Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-07-18
PART l

names of our states should prove an
interesting subject, and from it no
small amount of history and geography
Ia to be learned. 1t is, however, more
complicated subject to trace than the
origin of the nomenclature of Euro
pean states, which, for the most part,
bear names derived simply from the
ancient tribes by which they were
formerly inhabited.
Of our 48 states, we find that %
bear names of Indian origin, while
II are English, six Spanish, three
French, and two bear names that must
be considered, from a historical
standpoint, American.
Considering the states with English
names first, the origin Of most of these
will be familiar to us from our studies
In American colonial history. The
first of these is New Hampshire, the
original territory of which was con-
veyed by a patent of the Plymouth
company to John Mason in 1929 and
named by him for the English county
of Hampshire.
When the Dutch navigator Adrian
Block sailed into Narragansett bay,
about 1914, he encountered an island
of fiery aspect, due to the red clay
in some portions of it's shores. He
called it Roode Eylandt Cred Island)
and the surrounding country received
Its name from that of the island.
The English settlers, who, with Roger
Williams at their head, received
charter for this region from the Eng
Ish Crown in 1914, Anglicized
the name, making it Rhode Island.
There is theory, also, that our small
est state was named after the Island
OF Rhodes, in the Mediterranean, but
1t Is difficult to substantiate this claim,
as the two localities in no way re-
semble one another.
The Empire State, New York, as
is well known, was originally called
New Netherlands, while the city was
known as New Amsterdam But when
the colony was taken over by the
English, in 1864, the names of both
were changed to New York, not, as
might be supposed, after the city Of
York, England, but in honor of Charles
IFS brother, the Duke of York, after
ward James II of England, to whom
the grant was made.
The duke, in turn, transferred the
southern portion of his grant to Sir
George Carteret, who settled there and
named the country after the Channel
isle Of Jersey, which place he had
bravely defended against the parlia-
mentary forces in the English Civil
war.
Only One Named for Its Founder.
Charles II of England, the Merry
Monarch" spent so much of his coun-
tEy's funds on pleasure that state
debts often remained unpaid. One of
these was for salary to one Sir Will
liam Penn one of the lords of the
admiralty, who, on his death, be-
Queathed the claim, which amounted
to some 10000 pounds, to his son,
William Penn, Quaker. The latter
agreed to accept land grant from the
crown in exchange for the debt.
Penn wanted to call this land "Syl-
vania" on account of it's vast forests,
but the king insisted that the founders
colony, and thus it is as Pennsylvania.
literally "Penn's woods" that the Key
stone state is known to us today. 1t
Is the only state named for it's founder.
Our second smallest state, Della
ware, bears the name of Lord de la
War;, first governor and captain-gen-
eral of Virginia, who in 1880 went on
an exploring expedition in the bay
and river after which the state is
named.
The first English Roman Catholic
settlement in America was made in
Maryland, in 1884, and this colony,
by the way, was the first to extend re-
ligtous liberation to all. It was named
after the queen of Charles 1, Henrietta
Maria, who was the daughter of Henry
Of Navarro and wal of the Roman
Catholic faith.
The strong tendency of the earlier
English settlers to perpetuate English
royal names in their settlements is
indicative of their loyalty to the crown
and is further illustrated in the names
Of the Yirginias, the Carollnas and
Georgia.
The first of these was named by
Sir Walter Raleigh for Elizabeth, the
Virgin Queen, who was on the throne
OF England when the first settlements
were attempted, in 1885.
When the state of West Virginia
was formed, in 1868, it was first pro-
posed to call it "Kanawha," after
one Of its rivers, and much regret
has been voiced that this fine old
Indian name was not adopted.
Confusion About the caroiinas.
There has been some confusion as to
which King Charles the Carolinas
were named for. In 1860 Jean Ri.
bault, French explorer. named this