The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1855-08-04
VOL. III.
All About Names.

interesting, ana we IAN WOulu Introduce our
readers to it. .
The author assumes, what is familiar to
every student of history, that in early times
man possessed but one name then, when
those Of the same name became too numer-
Gus the addition was made of the name of
the town or locality in which he lived, Os
for instance, John of Monmouth, William
Of Normandy, &c; then, as time and peo-
pie progressed, the occupation was added as
John the smith, William the cooper, &C.;
and finally the appelation of man became
ct a two fold chara ter, and John the smith
became John Smith, William the cooper be-
came William Cooper. Thus each family
name has its history and it is as easily read
as Dutch almanac. ....
Most of the surnames are traceable 10 some
such ancient origin of local habitation or
profession. OF those names derived from
residence may be classed those of Church,
Hill, Dale, Carr, Combe, Cape, Craig, Cliff,
Pitt. Flood, Hayes, Park, Holt, Hope, War
rem, Wear, Green, Grove, Wood, Shaw, Lane,
Street, and divers others. These of them,
selves are void of any Specification, with
reference to the condition in life of those
who first assumed them. They only hint
that the progenitor Of the stock first won
his appellation from his peculiar residence
names is from the occupation of our plebe-
ian fathers of the distant time. For instance,
you, our respectable friend, Mr.. Smith,
From whence came Smith. all, be he knight or
But from the smith that forgeth at the fire Esquire
And so in fact Of you, or dear friends,
Taylor, Turner, Baker, Cook, Cooper, Clark,
&c. The great number of the family of
Smith seems to be owing to this, that the
smith of the age when surnames first became
hereditary, included in his mystery the work
which wheelwright, cartwright, and other
wrights afterwards performed. Sometimes
we have the good old English Smith corrupt
Ell into Smythe, just as Simon the cobler in
Z" "Lucian," when he grew rich, called himself
Smonides. When such Smith or Smythe
takes his name from his furnace, it has some
times been changed successively by his ac6aI-
thicr descendants into the more aristocratic
Purniss, Furnice, and Furness. Such traits
of human nature have been frequently OBJ
served in this matter of nomenclature, and
they are not wanting in this very day.
Another genus comprises descriptive names,
or such as were originally applied to denote
bodily peculiarties and mental qualities.
OF these latter are Good, Goodman, Best,
Sage, Wise, Meek, Moody, Joyce, Savage,
Quick. The abstract is sometimes used for
the concrete, as Luck, Justice, Virtue, Joye,
Bliss, &c. Those surnames derived from
bodily pecuiiarities are comprehensive even
to the uneducated. Every one understands
the meaning of Bigg, Little or Lddell, Long,
Longman, Prettyman, Short, Crump, and
Armstrong, SO too, with Shanks, Hand
Foot, Lightfoot, and the like. Some, and
they are not few, names were assumed from
some bodily characteristic, such as we have
just mentioned and occasionally were used
IN our mother country centuries prior to the
Norman conquest, and long before surnames
were hereditary. OF these are White and
Black, the oldest names, and if the rule up
on which aristocracy is based be correct, the
most noble in the language. The writer in
the Review says: Beda, in his account OF
the missionary efforts among the Saxons, re-
fers to persons named Hewald, who were
distinguished as HeWald Black and Hewald