USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > Old times in old Monmouth > Part 22
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The Welsh merely appended "s," in. stead of son, as Edwards, son of Edward ; Davis, son of David ; Jones, son of John ; Hughes, son of Hugh ; Williams, son of Wil liam, &c.
breviated names, pet names and nick- names, as Watson the son of Wat or Wal- ter; Watts, signifying the same; Dobson, son of Dob or Robert.
A great many surnames are formed of abbreviated and nurse nomes with the ad dition of the diminutive terminations ette, kin, cock or cox, all of which signify " lit- tle " or "child." From the termination ette we have such names as Willet, which means little Will, or son of Will ; Hallet. Little Hal or Henry. From kin or kin's we have Wilkins, Simpkins, Atkins, Hig- gins, Hawkins, Dobbins. From cock or cox we have Wilcox, Simcox, &c.
Some surnames have the prefix Fiz, of Norman origin, signifying son. as Fitz Clar- ence, son of Clarence, Fitzgerald, son of Ger- ald. Fitz was applied to sons both legiti- mate and illegitimate.
Hugh. These names are now abbreviated into Powell, Price, Bevan, Pugh.
The affix " Ing " is of Teutonic origin, denoting progeny ; Whiting means fair off- spring ; Browning, the dark or brown child, etc. Let of Anglo Saxon origin means lit- tle, as Bartlett, little Bart or Bartholomew ; Willett, little Will.
The prefixes " Mac" and " O" found in Irish names signify the first, son, the lat- ter grandson or descendant. Donneil's son would be called Mac Donnell; the grandson or descendant would be called O' Donnell; Mac Neall, the son of Neal ; O'Neal, the grandson of Neal.
Names of trades, occupations and pur- suits are next in number. as Smith, Car- penter, Taylor, Barker, Barber, Brewer. Sherman (a shearman, one who shears cloth), Naylor (nailmaker), Tucker (a ful. ler), etc. John the Smith was shortened to John Smith, Peter the Carpenter, to Peter Carpenter, &c.
Many surnames are derived from offi- cial names, both civil and ecclesiasti- cal. Among these may be mentioned King, Earl, Knight. Pope, Bishop, Bailey. Marshall, Chamberlain, Priest, etc.
Personal characteristics have given ori- gin to another class of surnames descrip- tive of mental or bodily peculiarities .- Among these are the names of color and complexion, as Black, Brown, White, Gray, Dunn (brown); and from the color
Then we have surnames formed from ab- of the hair, Whitehead, Fairfax (fair hair), Swartz (black), Fairchild, Black- man, etc.
Among those which indicate the men tal or moral qualities are such as Good- man. Wise, Wiley, Meek, Moody, Bliss, Gay, Sage, Joy.
Among those derived from bodily pecu- liarity and from feats of personal strength or courage are Strong, Mickle, Little, Long, Armstrong, Turnbull, etc.
A few surnames are derived from ani- mals, fishes and birds, generally for the reason given hereafter.
Of surnames derived from animals may be mentioned Wolf, Lion, Fox, Hare, Roe, &c. From Wild boar comes Wilbur : from Little Wolf or Lupellas comes Lovel : Todd means fix in Scotch ; and from Eber or Eafer, a boar, is derived Everard, Ever- itt, Everingham. Everton, &c. Oliphant is from elephant.
The Welsh in like manner prefixed Ap to denote son, as David Ap Howell, David son of Howell; Evan Ap Rhys, Evan son of Among the names of fishes and birds taken as family names may be mentioned, Rhys or Reese ; Richard Ap Evan, Richard son of Evan ; John Ap Hugh, John son of | Pike. Salmon, Burt, Bass, Fish, etc ; Dove,
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Finch, Peacock, Swan, Jay, Wildgoose (Wilgus), Heron, &c.
The mineral and vegetable kingdom have contributed their full quota, as in- stance Garnett, Jewell, Steel, Irons, Stone, Flint, Pine, Rose, Thorn, Burch, etc.
