The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1896-12-19
BILL Arb rs LETTER.
WILLIAM HELPS TO FIND LONG.
LOST RtELArIVES.
4 Heavy Mall Attests the Philoso.
piers Popularity.

Now If there is any old soldier 3iv-
ing who was il the Indian war in Ore
gon during the years 1859 and 1850,
under command Of General Joe Lane,
and knew Captain George ". Rey-
nolds, in that service, let him please
write to his widow, at Mars Fill, Mad
lsoc county, North Carolina. The
poor woman is entitled to a pension
for her husbands service, if she can
prove it. It is long shoot and mar
row chance, but maybe Some comrede
will sec this. IT would rejoice my
heart to see little of that pension
fund coming down this way.
am not bureau Of information.
but receive many letters Of inquiry
about antebellum days and families
and events, and SIN always pleased to
lnswer them and give the information
If I can. Many Of them are from old
Georgia soldiers who removed west
soon after the war, and they or their
widows have heard that Georgia is
paying ali her invalid soldiers or their
widows pension. Please let me say
to ell concerned that there is DO pro-
vision for non-residents in our state
pension laws. This seeing hard upon
those who felt constrained to emigrate,
but it is the law, and that settles it.
Then there are many letters from
aged men who look back to cid Geor-
gia with longing hearts and wish to
trace up their kindred. It is a sure
sign OF gray hairs when nan or wo-
man begins to hunt up their
distant kindred or the companions OF
their youth. Here is q Mr.. John A.
Harris, OF Pass Christian, Miss, who
wants to know about his fathers rela-
tiVes-the Harris family, Of Appling
and Macon-~and also about his moth
er's kindred-tha Bledsoes, of Athens
and Augusta. And here is Mr.. Red
wine, of Redwine, La, wLo wants to
know OF his kin Of that name in Geor-
gia. Alas, my old venerable friends,
Judge Clark is dead and so is G. 9.
Jones, the only two men who knew all
the old families Of Georgia. It would
perple1 even them 70 identify any
branch Of the Harris family, for their
name is legion, but the Bledsoes and
RedwiDes could no doubt be traced by
some of the octogencrians still living.
These are very unusual names end
their kinship is not so remote.
[ was Eliminating about the origin
Of names, Anglo-Saxon names, and
dnd it to he curious and interesting
study. For instance, is it possible
that the original Bledsoe was. wounded
in fight or by accident and bled So
much that it gave him name? Is It
probable the Redwine ancestor had
vineyard and made wine Of that color,
or maybe did not have vineyard, but
was much given to looking upon the
VINE when it was red? It seems that
the common people didn't need but
one name u4tiS2ong after the Chris
% azs J =, nBze7gE, g.
gan system to honor and distinguish
distinguished people. They adopted
a pre.nonen-a nomen and cogno-
men--as Pubiiua Cornelius Scipio
Publius was his Christian name, as We
call it, and no doubt the boys called
him Pub. Cornelius, his family name,
and scipio was his most notable char
acteristic, for he was good to his blind
old father and led him abont with a
staff, and scip;o means a staff. /
have great respect for Scipio. Horace
was called Horatius Flaccus because
be had very large ears, and Flaccus
means fop-eared. It was not till the
eleventh century that family names
were handed dov2 to succeeding gen
erations, and this custom WAS adopted
because of law reqiring births and
marriages and deaths to be registered
in the parish books. AS late es the
eighteenth century many families IN
England had no surnanes, aud the
children were given n;cknanss, aa
Nosy, Soaker, Sucker, Snaggletooth,
Cockeye, Jumper, Bow.egs, Rsdtop'
etc. ~
Aspeople multiplied, new methods
had to be devised to distinguish thsm.
Prefxes and affixes we're resorted to.
The word son was added to distinguish
the father from the children, as Joho,
johnson, Will, Wilson, Tom, Tomson.
The word Fitz was 8 prefix to Norman
names and came from f:s or finn,
son. Witch in the Russian language
has the same meaning, and so has Won
Of van in German, and Mac ln'Scotch
and Irish, as Macdonald, the son Of
Donald. Ois an Irish prefix and
means grandson, as O'Conuor, O'Barr,
O'Hall.ran, etc. De or Due Is the
FrencE. prefix for son and Ap means
The same in Welsh. These afixes AID
>refxes will classisya great number OF
,ames, for from John came Jonson,
Johnson, Johnston and Johnstone.
Che Sroith family name had o peculiar
origin. The old Anglo-saxons were
aver on the lookout for iuvasions OF the
island, and hence they kept large
force of men on the hills near the coas!
TO look out for the invaders and to
smite them when they came. These
men had hui single nam", IS John or
Jack or Will, but they we're known as
Eohn the Smiter or Jack the Sniter, or
Will the smiter, which was 5'on
abridged to John Smiter and taen tc
John Sn,ither, and finally to John
Smith. A smith is sniter-a gold
smith smites gold, blacksmith smltes