that necessary to hang on to the name of that dinky little post office? Besides, Luther Smith sounds like the kind of patriot and military man, Squire Cheyney might have admired. It's not like they're talking about naming the P.O. after Rev. Al Sharpton.

In any case, I'm not the one who proposed the change. That's Admiral Sestak's idea. The Cheyney family should take it up with him. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he can make the claim to have "delivered critical information to a United States General" at some meeting or other.