Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1876-03-02

Int WctSu III kAifiCEtcds
[Rev. E. W. Jones in Atlantic Monthly.
One peculiarity of the Welsh,
both at home and in America, is their
comparatively small number ofnames
and the great number of persons an
swering to the same name. Let
every John Jones and William " &
liams be called out, and they would
present very large number. The
reader will readily conclude that
some hundred or two persons an
swering to the name of John Jones,
in single parish, would create a
worse confounded." But,
in Wales this embarrass-
ment, at least in the rural districts,
is obvlated by a custom which may
seem novel to the American reader.
Every house, and indeed every
other house and hut in the Princi-
pality, with the exception of those
in cities and large villages, has its
own distinct name, and this, unlike
those of persons, is always different
from all others. These names or
designations are of an almost end
less variety, and generally arise from
some pecnliarity of the locality or
the sites on which the houses stand.
Whenever a PERSONS name is men
toned in connection with any event
whatever, the name of his house or
farm is invariably given; otherwise,
in most cases, it would be impossible
to tell who the person was, for the
name is claimed by at least fifty in
that region. If it were announced
in a city paper that on last Thursday
Mr.. William Jones, of the parish OF
Llanddeiniolen, on his return from
town, had unfortunately been thrown
from his horse and seriously injured,
the people would laugh at the blum
dering indefniteness of the informa-
ton, for they are acquainted with a
hundred persons of that name in the
parish. But if it had been written
that William Jones, of Glan'rafon
Riverside had met with the misfOr-
tune, it would have been perfectly
plain, for there is but one Clan 'rafon
in the whole parish. Without this
usage to us in America, events in
Wales in connection with certain
names could not be Ineligible. /
read weekly in the columns of Y
Drych and Y Wasg, list of deaths
in Wales, which would be of no value
whatever to us in the absence of this
distinction.
But how among the Welsh in the
States? Here again we meet the
same difficulty, but we are not able
to find relief in the same way. In a
few instances in the old settlements,
individuals are distinguished by the
names of their farms, which general
ly follow the appellations of those
which their parents or ancestors oc-
cupied in Wales. In America, in
Welsh settlements, the difficulty is
sought to be obviated by the assist
ance of middle letters. In the town
of Remsen, Oneida County, New
York, some thirty years ago l was
informed that the John Joneses and
William Williamses, and few other
names, had used up the whole alpha
bet in middle letters to distinguish
themselves from others, John A. and
John B., and so on. When John Il.
was reached, and another John Jones
appeared, he had to be called John A.
Jones No. 2. If any of our invent
i've Americans can furnish a scheme
to relieve us from this embarrass-
ment, they will be worthy to rank
among the benefactors of mankind.
Another Welsh popularity is that
great number of their married
ladies retain their maiden. names.
know not how far this custom pre-
walls in this country, but it does in
some measure. In Wales it is quits
common, especially among the peas
antry. This was so in my mothers
case. Although the wife Of William