Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-03-10
MORE ABOUT NAMES.

ton on names. their origin. their mean
ing and the importance Of accurately
recording family data.
Let US begin with the name OF pop
ular druggist, which is similar TO that
of the Welsh Prince Owen (Owain)
of Gwynedd, VINO fiercely dehed the
| Norman Barons and gave them many
doses of their own medicine. Then
there was Owen Clendpwer in the
l4th century and Owen Tudor, who
was ancestor Of the Tudor kings and
queens of England.
And there is Montgomery. a shire or
county OF Wales named for Roger de
/ Montg omery. who lived in the time OF
objected seriously to its seizure by
Norman Knight who paid homage 10
William the Conqueror for il.
The name Powell is from the Welsh
Ap- Howell. ruler of central Wales. and
noted for hot disputes with Morgan
| Hen, who was king OF an adjoining
domain. All this in the year 600 or
| Whereabouts. Waldeck takes us many
miles from Wales to a German prin-
| cipaiity. besides being the name OF
| famous French statesman. Waldeck-
| Rousseau.
| And il we travel with John Gilpin on
his famous ride celebrated by Cowper
we shall arrive at Ware.
"And you shall dine at Edmonton
And shall dine at Ware"
Osborne is the estate on the Isle of
Wight occupied by Queen Victoria. In
early times it was spelled Oysterborne
which makes one think it must be near
brook or burn where oysters were
found
Dcwns-Recalls TO our minds eye
great ships riding at anchor in the
safe harbor at Deal in England Julius
Caesar is said to have landed there
4 in SO B. c., was il not? ! have not the
books at hand to corroborate dates.
Moore makes one think of bleak
lands, treeless, and covered with
gorse and heather.
"The road was ribbon Of moonlight
Over the purple moor,
When a highwayman came riding
riding-riding-
When a highwayman came riding
Up to the old inn door"
This brings us back TO place names
again. Our English and Teuton an
cestorS were above all a practical peo-
pie, bent upon getting hold of as much
J Of the earth as they could and keep
ing it, and while have mentioned
names connected with history and ro-
nance, most of us are tagged with
prosaic patronyms indicating the place
where certain family group or clan
was holding down some piece of prop
erty, or the family performing some
necessary or useful occupation, or
again, the person who had some
| al
! popularity. Thus we have Hill, Grove
Shepherd, Miller, Baker, Gardener
White, Brown and-so- forth. to say
nothing of the innumerable names end
! ing in son, which generations ago help
r ed to distinguish some family from
its older branch.
Even these might be romantic il we
could only see their origin through the
} mists of ages, for all names are trans
, latable one way or another.
Here is list which represents the
:, probable meaning of some of our
Shepherdstown names:
: Engle-Meaning angel in German.
, Reinhart-The pure-hearted one OF
, the quality of cleanliness
Herr-Master. gentleman sir.
Meyers. Myers-These with differ.
ent spcllings prefixcs are from meier
a farmer
Hodmoa-From Hof, meaning a
cour;. a yard
Barnhart-Obscure. but may come
. from words meaning bearSkin, barren
haut.
Bedinger-Used to be spelled BUD.
inger,-SoOdneSS knows what il mean.
Swain-An old Saxon word mean.
} ing youth. boy
flickinger-May be derived from
fiicken, to meni TO cobble
Welshans-Wc wonder if thar does
not mean "Strange Hans" foreigner
named John, who settled down in
some village ages ago?
fotenbergcr-A name well-known
TO us through our Sharpsburg CORES
pondent, and which probably comes
from pfeItfen. 10 whistle, and burger, 2
citizen. =
Schoppert-May come from a word
meaning juryman.
Shaffar-'ls Shepherd translated in
to German, though it has gained two
rs in the transition.
I Observation-Disclosures the ton, or
town, meaning the Enclosure where the
Srothcrs held down their piece Of
land
, When we come to Irish names we
"Ns II up III the absence OF GLOSSARY
ana bro reference library II is said
mat all Celtic names have some poetic
meaning. certainly thev have softer and
more musical sound than the harsher
Enp'ish or German names.
Listen carefully To the names Null
doom and Malone and see if you do not
agree with me.
In conclusion, ! rHpeat what ! said
!@cenflv. that the Sta'e should take an
interest in recording certain facts ahout
us sons and daughters. The modern
criucai spirit demands this both as
good sense and good business, and 7
nope all readers of these two papers