New-York tribune., 1909-02-28

respective occupations. IS John Mclvor Mason,
lohn McIvor Smith. etc But as law got q
firTner foothold under more completely organ
azed government Il SO fcll that MANY acts per
formed under names arbitrarily assumed bc-
came legally void and the people awoke 10
the necessity Of having the sanction @; legs
iatures or courts 10 such alterations
Women Want Euphony
EUPHONY seems to be largely a factor IL the
~ changes Of the Christian names Of women
For example, Young woman hurdened with
the prenonen EuncV went 10 court ana had
il changed to Caroline But Ruth Wedge dld
not improve matters So much by becoming
S.phronia Bradford. nor did the change oi
Mary to Aravilla Betsy To Malvlna, Sally 10
PhIdelia Alice to AlvIna with CaliSta added,
Nancy 10 Almeda. and Martha 10 NalTIna-
More does one approve OF Valera and Serene
tha each Of whom chose to become Mary and
nf Typhen. who had herself renamed Frances,
and Ann Hussv, who became Ann H"wkes,
Choices Of high flown names are not. how
ever. peculiar to the talr sex Here. ioT eN-
ample was William ingalls, who had the offlCIal
rr1rnenclator dub him Cyprus Babylon But. on
the other hand Ham was changed to Mitchell,
Blood TO Bovingtou, Coon To Calhoun Bragg
20 Clark and Fogg 10 Randall. But why one
knight should wish 70 become f"gg, winch
sounds almost as muTkV. i q mystery Nor
can IL Toe understood why one appellated as
Wren should wish become Fogg, Or why
Coffin should choose TO become Cross And
one Fitzgerald bv becoming simply FItz, forces
:, suggestion remarkable Of possibilities. Then,
fourteen Onions IN one locality changed their
patronvns part 81 them 20 Warren and part
q them TO Ashton
The Smiths. Joneses. and Browns
A \ interesting class of Americans who are
n ever harkering for new names. j. Smiths
Eoneses and Browns. In MaSSaC ChuSetts alone
one hundred and fourteen Smiths, one hundred
and nine Browns. and fifty-three loneses had
14sf
1f~ied and N other States these three families
haye generally shown hike activities
Thus, Enoch Smith was changed 10 EnoCh
Smith Marshall. Ezra Smith TO Ezra Smith
Brodlee Daniel Talcott Smith 10 Daniel Smith
TaIcott. and so on In many cases Smith Is
adhered TO as a patTonVnlC: but q middle
name Is added tof SuTeT identity, other Smiths
Of the same first name evidently having the
same pOStofflCe address. Thus, three plain lohn
Smiths become respectively John Warren smith
John Haskell Smith, and John Bourne Smith
And often the lohn naS been changed as where
John Smith became William Peter Smith or
Franklin smith But the addition OF a middle
name = not peculiar 10 the Johns Thus
Thomas Smith becomes Thomas lrlsh Smith
Frequently. however. the Smith itself l. an
putated and another surname added.
The Joneses and Browns follow these same
various rules There Is Tones changed to
Farrar, Brigham Morton Weeks. etc Tohn
Brown becoming John Whippe Brown. and
various other Browns becoming respectively
Barker, Jarnes, FduSet. Fremont, etc. while
oHle Brown goes a shade darker and becomes
Black. Charles Moulson Brown Is meta
morPhosed 10 Charles Moulson brown And.
showIng the perverSity OF human nature. here
come two individuals casting of the surnaues
LengfeSt and Tying for Brown and Smith while
one Braun changes for Brown, pure and simple
Inns coterle, for some reason. find them
seiveS hampered by the good old Irish prefix
- "fsach, hike Mac. means nothing more sinister
Than son Of In Massachusetts alone sixty
one q these handles to IriSh cognoInens have
h'eu ruthlessly twisted of, O'Brens Changing