Memory Monday: Origin of Words

My Great-Grandfather's School Picture

ORIGIN OF POPULAR WORDS

As some of you may know, I put together and publish a “reprinted” historical magazine each month. I have been doing this for almost two years. The first edition was dated May 1865—just weeks after President Lincoln was assassinated. I “create” a new edition each month 150 years after the date listed on the monthly magazine—in May 2015, I did May 1865, June 2015, I did June 1865, and so forth.

Other than the front page, along with Letters to the Editor and Manners Matter columns, all the tidbits, articles and book chapters come right out of books and magazines published before the date of the magazine. It’s a lot of research, but I love it—and I learn a lot from it. Doing this also helps me connect with family members that lived during that time. These were the books and magazines that were available to my great-great-great grandparents as well as their children and grandchildren. My great-grandfather is in the picture above, although I’m not sure exactly which one he was. I do know that it was taken in Illinois because that where he lived at the time. Maybe, his mother read from some of the magazines I used. Maybe she read some of the children’s stories to my great-grandfather and my great-great uncles and aunts.

Anyway, one of the things I came across this last month in the bound book of The Ladies Repository, from 1865, was an interesting article. I will show part of it below:

BANKRUPT. Few words have so remarkable a history as this. The money-changers of Italy had, it is said, benches or stalls in the boruse or exchange in former times. At these, they conducted their ordinary business. When any of them fell back in the world and became insolvent, his bench was broken, and the name of broken bench, or banko rouo, was given to him. When the word was first adopted into English, it was nearer the Italian than it now is, being bankerout instead of bankrupt.

BIGOT. This word is not, as generally, supposed, of religious but of secular and political origin. Rollo, Duke of Normandy, receiving Gissa, daughter of King Charles, in marriage, and with her the investiture of the Dukedom, refused to perform the usual ceremony of kiss ing the king's foot in token of subjection unless the king would hold it out for that purpose, and when he urged it, answered hastily, "No, by God," whereupon the king gave him the nickname of by God or bigot, and the name has passed to all stubborn and peevish insisters on their own notions.

CANTEEN. This is, perhaps, the only word in our language which, originally English, passed into a foreign tongue and was afterward taken back in a modified form. As originally spoken by the Saxon it was simply a tin can; but the Gaul, as is his wont, placing the noun before the adjective, and pronouncing the letter i as e, brought it out as cantin, pronounced canteen. Adopting a thousand other French terms, the dull Englishman took back his own original word in a new shape without any inquiries on the subject, and hence we now say canteen instead of tin-can.

GROG. Admiral Vernon—the same after whom Mount Vernon was named—was the first to require his men to drink their spirits mixed with water. In bad weather he was in the habit of walking the deck in a rough grogram cloak, and hence had obtained the name of "Old Grog" in the service. Such was the origin of the name applied to rum and water.

HURRAH. Thousands of people have shouted "hurrah!" "many a time and oft," but comparatively few know its derivation and primary meaning. It originated among the Eastern nations, where it, was used as a war cry from the belief that every man who died in battle for his country went to heaven. It is derived from the Sclavonic word Hurraj, which means "to Paradise."

LADY. In an old work of the date of 1762 is the following account of the origin of the term lady: "As I have studied more that appertains to ladies than to gentlemen, I will satisfy you how it came to pass that women of fortune were called ladies even before their husbands had any title to convey the mark of distinction to them. It was generally the fashion for a lady of affluence once a week, or oftener, to distribute a certain quantity of bread to her poor neighbors with her own bands, and she was called by them hlaf-day; that is, loaf-giver, or as it is sometimes explained, the bread-giver. These two words were in time corrupted, and the meaning of the term is now as little known as the practice which gave rise to it."

WINDFALL. Some of the English nobility, by the tenure of their estates, were forbidden felling any of the trees upon them, the timber being reserved for the use of the royal navy. Such trees as fell without cutting were the property of the occupant. A tornado, therefore, was a perfect Godsend in every sense of the term to those who had occupancy of extensive forests, and the windfall was some times of great value.

