Centennial history of Norway, Oxford County, Maine, 1786-1886, including an account of the early grants and purchases, sketches of the grantees, early settlers, and prominent residents, etc., with genealogical registers, and an appendix, Part 29

Author: Lapham, William Berry, 1828-1894. dn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Portland, Me. : B. Thurston & co.
Number of Pages: 780


USA > Maine > Oxford County > Norway > Centennial history of Norway, Oxford County, Maine, 1786-1886, including an account of the early grants and purchases, sketches of the grantees, early settlers, and prominent residents, etc., with genealogical registers, and an appendix > Part 29


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It was a long stride between the weekly post-rider of 1801, and the tri-weekly mail from Portland as established by Waterhouse, and it seemed as though the highest facilities in mail arrangements had been reached. But at this day we look back upon those lumbering coaches as a rude method of conveyance, and a journey to Portland by such means would now be considered a great hardship. It was in the year 1844, that the subject of a railway to connect the St. Lawrence at Montreal with the ocean at Portland, begun to be agitated in both places. It was a subject of vital importance to the people of central Oxford County, as the line of the road must be made through this region, and the line of the Little Androscoggin was known to be the most feasible and probable route. Meetings were held in Norway and Paris to consider the subject, and the matter was thoroughly discussed in the two local papers. The history of the enterprise and its ultimate success need not be repeated here. Ground was broken in Portland, July 4th, 1845, the road was opened to North Yarmouth in 1848, to Mechanic Falls in 1849, to South Paris in 1850, and three years later the cars were running between Portland and Montreal. The mail- carrying business was at once transferred to the cars, and the stages between Norway and Portland became a thing of the past. Three of the old drivers, Waterhouse, Latham and Hobbs, became conductors on the road, but all are deceased.


It required men of integrity and business capacity to drive the coaches in the old times, and perform the duties required of them.


302


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


All the express business between the city and the country was done by them, country merchants made their remittances through them and they were often the custodians of large sums of money. They did errands for people all along the line, in the way of making purchases in Portland, and bringing and delivering the goods. I have been amazed as I have sat upon the box with the driver between Portland and Oxford County, at the amount of business he was called upon to perform and the alacrity and correctness with which he would perform it. They were a jolly set of men, and it was a rich treat to sit in the


bar-room of the country tavern where they put up, and hear them rehearse their adventures upon the road. The nearest station to Norway, on the Atlantic and St. Lawrence, now the Grand Trunk Railway, was a little over a mile, and for many years, the familiar face of William Millett was always seen at the station in waiting to take passengers and the mail to Norway, on the arrival of every train. A more faithful driver never sat upon the box ; he never was known to miss a train, and yet he run so close upon the time of the cars that persons not acquainted with him were often afraid of being left. When the Nor- way branch railroad was completed, an account of which is given in another place, William's occupation was gone and he died a year or two after. About the beginning of the year 1820, a company was organized in Norway, its object being to run a line of stages between Norway Village and Bethel and ultimately to Lancaster, N. H. Anthony Bennett was one of the company and was also a driver on the route for a number of years. Like all new enterprises, it had some difficulty in getting started, especially with regard to getting mail con- tracts, but opposition ceased after a while and this became a popular and profitable line. It was on this line that Orren Hobbs had his first experience as a driver. The company finally sold out the line to good advantage and it became a part of the consolidated line between Port- land and the Connecticut river.


There have been but few postmasters in Norway Village, considering the long time since the first office was established. William Reed was the first postmaster, and was in commission forty consecutive years. He was a trader, and kept the office in his store, and for many years after he retired, it was given to traders, the principal store in the village


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303


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


being a convenient place for the people to mail their letters, and receive their mails, and the compensation being too small to admit of its being cared for except in connection with other business. Mr. George J. Ordway, who had commenced trade in the village, was Mr. Reed's suc- cessor in the post-office. The office had always been satisfactorily managed, but it had now become a distributing office, and great dispatch was required in sorting the mails. Under Mr. Ordway's administration, the Norway office, among stage men, had the reputation of being the best managed in this respect, of any office on the line from Portland to Lancaster. The office has for some years been a Presidential one,- that is, it is one that pays a compensation to the postmaster of one thousand dollars and upward, and when the limit of one thousand dol- lars' salary is reached, the postmaster is nominated by the President, and confirmed by the Senate. The following table, compiled from the archives of the Post-Office Department, shows the changes that have taken place in the offices in Norway, the first date in each case showing when the office was established, and the date following the name in each case, showing the time of appointment.


