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A Ramble Among Surnames , Which the Ti Tle O Fthis Volume Promises to Its Readers

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A Ramble Among Surnames , Which the Ti Tle O Fthis Volume Promises to Its Readers E nt r d acco rdin to A ct o fCon r ss m th e ar 1 8 e e , g g e , ye 93, W B y . amn J . D , In th e O ffic o f th e L ib rarian o fCo n r ss at Washin ton. e g e , g C DEDI ATION . It is the custom ofauthors to dedicate their productions to someperson or ersons N o limit has been xed relative to the number eo le to p . fi ofp p w hom a sin le volume ma be devoted H ence the auth or takes the lib g y . m dedicatin this volume most res ec ull w ithout consultin them y of g p tf y, g , however to ever man w oman and child w h ose surname is recorded , y , , w ithin this hook with the sincere ho e that the erusal its a es ma , p p of p g y he as pleasant to those who read as the w riting ofthem w as to the A U TH O R . (3) PREFACE . IT is natural that all m en desire to know th e origin as w ell as fi o le th e the signi cati n of their names . This litt volume , author ‘ flatters th e d o f himself, will gratify that appetency in min s m w h o any may read it . i We are not too modest to declare our honest convict on, that a close and thoughtful perusal of the page s of this b o ok will help many readers to a higher appreciation o f E nglish history s and literature . The author h a struggled with those environ r m ments , which circumsc ibe the ajor part of the readers of this ua m to e day and time . Hence he pers des hi self b lieve that he sympathiz es with that large class of readers w h o have neither . the time , nor the library in and by which , to solve the problems that are continually presenting th e mselves to every thoughtful reader . Let every reader decide for himself as to h o w much he has really lost already by not having been able to appreciate the E to n allusions in nglish literature the customs , man ers , and do m a h o f estic life of our progenitors . It may be th t t ousands pages of history and fiction have been read with the hearty ap preciation of a certain degree of vagueness pervading the whole , and arising from certain missing links , or at least clues not in the possession of the reader . Who has not at some time in his life stumbled , so to speak , upon an exposition of some old cus tom o r usage which has shed a volume of light upon what he has read ? Is it a presumption o n the part of the writer to ai firm that most authors have assumed that the ordinary reader is more conversant with the social , moral , and political life of his m edize v al proge nitors than he really is ? If such statements savor of a spirit of audacity, then the writer pleads that his ex r n pe ience a d observation have been thoroughly anomalous . fiatters The author then , of these pages , himself that this r in book will bring much pleasu e to ordinary readers , not only ' o m o f th eir s lving the proble of the meaning and origin names , (5) M M 6 A RA BLE A ONG S URNAM ES . but also in shedding at least som e light upon m uch that they h ave read . The book herewith submitted to the public has fur erm re th o been written for the people . Hence the w riter hopes that it w ill be instrumental in helping even the youthful reader m a d to appreciate more fully what he y rea hereafter . It is no t m by any eans a treatise on etymology , though it necessari l h as to do h y much wit that branch Of linguistic research . th e h as d w Wherever author un ertaken , ho ever, to trace a name to h as w d m its primary root, he follo e the latest and ost highly approved standards . It may be necessary to state that the author has penned these pages during the fragm ents Of time snatched from professional h m a fo r d duties . T is in part, y account many efects in the h w t m book . Truly thankful , o ever , wi hout be oaning the many w imperfections Of the volume , for hatever favor his former pro du ctio ns have met with from an indulgent public, he sends forth this unpretending treatise on surnames in the hope that many i m ay be enabled thereby to learn so m ethit g that they did not fi know before . If the reader nds , however, as he doubtless h im re h , will , t at the subjects treated freq uently change let “ ” f . m ember the o ld adage : Variety is the spice O life The mellow notes of the Southern m ocking birds which have greeted the w riter’s ears during the composition of the volume m h w hich h e now gives to the public ad onis him of the truth TH E A U TH R . ful ness Of the adage just quoted. O h st r S . C e e , C CONTENTS . What’s in a N am e ? R CHAPTE II . A Few E nglish Surnam es That Make U s Laugh CHAPTER III . Patronymic Inheritances from R emote Fatherlands R CHAPTE IV . Surnames Derived from the Signs of Shop Keepers CHAPTER V . surnames Derived from the O c c upations CHAPTER VI . Surnames Derived from Plac es Of R esidence CHAPTER VII . R The Smiths , Browns , Blacks , and ailroads CHAPTER VIII . E A - 1 0 Surnames Which mbody the nglo Saxon Idea Of Home . 4 CHAPTER IX . Islands , Fords , and Lakes CHAPTER X . Surnames from Civil and R eligious O ffices CHAPTER XI . A Fe w Gaelic Surnames R CHAPTE XII . Co nclusion A RAMBLE AMONG S URNAMES C HAPTER I . ’ ” WHAT S IN A NAM E ? HEN th e stude nt becomes wearied and ex n e l n ha st d by close and prolonged app icatio , there is no surer or more efficacious restorative than a ram ble along the prattling brook or through the deep shades of the forest or over the hills and through the secluded valleys . Nature has her ’ v z s m edicatrix him own , and to only who dares to penetrate the solitary glens and the sylvan se clu sions O f earth will come th e aroma O f wild flowers ’ and the exhilarating voices O fWild nature s revels . Many rare and choice bouquets may be gathered elsewhere than from hothouses and well-cultivated . S O O f flower gardens , along the byways litera n n ture and almost u writte history, the rambler may gather th e sweetest nosegays O f unadorned truth . I therefore propose in this chapter , a vin dicatio n , if such defense is required at my hand , “ ” O f A Ramble among Surnames , which the ti tle O fthis volume promises to its readers . m A ra ble , such as we have determined to take , may be considered by the student , as he sits in his O f cozy library , surrounded by thousands volumes (9) I M M M O A RA BLE A ONG S URNA ES . of the best literature of all the ages of the historic ro fes past , to be wholly unnecessary ; while the p u find in sio al critic may much , as he would even scrutinizing a beautiful flower that God made , to condemn in the proposed ramble through the t backwoods of history . The strict u ilitarian may l k n demur . We even now hear his cynic i e i terro ’ ” gatio n : What s the use of it ? But we too may O f ask , as we stand upon the border the territory which we mean to partially explore : Have all such demurrers forgotten the declaration even O f ” o S ine no m ine h o m o no n est? the old R man , and may a m an not seek to know where his name came from and what it means ? Surely he who is no t interested in all that pertains to his individual appellative , whether such relative matter comes from th e noonday sce nes O f civilizatio n and refine ment or from what we have chosen to Christen b s n o t rambles throu gh the ackwoods of hi tory , is capable of being interested . But w e have th e teachings of the ancients on u our side , and that fact is even potent eno gh to u s persuade the critics to go along with , for any thing that is antique has more influence over many of the degenerate sons of Adam than even the truth O ld itself . The Grecian philosopher , Pythagoras , taught that the name b estowed in childhood was instrumental in shaping the character in after life , O f and that , therefore , the success people depend ed largely upon the names bestowed upon them in infancy .
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