The citizen., 1912-02-16
NAMING THE STATES
ORIGIN OF RHODE ISLAND HAS
BEEN A PUZZLE.
Pennsylvania Was Not Named for
William Penn, Its Founder, But
for His Father, the Then
Famous Admiral.

Some curious information has been
collected by the antiquaries concern
ing the origin Of the names of certain
of our states. OF Massachusetts,, for
instance, it is said that when John
Smith explored the coast Of New Eng
land In 1914 he found the shores OF
this state inhabited by tribe Of In
dams called the Massachusetts. The
word means near the great hills" be-
ing composed Of ''massa," great,
"wadchuash," hills, and "et," near.
Thus the name in the Indian tongue
was a-Wadchuash-et." to which
the first explorers added an "s" to
make 1t plural, and shortened the
name to its present form.
The origin of Rhode Island has been
a puzzle to historians. Some writer's
tells us the name is corruption OF
the Dutch words Roode Eylandt, sig
nifying Red Island, given to it by the
Dutch discoverers because its shores
presented a red appearance. But they
do not present a red appearance.
Others, with more probability, have
traced the name to Road Island, mean
ing the island near the roadstead.
Competent authorities have doubted
the correctness of this explanation,
because there is no piece of water
near by which sailors would naturally
call a roadstead We should not know
where to find a good riding" in the
sailors sense of the term, without
running into Narragansett bay. The
favorite derivation at present is more
simple One of the leading settlers
of Newport was man named Rhodes,
and the island was probably named
after him, perhaps in jest, perhaps
in compliment The original order
fixing the island of Newport, dated
1914, decreed that the name should
be "The Isle Of Rhodes, or Rhode Is
land" The same appellation was aft
erward applied to the state, Of which
Newport was part.
Connecticut, name so battling to
foreigners, is Indian, and means land
on a long tidal river" The Indian
form Of it is Quin-neh-tukquet. In
some of the early records it is spelled
Quinetuckquet. The most curious
thing about the name of Pennsylvania
is that it was not derived from the
founder of the state, William Penn.
It is William Penn himself who re-
cords the fact:
"This day (January 5, 1851 my
country was confirmed to me by the
name of Pennsylvania, name which
the king (Charles II.) would give 1t
in honor of my father" Penn wished
to call the region New Wales, but the
king persisted in naming 1t after Ad-
miral Penn, then man Of far greater
renown than his son, the Quaker,
whose effigy surmounts the city hall
in Philadelphia.
It is the opinion of many authorities
that the Indian word Kentuckee did
not signify clark and bloody battle
ground" as many have supposed.
They incline to the belief that the
word means "at the head OF river"
and that it was used to designate the
place where the Indians gathered
previous to migration southwark.
This spot was near the source of the
Kentucky river. The best conjecture
as to the origin of the name Tennes-
see is that it comes from Tanasse,
the name of an Indian chief whose
tribe was settled upon one of the
branches of the Tennessee river.
This, however, is disputed. In the
names of our states several languages
are represented, the English, the
French, the Indian, the Spanish and
the Latin.