NORWAY.


William Reed, April Ist, 1801 ; George J. Ordway, July 13th, 1841; Asa Thayer Jr., May 24th, 1845; Elliot Smith, April 3d, 1849; Charles P. Kimball, March 20th, 1853; Robert Noyes, December 14th, 1853; David F. Noyes, March 25th, 1857; Henry W. Millett, June 26th, 1861; Jesse Howe, February 9th, 1869; Henry M. Bearce, March 15th, 1869; Alonzo J. Nevers, December 20th, 1881; Ai J. Rowe, March 2d, 1886.


The office became Presidential, May 2d, 1877, and is the only one in the county.


FULLER'S CORNER.


Jonathan Swift, March Ist, 1823. Changed to North Norway, May 22d, 1824.


NORTH NORWAY.


Jonathan Swift, March 22d, 1824; Daniel Noble, October 21st, 1842; George Frost, April 11th, 1853; William P. Buck, November 12th, 1853; Jeremiah McAllister, November 23d, 1855; Jonathan Swift, July 10th, 1857; David B. Crockett, January 12th, IS53; Nathan Noble, February 19th, 1862; Ira Moulton, July 27th, 1866; Samuel J. Frost, March 16th, IS68; discontinued November 10th, 1868; re-established February 10th, 1869; William Needham, February 10th, 1869; James A. French, January 23d, 1871.


304


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


NORWAY CENTER.


William S. Benson, October 5th, 1866; discontinued February 11th, 1868.


NORWAY LAKE.


James L. Partridge, March 10th, 1881.


POSTAL RECEIPTS, 1826.


The following table, taken from Greenleaf's Survey of Maine, shows the net amount of postage received at the several offices named, during the year 1826, and is, in a certain degree, indicative of the size and importance of the town at the time.


Andover, not reported.


East Livermore, $10.04.


Albany, $5.79.


North Livermore, $11.73.


Bethel, $37.74.


Mexico, $5.67.


East Bethel, $5.37.


Norway, $45.89.


Brownfield, $15.40.


North Norway, $14.14.


Buckfield, $40.58.


Newry, not reported.


Canton, $14.83.


Paris, $74.28.


Denmark, $9. II.


North Paris, $11.96.


Dixfield, $26.21.


Porter, $9.43.


Fryeburg, $105.72.


Peru, not reported.


Gilead, $3.71.


Rumford, $39.27.


Greenwood, not reported.


East Rumford, $5.37.


Hartford, $17.01.


Sumner, $12.81.


North Hartford, $3.44.


Sweden, $4.86.


South Hartford, $0.43.


Turner, $33.26.


Hebron, $15.52.


North Turner, $2.08.


Craig's Mills, $27.92.


Turner Village, $1.83.


Hiram, $14.93.


Waterford, $52.34.


Jay, $38.38.


Woodstock, $0.60.


Lovell, $11.95.


Weld, not reported.


Livermore, $39.13.


CHAPTER XXIII.


OXFORD COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.


THE Oxford County Agricultural Society is an association of farmers and mechanics from a large number of Oxford County towns, and formerly comprised the entire county, including the towns of Turner and Livermore, but the fact that its grounds are situated partly in Norway and quite near the village, and that Norway farmers have had much to do with its management and contributed largely to its success, renders it proper that a brief sketch of its early proceedings should be given in this history. A charter for an Agricultural Society in Oxford County was granted by the Legislature in 1837, but no organization was effected under it. In November, 1841, a meeting was held at the Court House in Paris which was organized by the choice of Job Prince of Turner as Chairman, and Isaac Harlow of Paris as Secretary. At this meeting a resolution was passed that it was expedient to establish an Agricultural Society for the County of Oxford. On the 22d day of December following, an adjourned meeting was held at the Court House, and an address was delivered by Ezekiel Holmes of Winthrop. A committee of which Samuel F. Brown, Esq., was Chairman, was chosen to present a constitution and by-laws, and the report consisting of twenty-two articles was adopted. The next meeting was held in Lincoln Hall, Paris, in May, 1842, and at this meeting the following officers were elected : President, Rufus K. Goodenow, Paris; Vice-pres- ident, Job Prince, Turner ; Corresponding Secretary, Jairus S. Keith, Oxford ; Recording Secretary and Librarian, Isaac Harlow, Paris ; Treasurer and Collector, Henry Rust, Norway ; Agent, James Hersey Jr., Sumner ; Trustees, Samuel F. Brown, Buckfield, Ezra F. Beal, Norway, and Jedediah Burbank, Bethel. The society was called the Oxford Agricultural Society, but at a meeting holden August 24th, 1842, the former society was merged into the Oxford County Agricul- tural Society, its doings accepted, and the act of incorporation adopted


