When I first started looking into Kindred McLeary, I thought that I would have to write something about his curious name: Kindred. Then I got distracted by how well he did in school and how some religious leaders thought his work was too naughty. Then I saw that his mother’s maiden name was Kindred.

Matronymic middle names are something that I’ve come across quite a bit, particularly among friends with deep roots in the northeast. I asked the www oracle about this, and was mainly graced with articles about matronymic last names. A few years ago, the Chicago Tribune and the Detroit Free Press both posted an article (the same article) about the trend among millennial cis women of taking their husband’s surnames and giving theirs to one of their children as a first name.

What’s my point? You don’t know me well if you think I always have one. If this was that kind of blog, I’d write 30 paragraphs about the children I don’t have and include 25 photos of the exact same thing from different angles before getting to the point. Anyway… I sort of do have a point here, though. That Kindred Mamie and her husband named their son Kindred in Texas in 1901 may say something about the immediate environment (his home) in which he was raised. It may say something about his dedication to education and his willingness to inject some controversial truth in his work. Nice work, Mamie!

You can see some of Kindred’s work at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website. You can see info about the three post office murals he painted at the LivingNewDeal.org.