One reason why persons received as sur- names the names of animals, fishes, birds, flowers, &c, was because in ancient times in England, not only innkeepers but tradesmen and mechanics of all kinds put on the signs over their doors a representa- tion of something to attract attention and as a distinguishing mark of their place of business, as Wild boars, Elephants, Bulls, Swans, Peacocks, Dolphins, Cranes, Grif- fins, Guns, Bells, Pots, Pitchers, &c., which gave rise to the surnames of those who put them up or to some of their employes.
Camden says " that he was told by them who said they spake of knowledge, that many names that seem unfitting for men, as of brutish beasts, etc., came from the very signs of the houses where they inhab- ited. That some, in late time, dwelling at the sign of the Dolphin, Bull, White- horse, Racket, Peacocke, etc., were com- monly called Thomas at the Dolphin, Will at the Bull, George at the Whitehorse, Robin at the Racket, which names, as many others of the like sort, with omitting at. became afterward hereditary to their children."
A few surnames have criginated in nick- names, epithets of contempt and ridicule, imposed for personal peculiarities, habits, qualities, incidents or accidents which hap- pened to their original bearers, as Doolit- tle, Bragg, Trollope, Silliman, &c.
The foregoing gives the principal sour- ces from which the greater part of our surnames are derived, but many names yet remain, the origin of which are not ac- counted for, but all surnames must have been originally significant. The best authorities as to the origin and meaning of surnames are Lover, Camden and Arthur, the work of the last named being the most conven ient and accessible.
We give bel jw the meaning and origin of many familiar surnames as accepted by some authorities. In a few instances there is a difference of opinion among those who have investigated the subject. At some future time we shall endeavor to find room for a more complete list of sur- names and quote different authorities - In some cases where different opinions are given as to the origin of surnames each may be correct owing to the fact
that many names now common may have had different origins.
SURNAMES-THEIR ORIGIN AND
MEANING.
Acheson, Atcheson. (Cornish British). An inscription or memorial.
Ackerman. (Saxon). From Acker, oak- en, made of oak, and man. Signifying the brave, firm, unyielding man.
Acton. (Saxon). Oak-town or oak hill.
Agnew. (Norman French). From the town of Agneau, in Normandy, whence the family originated. Agneau, in Normandy French signifies lambs.
Ackers, Aikens, Akers, Akıns &c. (Sax- on). Signify oaken or place of oaks, or oak man, a man firm and unyielding as an oak.
Allen, Allan. This name is derived, by one authority from the Sclavonic Aland, a wolidog or hound. Camden thinks it is a corruption of Aelianus, which signifies sun- bright. In the Gaelic, Aluinn signifies ex- ceedingly fair, handsome, elegant, lovely. Irish, Alun, fair beautiful. The Gaelic and Irish derivations are probably correct.
Anderson. Son of Andrew.
Armstrong. A name given for strength in battle.
Austin. (Latin) A contraction of Augus- tine, from Augustinus, imperial, royal, great, renowned.
Bailey. A name of office.
Barculo, Barkalow. From the town Borculo or Borkulo in Holland.
Barnes. A distinguished family of Sot- terly, Suffolk county, England. Bearn, a city in France. Barnyz, (Cornish Br.) a judge.
Bartlett. A diminutive of Bartholo- mew, meaning little Bart, or son of Bar- tholomew.
Barton. (Saxon). Local. From a town in Lincolnshire, England, meaning a corn town or barley village, from bere, barley, and ton an inclosure, house or village. In Devonshire Barton is applied to any free- hold estate not possessed of manorial privileges.
Bates. (Anglo Saxon) Contention.
Bauer. (German). Farmer.
Baxter. (Anglo Saxon). Baker. Sir Walter Scott says that in Scotland it also meant a baker's lad.
Beadle. A name of office; an officer be- longing to a university or parish.
Bedell. The same as Beadle, of which it is a corruption.
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Beers. From Beer, a town in Dorsetshire, England, so called from berc, grain, bar- ley ; a fruitful place.