20


306


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


and subscribed to. An adjourned meeting was held in Norway Village, October 19th, at which time and place an address was delivered by Francis O. J. Smith of Portland, and at the same time was held the first Agricultural Fair and Cattle Show ever held in Oxford County. The act to incorporate the Oxford County Agricultural Society, was approved April 13th, 1841, and the corporators named in the act were : John Kimball, Levi Brown, Franklin Hosmer, John Warren, Esrom Kimball, Noah Prince, Job Prince, Charles Andrews, and George W. Cushman. The following from the early premium lists will show that Norway was not behind other towns in the county in butter and cheese production.


In 1844, The Committee on Dairy Butter and Cheese, awarded-


To John Porter, Paris, on 30 lbs. Butter,


$3.00


Nathaniel Pike, Norway, on more than 30 1bs. Butter, 3.00


A. W. Haskell, Buckfield, on more than 30 lbs. Cheese, 2.00


Jonas Spaulding, Buckfield, on 30 lbs. Cheese, 1.00


In 1845, The Committee awarded as follows-


To Luther F. Pike, for best Butter,


$3.00


Aaron Abbott, for second best Butter, 2.00


Ayers Mason, for third best Butter, 1.00


Benj. Tucker Jr., for best Cheese,


3.00


Nathaniel O. Hicks, for second best Cheese,


2.00


Ezra Smith, for third best Cheese,


1.00


In 1846, The Committee on Dairy awarded-


To Mrs. Nathaniel Pike, Norway, for best Butter,


$3.00


Mrs. Alanson M. Dunham, Norway, second best Butter, 2.00


Mrs. Luther F. Pike, Norway, third best Butter, 1.00


Mrs. Nathaniel Pike, Norway, for best Cheese,


3.00


Mrs. Noah Prince, Buckfield, second best Cheese,


2.00


Mrs. Joel Millett, Norway, third best Cheese,


1.00


In 1847, The Committee on Dairy awarded-


To Mrs. Benj. Richards, Oxford, for best June made Butter, Mrs. H. C. Reed, Norway, for second best June made Butter, 2.00


$3.00


Mrs. Robert Gray, Paris, for third best June made Butter,


1.00


Mrs. Luther F. Pike, Norway, for best Fall Butter, Mrs. P. N. Hicks, Norway, second best Fall Butter,


