There are, of course, some variations from the main course of the Houston history which moved generally from Scotland, through Ulster to America. One of these deviations is that of the descendants of the Houstoun baronets who came direct from Scotland to Georgia as related in the preceding chapter.

Another departure from the main stream is that of some persons who purposely adopted the Houston name. Many of the Houstons of early America were owners of slaves who usually were without surnames. When the slaves were freed, either voluntarily or through the great emancipation, they selected their own names—many taking the names of their former masters.

There were possibly cases in Scotland and Ireland where people for reasons of their own decided to change their names and considered the Houston name a good choice. A story of this kind is that of two brothers who settled in Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent British settlement in America.

The history of this family is related in a paper by Franklin warren Houston of North Middleton, Ky., which is included in "History of the Huston Families" by E. Rankin Huston. 1 Part of the data in this paper, dated 1895, is based on older family accounts that are somewhat confusing.

According to the paper by Franklin Warren Houston, his branch of the family descended from Robert House-Son, a Dublin, Ireland, merchant who was born in 1450. His son, John House-Son, born in 1475, attended St. Andrew’s College in Scotland and upon graduation became a professor of languages in that institution. His son, Samuel, also was educated at St. Andrew’s and upon his father’s death, succeeded him on the faculty.

1 Published in B. Rankin Huston Book, pp. 189-201.