If you wish to read all of the article, or if you wish to see the magazine archives for my magazine—Worbly’s Family Monthly Magazine, go to http://worblysmagazine.com/ It is a lot of fun to explore the world of the mid-19^th Century.

Memory Monday: All the Family History Is Not Lost

Papaw, Mamaw, and my father, 1940s

ALL THE FAMILY HISTORY IS NOT LOST

Both of my parents and all of my grandparents have passed away. They all died before I developed an interest in family history (at least for the most part. I remember having a conversation with my Daddy about 35 years ago when he told me somethings that he remembered about his mother’s family—just general things—but I didn’t think to write any of them down).

My mother lived the last 25 years or so of her life in the same town as I lived. Her sisters visited and we had several family reunions with her side of the family. Both of which allowed me to learn about her side of the family, especially about the years she was growing up.

I had nothing like this for my Daddy (this is the name we always called my father)—just a few facts he had given us for our daughter’s baby book. But I have learned of a wonderful tool to peek into the life of my father—Ancestery.com. Below are a few of the things that I have learned just looking into the past censuses.

1920 census

Lived in house on Kirkwood

Papaw worked in a grocery store

Papaw, Daisy (my grandmother), Daddy

1930 census enumerated on April 12^th

Papaw-Widowed, Same house, owns house valued at $3500, owns radio, works as a salesman in retail grocery

Daddy—12 years old

Aunt—9 years old

Grandmother—77 years old, widowed

Great-uncle (deceased grandmother’s brother)-salesman in bakery

Great-aunt

Their three children—ages 2, 6, and 9

1940 census enumerated April 10^th

Papaw-same house, worked as a stock clerk in a grocery store for 52 weeks in 1939 and earned $1560, a week before census he worked 48 hours, he had completed 4 years of high school

Mamaw (step-grandmother), worked in home—housework, she completed 4 years of college

Daddy—attended college, worked as clerk for 52 weeks the year before and earned $1020, week before census he worked 36 hours

Aunt, attended high school (fourth year), worked as a waitress in 1939 for 15 weeks and earned $120, a week before the census she worked 48 hours

Mamaw’s mother—71 years old, lived in the same house for 5 years, attended high school for 2 years

Daddy’s military service

Enlistment Date: 2 Feb 1942

Release Date:  9 Jan 1946

Branch  Army Air Corps

Grade   Private

Term of Enlistment:  Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law Component Army of the United States - includes the following: Voluntary enlistments effective December 8, 1941 and thereafter; One year enlistments of National Guardsman whose State enlistment expires while in the Federal Service

Height   69 Weight 132

From the information above, I have learned several things about Daddy that I can put together with the things I already knew. I was very familiar with the house my grandfather (we called him Papaw) lived in because we visited him quite often as I was growing up. It was a small two bedroom/one bath house with a screened-in back porch. I didn’t know that he had lived there from at least 1910. He still owned it at his death in 1974. I knew that his mother (whom we always referred to as Daisy, probably because we grew up with a step-grandmother we called Mamaw) died from double pneumonia when Daddy was 9 years old. I didn’t know that in 1930, Papaw had taken in his widowed mother and his brother-in-law, along with his family—that was 9 people living in that two bedroom house (with screened –in porch). He also owned a radio—can’t you just see them all sitting around in the evening and listening to it—just like the Waltons. Ten years later, Papaw’s mother had passed away (I know this from other Ancestry records) and his brother-in-law’s family had moved out. Also, Papaw had married again and had taken in his new mother-in-law. As Papaw worked in a grocery store all those years to provide for his family, Daddy and his sister attended school and worked outside the home.