1.00


Mrs. Alanson M. Dunham, Norway, third best Fall Butter,


.50


Mrs. Benj. Tucker Jr., Norway, for best Cheese, 3.00


Mrs. Geo. W. Parsons, Norway, second best Cheese, 2.00


Mrs. Noah Prince, Buckfield, third best Cheese,


1,00


----


2.00


307


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


In 1848, The Committee on Dairy awarded-


To Benj. Tucker Jr., for best June Butter,


$3.00


Amos Dwinal, for second best June Butter,


2.00


Benj. Richards, for third best June Butter,


2.00


Louisa Prince, for best Fall made Butter,


2.00


Nathaniel Pike, for second best Fall made Butter,


1.00


Robert Gray, for third best Fall made Butter,


.50


Noah Prince, for best Cheese,


3.00


Nathaniel Pike, for second best Cheese,


2.00


Benj. Tucker Jr., third best Cheese,


1.00


In 1849, The Committee on Dairy awarded-


To Mrs. Joel Millett, Norway, for best June Butter,


$3.00


Mrs. Noah Prince, Buckfield, second best June Butter, 2.00


Mrs. Benj. Tucker Jr., Norway, third best June Butter,


1.00


Mrs. Nathaniel Pike, Norway, for best Fall Butter,


2.00


Mrs. Aaron Parsons, Buckfield, for second best Fall Butter,


1.00


Mrs. Noah Prince, Buckfield, for third best Fall Butter,


.50


Mrs. Nathaniel Pike, Norway, for best Cheese,


3.00


Mrs. C. C. Williams, Paris, for second best Cheese,


2.00


Mrs. Samuel Holmes, Peru, for third best Cheese,


1.00


In 1847, The Committee on Agricultural Implements awarded as follows-


To Warren Hersey, of Paris, for large Side-hill Plough,


$4.00


Hobbs & Evans, of Norway, for best Seed Plough,


2.00


H. R. Cushman, Norway, best Broad Ax,


1.00


Same for best Narrow Ax,


.50


Amos F. Noyes, Norway, for best Horse Cart and Harness,


2.00


In 1846, The Committee on Horticulture awarded-


To Luther F. Pike, of Norway, for one bushel Baldwins, best specimen,


$ .50


Nathaniel O. Hicks, of Norway, for one bushel Golden Ball Apples, gratuity, .50


John C. C. Warren, of Waterford, for one bushel of Native Fruit, large and fine quality, .25


Daniel Chaplin, for 7 1-2 Cart loads Pumpkins,


.50


Malbory Brown, for Crook-neck Squashes,


.25


In 1847, the Committee awarded-


To David Noyes, Norway, for best Winter Apples,


$2.00


H. C. Reed, Norway, for second best Winter Apples,


1.00


Same for best Fall Apples,


2.00


David Noyes, for second best Fall Apples,


1.00


In other departments of husbandry, the farmers of Norway have shown equal proficiency at the county fairs, and have never failed to carry away their share of the premiums. The following Norway citizens became members of the society in 1842: Amos T. Holt, Luther


308


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


F. Pike, James Bennett, Alanson M. Dunham, John Parsons Jr., Benja- min Tucker Jr., Isaac Bennett, David Noyes, Cephas Sampson, Simon Stevens, Nathaniel Bennett, Cyrus Cobb, William Parsons Jr., Ichabod Bartlett, Solomon Noble, George J. Ordway, Jonathan B. Smith, Henry Rust, Hiram Millett, Ezra F. Beal, Charles Soule, Henry C. Reed, Levi Whitman, William C. Whitney, Asa Thayer Jr., William E. Goodenow, Mark P. Smith, John Millett Jr., William Frost, Joel Millett, Jonathan Whitehouse, William Young, Asa Danforth, Henry W. Millett, Horatio G. Cole, Nathaniel Pike, Silas Merriam, John Tucker, Joshua Crockett, and Peter Lenfesty. In 1843, Israel Pike joined; in 1844, Adna C. Denison and Ira Berry; in 1846, Peter B. Frost, Samuel L. Preble, and Jeremiah Howe; in 1847, Joseph G. Penley, Isaac Farrington, Francis H. Whitman, William Hall Jr., Franklin Manning, George W. Parsons, Thomas H. Kelley, and Thomas Higgins ; in 1848, Charles P. Kimball; and in 1849, Moses Parsons. The officers of the society for the first eight years were as follows: -


1843 Rufus K. Goodenow, Paris, President; Job Prince, Turner, Vice-president; J. S. Keith, Oxford, Corresponding Secretary; Isaac Harlow, Paris, Recording Secretary; Moses Hammond, Paris, Treas- urer and Collector; James Hersey Jr., Sumner, Agent and Librarian; Samuel F. Brown, Buckfield, Jedediah Burbank, Bethel, E. F. Beal, Norway, Job Prince, Turner, Stephen Emery, Paris, Peter C. Virgin, Rumford, Simeon Barrett, Sumner, Trustees.


1844 Rufus K. Goodenow, Paris, President; Job Prince, Turner, Vice-president; J. S. Keith, Oxford, Corresponding Secretary; Isaac Harlow, Paris, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Collector; E. F. Beal, Norway, J. Burbank, Bethel, Job Prince, Turner, S. Emery, Paris, Henry Hawkins, Oxford, Peter C. Virgin, Rumford, Simeon Barrett, Sumner, Trustees.


1845 Job Prince, Turner, President; James Burbank, Bethel, Vice- president ; J. S. Keith, Oxford, Corresponding Secretary; Isaac Harlow, Paris, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Collector; Jedediah Bur- bank, Bethel, Henry Hawkins, Oxford, S. Emery, Paris, Benjamin Tucker Jr., Norway, Levi Brown, Waterford, Charles L. Eustis, Dix- field, Philo Clark, Turner, Trustees.


