Both my father and grandfather were named Gilbert McClung Gillespie.
According to my father, it was tradition for parents to give the last name of the Doctor who delivered them as a middle name. The story was the elder Dr. McClung delivered my grandfather and the younger Dr. McClung who was the son delivered my father.
I have found nothing to support that this tradition was prevalent in the early 1900’s but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t tradition. It made have been a family tradition.
A search of the 1940 census in Rockbridge County, Virginia finds a Hunter McClung who was a practicing physician at the age of 60 in 1940. 1 I found no other physicians in Rockbridge County, Virginia whose last name was McClung. My father was born in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Lexington and I believe it is reasonable to assume that his doctor resided in Rockbridge County.
1940 entry for Hunter Oscar McClung
Hunter McClung was also a practicing physician in 1910 in Lexington. He was the son of John McClung who was a retired physician in 1910 .2 Again, I found no other doctors named McClung in Rockbridge County. My grandfather was born in Lexington, Virginia and Hunter McClung may have delivered him as well.
1910 entry for Hunter Oscar McClung
I wonder if the same man delivered both my grandfather and father. I have never found the name McClung in our family tree and I suspect that there is a bit of truth to the story of where their middle names came from, but it does appear that if it is true then they were delivered by the same man.