Also, Ancestry showed me that Daddy enlisted in the Army Air Corps less than two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was released January, 1946. I knew that he had left the army with the rank of staff sergeant because that was what he written in a few books he had acquired during the war and were in the bookcase mother had built him (see the post from 12-14-2015). Daddy met the lady who became my mother about the first of July, 1946 and they were married in the middle of July (Mother always said they married two weeks after meeting and their marriage lasted 38 years).

Have you every researched your family on Ancestry? What did you learn about your family?  

Memory Monday: Cures for Hiccups

My paternal grandmother

CURES FOR HICCUPS

I hate to get the hiccups because they usually go on until they hurt. The only way to get rid of them—at least, the only one that works for me—is to get a full glass of water and take ten swallows without taking a breath. Sometimes, I have to do this a couple of times, but it usually works with only one try.

Recently, I came across the following while doing some research. It is from a book titled AUDELS HOUSEHOLD HELPS, HINTS, AND RECEIPTS, and was published in 1913—three years after my grandparents were married and four years before my father was born. Note: they didn’t call them hiccups back then. They were called hiccoughs.

To Stop Ordinary Hiccough.—There are two simple methods of arresting this unpleasant affection—by a temporary check in either the respiration or the circulation. The first mode of doing so is by drawing in the breath just before the expected time, and holding it thus till the period is past. If it does not succeed with the first effort it will very likely do so with the second. The other plan is to squeeze the right wrist with the finger and thumb of the other hand, at the place where the pulse is generally felt.

A Brazilian physician, Dr. Ramos, states that refrigeration of the lobe of the ear will stop hiccough, whatever its cause may be. Very slight refrigeration, he asserts, will answer, the application of cold water or even saliva being sufficient.

Hiccough is relieved by a tight bandage about the abdomen, or the inhalation of a few drops of chloroform.

"There is only one specific for hiccough," says Dr. Henry Lewis, "and that is a small dose of wine vinegar, sweetened with as much sugar as it will absorb. I have used this remedy when the annoyance has passed almost into the dangerous stage, and never knew a case which one dose would not relieve and two cure. Sucking a lump of sugar will cure a very mild attack, but is not effective in severe cases.

To cure hiccoughs, sit erect and inflate the lungs fully. Then, retaining the breath, bend forward slowly until the chest meets the knees. After slowly rising again to the erect position, slowly exhale the breath. Repeat this process a second time, and the nerves will be found to have received an excess of energy that will enable them to perform their natural functions.

Ten drops of chloroform upon a lump of sugar is also considered an excellent remedy for hiccough and ordinary nausea.

There is just something I don’t even want to think about with the inhalation of chloroform or doing the last one—not sure if the sugar was to sniffed, allowed to melt in the mouth, or chewed and swallowed.

I think I will stick to the ten sips of water without taking a breath.

What is your best cure for hiccups? What is the weirdest one you’ve ever tried? Did it work?

Memory Monday: Libraries

My great-grandfather's school picture

One of my best memories of grade school in Texas was the small libraries we had in each room. These mini-libraries consisted of only one or two shelves, but what fun I had reading the books. Each year during the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grades, I’d check out The Boxcar Children, along with a whole bunch of biographies (I still remember the one about Dolly Madison).

My great-grandfather was born in 1852. I’m not sure where he went to school, but I’m pretty sure it was a one-room school. Also, I don’t know if they had any library books the children could check out and read. But I found an interesting tidbit about libraries in public schools shortly before he was born.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES.-The number of public libraries in the United States, in 1849, as reported to the regents of the Smithsonian Institute, was 182; of which 43 contained over 10,000 volumes each, nine over 20,000, and only two over 50,000. The number of volumes in all these libraries is 1,294,000. Only France has a larger number of public libraries, 241; but in the number of volumes, we are sur­passed by Germany, which has 5,500,000; France, 5,000,000; Great Britain, 2,500,000; and even Russia, 1,500,000. The library of Congress is rated at 45,000 volumes, and is one of the most select and THE -----FAMILY CHRISTIAN ALMANAC, 1850

I hope my great-grandfather had the opportunity to read books that took him away to far and adventuresome places.