Bell. A name taken from the sign of an inn or shop. "John at the Bell " became "John Bell."
Bennett. A contraction or corruption of Benedict, from Benedictus, blessed.
Blair. A cleared plain or battle field.
Blake. A corruption of Ap Lake, son of Lake.
Bogart (Dutch) From boomgard, an or- chard.
Bond. The father or head of a family, whence husband, a contraction of house bond.
Bonnal. (Cornish British). The house on the cliff. (See Burnell).
Bowen. (Welsh). A corruption of Ap Owen, son of Owen.
Bowne. (Cornish Br.) Signifies ready, active, nimble.
Bowman. A military name ; one who used a bow ; an archer.
Bowers. A shady recess ; a cottage. The German Bauer is sometimes corrupted to Bower.
Bowyer. One who used or made bows.
Bradshaw. A broad wood or grove. One who lived near a wide grove.
Breese. (Welsh). A contraction of Ap Recsc, son of Reese.
Brewer, Brewster. A brewer of malt li- quor.
Briek. A corruption of Breek, signify- ing broken, a gap.
Britton, Brittain. A native of Britain.
Brower. From the Dutch Brouer, a brewer.
Bryan, Brian Brien. Nobly descended ; also one who is fair spoken, wordy, spe- cious.
Bunnell. A corruption of Bonhill, a par- ish in the county of Dumbarton, Scot- land.
Burden, Borden. Louver says the sur- name Burden is probably a corruption of bourdon, a pilgrim's staff. It may also be de- rived from two Saxon words Bour and den signifying a house in the valley.
Chadwich. Cottage by the harbor.
Clayton. The Clay hill.
Cole. An abbreviation of Nicholas, common among the Dutch.
Connell, Connelly. From Celtic and Gaelic, conal, love, friendship.
Conway. From a river of this name in Wales.
Coombs. (Cornish Br.) A place between hills, a valley ; in the Welsh Coom.
Courtney. From a town in France, Courtenay fifty-six miles south of Paris .- The name signifies " The court near the river."
Cox. From cock or cox, little, a term of endearment. The word was sometimes used to denote a leader or chief man. In West Jersey, some two centuries ago, Pe- ter, Lacey, and Laurence Cock were prom- inent settlers; their descendants general- ly now spell the name Cox.
Crawford. From Crawford in Lancashire, Scotland, which some say derived its name from cru bloody and ford, a pass-bloody ford.
Crowell. From a town in England by that name.
Curtis. An abbreviation of courteous.
Dennis. A corruption of the Greek name Dionysius, divine mind.
Dunn. Gaelic, a heap, hill, mount, fort- ress. Saxon, brown, of a dark color, swar- thy.
Dunning. Brown offspring, Child of Dunn.
Erriek, Herrick. " There is a tradition " says Dean Swift " that the ancient family of Ericks or Herricks derive their lineage from Erick the Forester, a great command- er who raised an army to oppose the inva- sion of William the Conquerer."
Errickson. Son of Eric. The old settlers of Monmouth of this name were probably of Swedish descent and first settled in West Jersey. Eric Errickson came over with the first Swedish settlers (1638 ?) A census of Swedes taken in 1693 gives the names of Joran Erieson, one child, Mats Errickson, three children, Erie Erriekson, one child. An old tradition says that the first of the family who came to New Jer- sey, descended from Eric, king of Sweden.
Erwin, Irwin. Welsh Erwyn, very fair, white beautiful.
Evans. The Welsh for John, same .as Johns, meaning son of Evan or son of John.
French. One who came from France.
Goudy, Gowdy. From Gouda, a town in Holland.
Gordon. A strong man, a hero, a giant. Harris, Harrison. Son of Henry.
Hartshorne. The horn of a hart or male deer ; an emblem or sign over a shop or inn, whence the name "Will at the Harts- horn."
Havens. From haven, a harbor. One who lived near a haven.
Henderson, Hendrickson. Son of Hen- ry or Hendrick.
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Herbert. (Saxon) From Here, a sol- dier, and beorht, bright-meaning an ex- pert soldier, famous in war.
