New Britain herald., 1922-12-15
OF NAMES
IN THIS VICINITY
lanes Shepard Makes Known In
t0restinB Result Of Research
by JAMES SHEPARD,

+
given the Indian name of Turks. aft.
pr the name of the river upon which
was situated. The territory now
known as New Britain and Kensing,
ION was then known only by the name
9f Pagonchamischang. In the yeal
i Gas the TunXis settlement was in.
eorporated as a town by the name oil
Harrington, an old English pince
lailie, There was at that time onIy
F hree other inland plantations In this
colony, Wiz Hartford, Windsor West
srsield.
The change In the name of the
PLACE from Tunxis to Pennington
eventually CAUSED a like change in the
lame OF the river and thus the name
s. funxis Is now. known only In history.
The namo Pennington Is similar to
hat of fourteen other Connecticut
place names which differ from that
lane only by the substitution of some
other word or syllable for the word
arm. The list of these place names
3 rs follows: Abingdon, Burlington,
Ellington. Pennington, huntington,
iensington, Mllington. Newingtoh,
Northington, Soutlington, stonington.
forrington, Washington, wilmington
IND .WorthinEton. ), 10 ,.,e,.
six Of tliese places. viz: Northing-
on Burlington, southington Kensing-
on, Worthington and Newington were
AIKEN inswhole or in part from the
own of Pennington. Many OF the
Did English place names have become
personal names. l know that all of
he place names In our lists except
+ farp1ing ton, Soutnineton and stoning-
on have been so used and In many
eases towns have been named from a
4 person bearing a place name, as for
sxampfe, Worthtngton. The word
ton" In these names, signifies town.
sity, village, homestead or other real
state belonging to one or more per-
SONS. The word don signifyng a hill,
5 often used in the same connection.
las a. general rule all names which
ernlinate In either ton, or don, were
Originally. place names. ~, H.,
The Syllable "Ing."
r The syllable ing is used In four diff
erent ways. Sometimes, in connec-
ion with the. preceding word or syl-
able, it forms a word which is de-
crlptives5of the p1ace@or town, as for
Example, the word farming in the
iame Pennington. Sometimes ing
9stgnifies meadow as in the name
Sepsington,g Wllentfng Is the termin-
ton of n personal name 1t signifies
he son OF. When such personal
lame Is compounded with the word
on Or don the Ing signifies belonging
81 as for example, In the following
anne: Abingdon. Before making any
pecial research 1t occurred to me
nat "a il d contraction Of Abe and
be nickname fer Abraham and
cnce the name signifies town or
face belonging to Abraham Upon
making little research j discovered
hat the original of this old English |
i tscn name awo 9ingdon instead Of |
ilineton and that It signifies 4 hill |
eionetnE B Fiefson named y4sbbsl.
General Putnanr' 5 famous Wolf Dem
ss iA the village or soctetyfof Abing- /
ong ifs The town an f'omfret, which TO- i
ietg was establiahed and named in /
he year 1889. II, /
burlington was formerly called !
Farnfington West Woods at was
accrpora Fed Nv the nanle
/ Il West BritaiY M H year I774, just |
\ weaity years d %. Isaac lee had !
iyen New Britain its present name. I
d 1896 west ltiifiih was made p
sfown BIZ the name of Burlington. The.
anne may be said to be descriptive
t its burly rocks and hills orsof the I
uirly nuts and trees which once grew; !,
EEn the great forest Of the West Woods.
Hsfhe index To the Century Atlas gives I
hirty places by the name Of Burling-
lnn,
Ellington. which is now IN Holland
ountN ives formerly la Windsor. 1t
yas Incorporated as society III 1875,
ina All 4 town iii 1856, The name Is
English md Is said to have been given
ecause It formed an ell extending
rom the towns OF Windsor and East
Windsor The English name Filing |
ION signifies the town Of Ellis.
Thirty four Farniingtons.
Termination Is the name of thirty
our places which may be found on
aaps NJ the Century Atlas. 'rhe name
j English and obviously signifies d
arniing Town.
Huntington was made society by
letnanae ~ fsipton IA the north part
y tratf1fa tn TIT AHA Incorporated
town by It's present name In the /!
ear 1885, The name is English and
lgniiies hunting town but the name
HI this case was no doubt, given In II.
on0r III Samuel Huntington, one of
ne slgners of the Declaration 81 In :
dependence and governor OF this state
the time the town was named, Thir-
b four places BIZ the name Of Hunt
antor are found III the index Of the
CENTURY Atlas
Kensinefon. our neighbor on the
opth. WAS given pernlission to form d
nciety III F'arInlngton in 1905 incor
GRATED hy the name pf Great swamp
t7ffs ana tile name changed t.
gensingtnn in fT22 The society
riginaily Included the major part Of !
There ara twelve Kens-
4Etons given In the Century Atlas
he name Il English kens signifies
kings Ing. meadow ton, town,
ne whole aignifting town n the
slpR'a Inead ovr
NlilinRtcn was Incorporated as a
erinfy ID Fast fiaddam III the year
sac 5anathan Beebe. the first SCI.
peaigl u lbs Asyne ono about
III Ma n Ideal pitae foE
Il