Memory Monday: Mothers, Daughters, and Sex Education

My grandmother and one of her daughters

Mothers, Daughters, and Sex Education

            One of the things all mothers should deal with is in the area of sex education with their daughters.  I remember well the day that my mother and I had “the talk.” One morning when I was about eleven years old, Mother told me to come out to the barn while she milked the cows.  Sitting on her milking stool, with a bucket on the ground between her knees, my mother slowing milked the cow as she told me the “facts of life.”

Wearing my red carcoat and sitting on an upturned old bucket, I listened to her, understanding about half of what she was telling me because I was so afraid my older brother was going to come into the barn any minute and hear what she was saying (I wasn’t sure he knew about all that stuff).  Finally, she told me if I had any questions, to come and ask her.  That evening, I asked her a couple of things. She looked at me and told me not to ask any more questions.  I never did.  Looking back after many years, I understand she was probably embarrassed about the whole thing or else just didn’t know the answers to my questions.  But whatever the reason, I know she tried her best to teach me what I needed to know.

            I was fortunate when it came to teaching my daughter about the “birds and the bees”.  My daughter was four years old when my son was born, so by then we had already covered the question of where babies come from (she was always asking questions about my big tummy and she loved putting her little hands on me and feeling the baby move).  After he was born, we allowed her to be totally involved in just about everything with her little brother.  She asked questions about the differences in his body and hers when I gave him a bath, and I would answer her simply and truthfully.  I don’t ever remember having “the talk” with her, just a continual time of teaching that went on for several years without any embarrassment.

Often I think back about how my aunt said on one of our taped family interviews that her mother would never mention anything about sex to her daughters, and that she would probably roll over in her grave at the way we do things today.  Well, all I have to say is “Roll, Grandma, roll!”

Memory Mondays: Thoughts on the ABCs

My grandmother's parents and some of their children

My grandmother and the next three generations

            Five generations, and how have things changed through the years.

Years ago when my first child was small, I saw a children’s book at the store on ABCs and bought it. The name of the book was “I Live in the City ABC.” It was a fun book filled with rhymes. And as any parent is apt to do when a child likes a certain book, I read it to my child over and over (and over and over and over).  In fact we both heard it so many times, that we didn’t even need to look at the book to be able to recite it. I remember traveling from our house to my husband’s workplace to pick him up on several occasions. And on those times as we traveled from our home in the suburbs into the middle of the city via the interstate, my child—strapped into her car seat in the back— and I would repeat the whole book by memory. And my daughter could read simple stories before she entered kindergarten.

Five or six years ago, I came across a small book written in 1855—just ten years or so before my great-grandmother was born. It was written for a child and included poems and prayers. But the most interesting thing to me was the first few pages. On those pages was the alphabet and beside each letter was a Bible verse.  While in the book I taught my child the ABC's, “A is an Avenue with cars whizzing by” and” B is the bus with the driver up high.” In the old book, next to A was “A lying tongue doth the Lord hate. Prov. 6:16.17” and next to B was “Be ye kind one to another. Eph. 4:32.”

Now I understand two things: 1—just a list of Bible verses in a black and white book might not hold a child’s interest in today’s world of colorful picture books and animated character on the TV or computer, and 2—children won’t understand Bible verses like these when they are still pre-schoolers. The solution to the first is easy if you want to make an ABC book with Bible verses. There are all sorts of ways to make your own book using pictures from the internet or old books that can be cut up. The answer to the second thing is just as easy if you think about it. When I first started reading the City ABC book, my child didn’t know what an avenue, a bus, an elevator, or a jaybird were. I had to explain those as we went along (and explain again and again, although the pictures helped). But that is the same thing with a Bible verse ABC book. We need to teach our children the things of the Bible and talk about them over and over again. One time is never enough. How many times do we still need to hear lessons on forgiveness, kindness, understanding, and the gifts of God’s love, grace, and mercy?