Higgins. Little Hugh, or son of Hugh.
Hilyard. Anciently Hildheard, Hild in Saxon is a hero or heroine, and heard, a pastor or keeper.
Hodges. Hodge was a nickname of Rog- er, and Hodges mean son of Hodge.
Hoffman. (Dutch) From Hoofdam, a captain or head man, Hofman, from Hof, a court-the man of the court.
Holman. A corruption of Allemand, a German, that is a mixture of all men, Alle mann.
Holmes. From Holm, a river, island or meadow ; also cultivated rising ground.
Hume, Hulmes. Same as above.
Hood. (Saxon) From houdt, the wood.
Hooper. A cooper.
Hopkins. Little Robert or son of Rob- ert.
Hunn. A native of Hungary.
Irving, Irvine. From a river and town of same name in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Jeffrey. Corrupted from Geoffrey or Godfrey, from theGerman, signifying God's reace or joyful peace. This name was borne by the chief of the royal house of Plantag- enet.
.Jenkins. From Jenks or John ; son of John.
Jennings. Same as Jenkins.
Kemble, Kimble. A corruption of Camp bell, which family claims to be able to trace its lineage to the fifth century. Cam meant crooked, and beul, mouth-the man whose mouth inclined a little on one side.
Laird. The same as Lord.
Lane. (Gaelic) A plain ; a narrow way.
Lawrence. Flourishing, spreading, from Laurus, the laurel tree. Sir Robert Lau- rence of Ashton Hall, Lancashire, England, accompanied Richard I. to the Holy Land 1191.
Leonard. The disposition of a lion. Li- on hearted.
Lippencot. German. A town on the coast; one who lived on the coast-from leben to dwell, and cote side or coast.
Lloyd. (Welsh) Grey or brown.
Lowe. A hill.
Martin. Warlike, a chief man, a warrior.
Moore. (Gaelic) Great, chief, tall, mighty, proud.
Morgan. One born by the sea.
Morris. (Welsh) A hero, a brave man.
Norris. A North king; the third king at arms.
Osborn. From hus, a house, and bearn, a child-a family child or adopted child. Owen. The good offspring, good child.
Palmer. A pilgrim from the Holy Land ; so called because he carried a palm branch as a pledge of his having been to Palestine.
Pancoast, Pancost. A corruption of Pen- tecost, a name probably given to a child born on Pentecost day.
Pangburn, Pangbourn. A town in Berk- shire, England.
Parker. The keeper of a park.
Powell. The son of Howell, which is from Cornish British Houl, the sun.
Potter. One who makes earthen vessels. Price. The son of Rice or Reese, from Ap Rice.
Quacken boss. A thicket, a grove, moun- tain ash.
Randolph, Randall. Fair help. Good heip.
Reeves. From Recve, a bailiff, provost, or steward.
Reynolds. Sincere or pure love ; a strong, firm hold.
Rice, Reese. A brave, impetuous man.
Roger. One who keeps the peace ; strong counsel.
Rogers. Son of Roger.
Russell. Red haired, or somewhat red- dish.
Schenck. An inn or public house, from the German schenke.
Sherman. One who shears cloth.
Smith. The most common of all sur- names. The name is derived from the An- glo Saxon Smitan, to strike or sinite.
"From whence eomes Smith, all be he knight or squire,
But from the Smith that forgeth at the fire ?" Verstegan.
Among the Highland class, the smith ranked third in dignity to the chief, from his skill in fabricating military weapons and his dexterity in using them. In Wales there were three sciences which a tenant could not teach his son without consent of his lord, Scholarship, Bardism and Smithcraft. This last was considered one of the liberal sciences, and the term had a more com- prehensive sense than we now give it. The smith was required to have different branches of knowledge which are now prac- ticed separately, such as raising the ore, converting it into metal, etc. It originally applied to all mechanical workmen wheth- er in metal, wood or other materials.
