The Origin of My Name

My name, Henry James Witt, has quite an extensive yet interesting history behind it.  I was able to conduct an interview with my father, Henry Matthew Witt IV, to gain a greater understanding of my past.  The origin of my first and last name comes from central Germany.  The first of my name, Henry Matthew Witt I, lived in a small town outside of Frankfort called Hessen as a carpenter.  I even have a few extended relatives living in this same town today who I talk to often.  In 1893, H.M.W. I decided to immigrate to the Untied States.  He was instantly attracted to the flourishing opportunities and ideas in Chicago at the time, most especially the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition.  A year after settling in Chicago, he started the family business, H.M. Witt Sign Company, which my father owns today.  After marking his name in Chicago, Henry Matthew Witt I passed his full name through three generations.

If you didn’t know already, I have a twin brother named Andrew.  When we were born, my parents without a doubt knew they had to name one of us Henry.  They gave me my fathers first name and ditched the biblical name Matthew as my middle name.  My brother was given the middle name Michael, closely resembling Matthew.  I was given the middle name James simply because they were fond of the name.