.


309


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


1846 Job Prince, Turner, President; James Burbank, Bethel, Vice- president ; J. S. Keith, Oxford, Corresponding Secretary; Elliot Smith, Norway, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Collector; Jedediah Bur- bank, Bethel, Thomas Crocker, Paris, Benjamin Tucker Jr., Norway, Levi Brown, Waterford, Charles L. Eustis, Dixfield, Philo Clark, Turner, Thomas Souther, Fryeburg, Trustees.


1847 Job Prince, Turner, President; Amos Gage, Waterford, Vice- president; J. S. Keith, Oxford, Corresponding Secretary ; Elliot Smith, Norway, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Collector; Benjamin Tucker Jr., Norway, Thomas Crocker, Paris, Daniel Chaplin, Waterford, Philo Clark, Turner, Ebenezer Eames, Bethel, Samuel Hersey, Sumner, Noah Prince, Buckfield, Trustees.


1848 Samuel F. Brown, Buckfield, President; Philo Clark, Turner, Vice-president; J. S. Keith, Oxford, Corresponding Secretary ; Elliot Smith, Norway, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Collector; Thomas Crocker, Paris, Luther F. Pike, Norway, Daniel Chaplin, Waterford, Noah Prince, Buckfield, Samuel Hersey, Sumner, Ebenezer Eames, Bethel, Arch Leavitt, Turner, Trustees.


1849 Samuel F. Brown, Buckfield, President; Philo Clark, Turner, Vice-president; Thomas H. Brown, Paris, Corresponding Secretary ; Elliot Smith, Norway, Recording Secretary, Treasurer and Collector ; Noah Prince, Buckfield, Luther F. Pike, Norway, Samuel Hersey, Sum- ner, Ebenezer Eames, Bethel, Arch Leavitt, Turner, John Porter, Paris, George W. Cushman, Woodstock, Trustees.


1850 Philo Clark, Turner, President; Thomas H. Brown, Paris, Vice-president and Corresponding Secretary; Benjamin Tucker Jr., Norway, Recording Secretary pro tem .; Elliot Smith, Norway, Record- ing Secretary, Treasurer and Collector; Luther F. Pike, Norway, Arch Leavitt, Turner, John Porter, Paris, George W. Cushman, Woodstock, John M. Eustis, Mexico, Gilman Chapman, Bethel, Lyman Rawson, Rumford, Trustees.


Elliot Smith, of Norway, continued to hold the office of Secretary and Treasurer up to the time of his death in 1873, and was a most efficient and faithful officer. Herman L. Horne, of Norway, is President for 1886, and Abel C. T. King, of Paris, Secretary.


CHAPTER XXIV.


SURNAMES AND THEIR ORIGIN.


NORWAY has a greater variety of surnames than any other town in Oxford County, due mostly to its manufacturing interests which have brought into town a large number of skilled workmen, many of them bearing foreign names. There was the usual variety of surnames among the early settlers, as Norway was settled mostly by persons from Massachusetts, and in many cases from towns which had fur- nished settlers to other towns in this vicinity. Some few of the early settlers of this town bore names that were and still are quite rare in Maine, among which we mention the names of Witt, Chubb, Shed, and Furlong. Surnames are of recent origin, comparatively, and were first used to prevent confusion where several persons bore the same Chris- tian name. When Christianity was introduced into Europe, Pagan names were laid aside, and the adoption of Hebrew names became quite general ; and as families increased, there would be many persons bear- ing the same names, and such names as Moses, David, Solomon, John, James, and Peter, etc., soon became numerous. Then it became neces- sary to have some distinguishing name, and for some time, soubriquets and nicknames were appended to distinguish those bearing the same Christian names. Precisely when surnames or additional names became hereditary in England, it is impossible to state. They began to be so used in France about the year A.D., 1000, and in England probably at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, or perhaps a little before, under Edward the Confessor. The origin of surnames is a very inter- esting study, but it cannot be entered upon to any great extent here. They are derived from animals, birds, fishes, minerals, plants, shrubs, flowers, and trees ; from armor, costume, from the seasons, and the other sub-divisions of time; from trades, professions, colors, and from names of places; many have originated from epithets of contempt, ridicule and from nicknames imposed for personal peculiarities, habits, and qualities


