The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-07-13
PART

NHNN - SAh VI AiN
names Of our states should prove an
interesting subject, and from ii no
small amoun of history ana geography
is to be learned. 1t is, however, a 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 IS 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 Il 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. Tie
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 1920 and
named by him for the English county
Of Hampshire.
NIitI inc pulCll HdN lSdlOI AuIldIl
Block sailed into N~arragansett bay,
about 1914, he encountered an island
Of fiery aspect, due to the red clay
in some portions OF its 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
.1A.. l,--. A-..-a 4.
charter for this region from the Eng
liSh Crown in 1914, Anglicized
the name, making it Rhode Island.
There is a theory, also, that our small
est state was named after the Island
of Rhodes. in the Mediterranean. but
It is difficult to substantiate his 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
lis 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 It's Founder.
Charles III of England, the Merry
Monarch" spent so much Of his coun-
try's funds IN pleasure that state
debts often remained unpaid. One OF
these was for salary &c 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, a Quaker. The latter
agreed 10 accept a land grant from the
crown in exchange for the debt.
Penn wanted to call this land "Syl-
vania" on account of its vast forests.
but the king insisted that the founders
name be Incorporated in that of the
colony, and thus it is as Pennsylvania,
literally PENIS woods" that the Key
stone state is known to us today. 1t
is the only state named for its founder.
Our second smallest state, Della
ware, bears the name Of Lord de la
War;, first governor and c%aptain-gen-
A.nJ &C N;.;r;n ,rhA -, 1Inn .n- 90
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 1854, and this colony,
by the way. was the first to extend re-
ligiOus federation to all. 1t was named
after the queen Of Charles !, Henrietta
Maria, who was the daughter Of Henry
of Navarro and was 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 90 the crown
and is further illustrated in the names
VI lht NhSiiitS, ibN ahf'
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 1863, II was first pro-
posed to call ii "Kanawha." after
one Of its rivers, and much regret
has been voH.ed that this fine old
Indian name was not adopted.
Confusion About the carolinas.
There has been some confusion as TO
which King Charles the Carolinas
were named for. In 1860 Jean Ri
bault. a French explorer, named this
region after Charles IN Of France.
The name. however, did not come into
general use and for a time dis