Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-02-13
In what degree fathers and

gcdisthers are responsible for this. or xb..h.,
eEsAng individuals have caprciously altered
theil children's christian and surnames in The
| resent generation, / cannot deteruin, r,
rs equally puzZliDg 10 account, on either nv.
potbesis, for such names as strike the eye on
the shop-signs or door-plates, or in the news.
papers Of New York, Philadelphia Boston
and elsewhere. For instance Apollo Mum,
Quincy Tufts, Orlando Tomdins, Bea Tiffany,
Polycretus Flag, Sylvester Almy, Peleg
| Sprague, Rufus Choate, Abiza Bigelow, J JabeI
Tarr, Asaph Bass, Azor Tabor, Hiram Shum-
way, Ransom Sperry, Nahum Cspon, Elihu
Amsdon, Gigeon Links, Zichri Nash.
Gideon, HephEibab, Hasiph, Gideon, Uriah,
oeth, Elnathan, Jeduthsn, Virgil, Pliny, Hor-
ace, homer, with Faith, Hope, Charity, and
l'1i, la, the otner virtues, are common prenOnems
al over the country. Many of these, while
MAKING US smile, recall association Scriptural
| ana CLASSICAL, or one of our own historic and
| puritanical sbsurdities; while some of the
| tancy names Of America remind us of nothing.
| mr. Preserved Fish was a we'll knoun mo-
| chant of New York. Perhaps the most xbim-
steal OF all is that Of young lady Of a conn.
Try town In the State of Massachusetts. Mis-,
| wealthy Titus Attractive and ausn;.ions
| compound Pray Heaven she will change II
| and that without losing day, like her impe
rial namesake! AID who knows but thai
every one of those eccentric sppellations here
| recorded are, by this time like Uncle Tobv',
oatn, blotted out for ever.
In the immense catalogue Of the names of
| counties towns and cities, there is hardly one
Americans can claim as their own invention
They are ell of foreign or Indian derivation
The lnconceivable repetition Of certain names
OF towns Is, without joke, confusion worse
contounded There are one hundred and
eighteen towns and counties in the limited
states called Washington. There are Ave
Londons, enc New London, and don't know
n N orwv
Paris, three Dresdens four Viennas fourteen
Berlins, twenty four Hanovers. There are
twenty odd Richmonds, sixteen Bedfords
about a score Of Brightons, nine Chatham,
eleven BurlingtoIs, sixteen Delawares, four-
teen Ok ords, as many Somersets. a dozen
GdIobrldges, twenty-five Yorks and N.v
Yorks and other English names in propor.
tion Ibere are twelve towns with the prefix
OF big, four Great, and sixteen Little There
are nine Harmonys, double as many Concords
(but no Melody;) thirteen Freedoms, forty.
tour Libertys. Twenty-oHe CoIum bias, seven
Colsmbuses, and seventy eight Unions There
are one hundred and four towns and counties
o. tne color Green, tWenty-four Browns, TWEEN
ty-six Oranges, and FIVE Vermilions-slI the
hues OF an sutumnal forest; but they sbrink
from calling any of them Black, though they
sometimes make white appear 60, especially
la the Repudiatisg States. Fifteen Goshens,
eleven Canaans, thirty Sslems, eleven Beth
lehems, testify to the respect ia which Scrip
tural names are held while homage has been
done 70 classic lands in sundry log-hut vii
lagos, some of them fast swelling in popuIa-
ton and prosperity. Ilium fuit" is beIied
oy the existence Of sixteen Troys There are
twelve HOmes, and eight Athenses; but oply
one Ronulus-and 1 have not had the good
tcrtune to meet with any Of the Athenians
Many great writer's have been honored In
these national baptisms There are several
Homers. Eirgils, Drydens and Addisons, O
couple OF ByrOns, but not yet, nor likely TO
be In any sense, a Shakespeare. There are,
however, five Avons three Stradfords, a Ro-
meo, Juliet; besides, defying classification,
four Scipios, six Shefields, twelve Manches-
ters. There are one hundred and fifty towns
and counties called New Something's, and only
six Old any;hings. The most desperate effort
at invention is 70 be found in repetitions of
Springhelds, BlOomfelds, and Greenfelds.
All the cities Of the East are multiplied mapy
times. With the exception Of ConstantinopIe,
which does not figure il the list at all; but,
in revenge, there is one Constantine. There
are very few attempts at giving to Yankee
humor local habitation and q name. But
have discovered the funny title Of Jim Henry
attached TO a sOi-dissnt town in Miller coun.
y, State Of Missouri; and / am sorry to per.
ceive the stupid name of Smallpox fastened
(not firmly, | hope on one in Joe Davis ceun.
~, Illinois
The comparative popularity of public men
may or may lot be inferred from the number
II times their names may be found on the
n8ps. 1t is remarkable that there are nine.
y one JackSOns; eighty three Franklins, six
ty nine Jeffersons, thirty four Lsfa yettes. if
ty eight MOnTOes, ffty Madisons fifty-nine
Perrys, thirty-two Hsrrisons, twerty-seven
Clintcns. twenty-One Clsys, sixteen Van Blu.
rens, fourteen Bentons but there are only
three Websters.
The indi genous fruits, shrubs and trees give
titles to many Of the streets in cities and
towns, but TO few of the towns themselves.
There is one Willow, a few Oaks, (out of forty
odd varieties of the forest king,) and not one
Persimmon, nor, as far as can learn, q Pep
peridge, one Of the most beautiful Of American
trees
A New York newspaper, writing on this
subject. suggests the propriety Of passing q
law prohibiting the use of a name for a town
or county that has ever been used before for
the same purpose. But Immediately recoils,
like Fear in the Ode,
Even at the sound Itself had maden
And we'll it might. For if the notion were fol.
lowed up, new towns might be numbered, a.
streets often are at present, and some arith.
metical combinations might occur as q letter
addressed to
Mister Jonathan Snoekinson,
Sixty Fourth Street,
Forty-First City,
Nineteenth County,