31I


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


or from accidents or incidents connected with or which happened to the bearers. Among those of this latter class may be mentioned Doolittle, Hearsay, Timeslow, Houseless, Steptoe, Bragg, Trollope, Lawless, Silliman, Crookshanks, Longshanks, etc. There are many surnames whose origin is very obscure, because the circumstances under which they were first applied are unknown to us. There are others whose origin is doubtful, because they may have originated from one of several names of places, or circumstances, and we cannot tell what one. The origin of surnames we have said, is a curious and interesting study, but as it involves a knowledge of the different dialects and languages used in various countries, there are few who can indulge in it. Before giving a list of some of the surnames of Norway, and their origin so far as we can, a few words with regard to the terminations of English surnames, may not be devoid of interest. It will be noticed by one who examines the subject, that the greater part of our English sur- names are made up in part of the following words which are generally used as termination ; ford, ham, ley, ey, ney, ton, tun, ing, hurst, wick, stow, sted, cote, worth, and burg.


FORD is a Welsh word and signifies a road or way ; in Saxon it sig- nifies a shallow place in a river. It is used in the names of Bradford, Crawford, and many others.


HAM is the Saxon word for home, a house, a dwelling-place and sometimes, for village. It it is used in the well-known names of Need- ham, Dunham, Farnham, Latham, and Gorham.


LEY and LEIGH is a field or pasture, and from it we have Stanley, Burleigh, etc.


TON, in Saxon, means an inclosure, and in Welsh, a hill, or a fortified place, hence we have Huntington, Houghton, Upton, etc.


ING is a meadow, and from it we have Lansing, Washington, etc.


HURST signifies a wood or grove, a word found in both names and places, as Hazelhurst, Hayhurst, Crowhurst, etc.


WICK, in old Saxon, is a village, castle, or fort, and we have Warwick, Chadwick, and Sedgewick.


Stow means a fixed place or mansion, and hence Barstow, Plaistow, etc.


STED, in Danish, is an inclosure, whence Halsted, Stedman, etc.


1


312


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


Cor or COTE is a cottage, and from it we have Lippincot, Westcot, etc. WORTH is a possession, farm, or place, and hence Farnsworth, Wood- worth, etc.


BURG or BURY, in Dutch, Berg, is a mountain or hill, and from it we have Rosenburg, Waterbury, Salisbury, etc.


These few illustrations will show how many of our English surnames are made up, but there are many others that have a different origin. Some names are made up from the locality where the person lived, as for instance, Atwood, at the wood, Atwell, at the well, Atwater, at the water, etc. Let at the end of a name, is often used for little, as Hamlet, the son of Ham, or Bartlett, the son of Bart or Bartholomew; the termi- nations et and at are used in the same sense, as Willett, the son of Will, or little William. The termination cic or cock is also diminutive, and signifies little or son, as Wilcock (changed to Wilcox), the son of Will or William; Babcock, the son of Bab or Robert; and Hiccock, the son of Hig or Hugh.


ABBOTT, the head or chief of an Abbey.


ANDREWS or Andrew, from a Greek word, which signifies manly or courageous.


AYER, Scotch, and local.


ARNOLD, German, "faithful to his honor."


ALLAN or Allen, from the sclavonic Aland, a wolf-dog or hound.


ATHERTON, local; from Atherstone, a town in England.


AKERS, the place of oaks or oak-man.


ADAMS, same as Adamson, son of Adam.


AMES, French, amie, a friend ; or it may be a contraction of Ambrose, which signifies immortal.


BLACK, with reference to color.


BOLSTER, local; a place in St. Agnes, Wales, and signifies an entrench- ment; from bolla, a casting or throwing up, and ter, the earth.


BILLINGS, from the town of Billing in England; prattling, loquacious. BROWN, a color.


BERRY, local; from the Province of Berri in France.


BLAKE, a corruption of the British Ap Lake, from Ap, son, and Lake, the son of the Lake.


BARTON, local; a town in England, literally a " corn-town."


313


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


BRYANT, dignity, honor; from Bri, exalted, and ant, a termination signifying the state of that which is annexed to it.


BACON, Anglo-Saxon, bacon, to bake or beat.


BRIGGS, from the Anglo-Saxon brigg, a bridge.


BEAL, local; a town in Scotland; eloquent, musical.


BARTLETT, a diminutive of Bartholomew, little Bart.


BARROW or Barrows, a circular mound; the name of a river in Ireland. BARBER, name of a trade.




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