The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-07-23

covetous Jew weighed the eighteenth
zecchin on the end of his finger, and trlet
it's genuineness by ringing the meta
upon the table, struggling all the hi!e
between a desire to reward the swine
herd and his greed for gold. But the
clear ring and full weight made Gurth
one xecchin poorer than, perhaps, be
would otherwise have been. In that
age when there could be very little
guarantee of the genuineness and quail
ty of the current money, the coin
brought to England by the Germans
was known as Easterling or Sterling
money, which was a SYNONYM for its
purity, hence the proud sterling, orthe
term as used to denote a man of pure
character.
Chapman is of Morse origin, and
means merchant or peddler. Bjorn,
the son of Harald Fairhair, as early as
the middle Of the ninth century was
the first man, so far as history informs
Us, that ever bore that surname. He
was a peaceable, frugal, trading and
economic uuder-king whom his jealous
brothers mockingly called "Bjorn the
Chapman" He was cruelty murdered
by his brother Eric Blood-axe' ABOUT
A. D. e33. But the name still lives.
AS it comes to US through the English
we have Chapman, but that branch of
the hardy family that sought their
fortunes among the Germans was called
Kaufman; the two names have COM
mon Morse origin and are really one
and the same name.
A difficult problem, it is said, once
puzzled t. brain of a rustic American
citizen. He could not solve the mys-
terry as to the existence of so many peo-
pie who bore the ubiquitous cognomen
Smith. 1t was indeed the problem of
his life, till at last he drifted by chance
it may have been, into the Getty of
brotherly love"; there he read this sign
over the main entrance of a great fac
tory: 1.-THE SMITH MANUFACTURING
COMPANY" The problem was solved
satisfactorily, at least to him; there, he
concluded they made Smiths and thus
reopled the world.
But that honorable name, SO lauda-
Ely connected with almost every phase
cf Anglo-Saxon history, antedates not
only the city of Philadelphia, but the
slories of the New World itself. It is
of ancient origin, and was common
la-7e among the Romans. (Fabricius
"a smith). There is indeed an allusion
20 the name in the New Testament it
the silver-smith-who
did st. Paul very great wrong. If that
name, as it is recorded in the sacred
volume, had appeared as disciple,
or follower of Christ it would have be-
come a powerful argument in the
hands of polemics in the universal
of the doctrines of Ar
or salvation decreed for all
men.
Smiths, therefore are not made, as
the rustic back-woodsman imagined,
but the whole fraternity of them enjoy
the honorable distinction of being self
made, and may honorably claim a
glorious and ancient lineage. They
get their name from the Anglo
Saxon tSnaitdn, to smlte. That term
was applied to all who dealt blows
in an honest and lawful craft. Their
vocation was, not to smite men on the
bloody field of battle, thus weaving for
themselves garlands of victory, and
thereby inscribjng their name in the
annals of the worlds butcheries; but
they smote the crude material from the
earth's bowels hip and thigh" and
thus brought beauty, order and
utility out of chaos. They were
the artisans-the Tubalcains of the
race. Therefore while
the theological controversialists have
been unable to use the name ia
the establishment of their doctrines,
that name proves conclusively that the
disposition of the Anglo-Saxon race
has ever been in favor of getting an
honest living by honest strokes.
South Carolina and the world owes
lasting debt of gratitude to that name,
for our rice takes precedence in all the
markets ofthe world. sin 1893, " we are
told, "Landgrave Thomas Smith-of
whose descendants more than five hun
dred were living in the State in 1905 IA
number doubtless largely increased
since), moved perchance by a prophetic
sense of the fitness that the father OF
such a numerous progeny should pro-
vide for the support Of an extensive
opulation-introduce the culture OF
rice into South Carolina. The seed
came from the island of Madagascar, IN
a vessel that put into Charleston har-
Dor in distress" 1t is, indeed, an evil
wind that blows nobody any good, but
railways requires Smith to smeltcr
lad ham ;uer it out of adverse circum-
d.sscss
Tjr4iHiS South Carolina may,
therefore, grasp hands even across
..tbe old North State'' with her teem-
ing multitude of Smiths, and exult in
the historic distinction that while the
personal magnetism Of one John Smith,
in some way or other, touched the
heart Of the Eairest wild maid Of the
Virginia forest when Powhattan was
about to become practically ,Sniter
himself, our Landgrave Thomas Smith
retaliated on the proud old chief, and
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