Two and a half years ago on a weekend stay in Glenwood Springs, I saw an episode of NCIS entitled “Yankee White.” It was the first episode I had ever seen of this series, inadvertently a rerun of the very first episode. It cracked me up, especially selfies while sitting in the president’s chair. Since then I have watched a hundred episodes. The writing is good, the character interplay is good, and the music portends the scenes I don’t want to watch. Last night there was a new episode which included an appearance by a character, Ret. Admiral A. J. Chegwidden, from the JAG series, which made me curious as to what the heck his full name was. I checked IMDb and his name is Albert Jethro Chegwidden. With Chegwidden and Gibbs, can Bellisario single-handedly revive the social status of the given name Jethro? Is there a Jethro in his family history?
A. J.
Most A. J. namesakes are, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Albert Sidney Johnson, and Adoniram Judson, so Albert Jethro was new. In the JAG show, A. J. Roberts, son of Bud and Harriet, was named for the Admiral who delivered him. Genealogically speaking, did his birth certificate read A. J. or Albert Jethro. He was called A.J.
Namesakes are ususally relatives – parents, grandparents, godparents, favorite siblings; close family friends; or heros – presidents, military commanders, ministers, doctors, lawyers, judges, sports figures. Andrew Jackson was a general during the War of 1812 and 7th president. Andrew Johnson was the 17th president. Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in the Texas Army, the United States Army and the Confederate States Army. Adoniram Judson was the first Baptist Missionary from the United States. Fictional Admiral A. J. Chegwidden, a SEAL (hero), Admiral (military boss), delivered the first child of Bud and Harriet (Sims) Roberts (erstwhile doctor) in the Judge Advocate General’s office.
The internet makes searching for namesakes quick and easy. Instead of putting the full name in quotes, just type it out and the search engines will return references to both the person and the namesake.
