The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-14
PROUD OF JAMAICAN NAMES.
Negroes of the English Islands who
Bear ola English COgnomens.
From The New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune
Speaking Of the prospect of a third
West India Island being added to the
territory Of the United States. an ex-
Jamaican said lone thing that makes a
marked difference between the jamaican
negro and his cogener in this country is
the Jamaican's pride of name. The same
thing may exist among the coored people,
elsewhere, but I have never noticed IL.
"Of course, there are II good many col
ored people there who have no strict legal
right TO any surname, but that fact only
adds to the pride OF those who can, II
necessary, show certificates Of birth in
GLIDING the words his wife And the
interesting thing about Il is that there
are negroes here and there on the island
who bear names which are borne by no
living white resident. There used to be
few black Shuttlewortns, for instance,
| and they never seemed 70 lose sight of
their importance as the only Ewing rep
! resentatiVes of white family that was
prominent In the English conquest of the
island, $40 years ago The fact that these
particular relics of the Shuttleworths had
not a drop of Caucasian blood in their
veins made no difference; they were Shut
tleworths-'and there are only a few of us
left
THE way Of It was this: It was the GUS
tom of the white settlers who bought new
ly-imported slaves to give their own sur
names 10 their purchases, leaving the ma
| tive African name to serve as first name.
So, the surname was common to all the
slaves of one master, while the distln-
| gushing name of the Individual, contrary
to what Is the rule among free races, was
not given name, but represented about
all that its bearer brought with him when
| he left his native land. There was no
| difficulty IN telling whether man named
! Jones was a white man or black man
/ in those early days because the immigrant
! negroes all had African names-Cudjoe.
! Quashee, Beniboe and so on--and the Gus
tom of giving African first names to
slaves continued there until il was dis
placed by the facetiOus use of classical
names But If Quashee's surname was
Jones, 1t was because his first purchaser
was named Jones. II seems that slave
owner seldom or never gave his own name
! to negroes of " HON he had not bought
direct from the importer, or to their chill
dren
zone curious result sof this way OF IN
PRODUCING African 20 Anglo West Indian
civilization Is still to be seen In Jamalca-
or was until within the present generation
lin the multitude Of the black Bogles IN
Jamaica at a period when there was not,
so far as ! could learn, single white
man there OF that name. The reason OF
this Is said TO have been IN the large
slave-importlng business done by two
brothers named Paul and Andrew Boyle.
Whatever negroes were, for any reason.
left An stock after the Bogles had held
one of their sales were named Boyle. The
firm Of Boyle Bros. must have gone out
Of business at least a century ago, for "
Is as long as that since the slave trade
ceased 10 be legal And yet l remember.
when / was child, that negroes named
Boyle stl cherished the tradition that
Paul was the elder brother and the head
OF the firm and that It was more dgnihed
therefore, for a Boyle to be christened
Paul than to be christened Andrew Once
an old white-woolod negro of that name
was put into the witness box to testify
about two sons OF his who had got them
selves into trouble
Counsel began his examination with
You have two sons, | believe, whose
names are Andrew and Paul?'
1.-THE witness drew himself up TO his
full hight No, sab. / beg you to correct
dat sab. Paul and Andrew, sah--not An.
drew and Paul