[21twelve]

Thanks - interesting reading up on him. And Pierce County named after President Pierce. And to bring it back to the slaves/black names - William Rufus DeVane King was one of the largest slave holders in Alabama (country?) at the time.

[Publius]

Not only was he a slave owner, he was gay. He lived as close to a gay life style as he could without getting lynched by irate citizens. Sen. Andrew Johnson of Tennessee referred to him as "Senator Nancy Boy".

If you saw the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and remember Kevin Spacey's character, I think that would be a good characterization of King.