The name John Smith is s > common that it almost ceases to be a distinctive name. One writer contends, in an amus-
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ing article, that the name Smith is not l only common in Great Britain and Ameri- ca, but among all the nations of the earth. voor Hess, before the town of Hess. He insists that the Hebrew name of Shem (Noah's son) was thus corrupted : Shem, Shemit, Shmit, Smith. A Philadelphia humorous writer, after asserting that Shem in Hebrew is the origin of Smith, says the name John Smith is found in other nations one and indivisible Thus, Latin, Johannes Smithius ; Italian, Giovanni Smithi ; Span- Westervelt. The west field. ish, Juan Smithas ; Dutch, Hans Schmidt ; French, Jean Smeets ; Russian, Jonloff Skmittowski ; Polish, Ivan Schmittiwciski ; Chinese, Jahon Shimmitt ; Icelandis, Jahne Smithson ; Welsh, Jihon Schmidd ; Tus- carora, Ton Qu Smittiu ; Mexican, Jontli F. Smitti.
Snyder. (German) Schneider, a tailor.
Stanton. From stan a stone and ton, a hill or town.
Stewart. Malcolm III, king of Scotland, created Walter, the son of Fleance and grandson of Bangno, Lord High Steward of Scotland, from which office his family afterwards took, and retained the name of Stewart. and from thence descended the royal family of Stuart.
Stockton. A town in Durham, England. Stokes. A parish in Buckinghamshire, England.
Stryker. (Danish.) From strige, to strike, to roam, to travel ; hence a worker at a trade, a traveller.
Sutphen. ( Dutch. ) Originally Van Zutphen, that is, from the city of Zutphen in Germany.
Taggart. (Welsh.) A meeting house.
Tunison. Probably son of Teunis or town), Burlington county, which excited
Tunis.
Throckmorton. A corruption of At Rock- moor-town, "a town on a rock in a moor," in the vale of Eversham, Warwickshire, England.
Thwaite. A piece of ground cleared of ! lected, and started in pursuit, well armed. wood.
Tice. (Dutch.) A familiar abbreviation of Matthias.
Tilton. Derived from Tilton, a village in England, probably an ancient place of tilling or tents. Tilt, Saxon, a tent.
Todd. Tod, a Scotch word for fox.
Townsend. One who lived at the end of the town.
Truax. (Cornish Br. ) The place on the iraters.
Van Cleve. From the city of Cleve or Cleves in Westphalia, Germany.
Vanderveer. From the ferry.
Voorhees. ( Dutch.) From voorhius the fore room or best room of a house, or from
Walton The name of several villages in England, from wald, a wood, and ton a town or village.
Watson and Watts. Son of Walter.
Worden, Werden. From Wehr, a forti- fication and den, a hill ; a town in Nether. lands called Woerdon. .
Woodruff. The governor or keeper of a wood, a forester.
Woodward. Wood-ward, a forest keeper or officer who had charge of a park or for- est, and took charge of all offenees com- mitted.
Woolley. From Woldley, uncultivated lands, hills without woods.
Worth. (Saxon.) A court, farm, place.
THE DEATH OF BACON.
"John Bacon was a notorious refugee who had committed many depredations along the shores of Monmouth and Bur- lington counties. After having been a ter- ror to the people of this section for some time, John Stewart, of Arneytown, (after- wards Captain Stewart), resolved if possi- ble to take him. There had been a reward of fifty pounds sterling offered by the Gov- ernor and Council for his capture, dead or alive. A short time previons, in an engage- ment at Cedar Creek Bridge, Bacon and his company had discomfited a considerable body of State troops, killing a brother of Joel Conk. of Cook's Mills, (now Cooks-
much alarm and exasperated the whole country. On the occasion of his arrest, Cap- tain Stewart took with him Joel Cook, John Brown, Thomas Smith, John Jones, and another person whose name is not recol-
They traversed the shore and found Bacon separated from his men at the public house or cabin of William Rose, between West Creek and Clamtown (now Tuckerton), in Burlington County. The night was very dark, and Smith being in advance of the party, approached the house, and discov- ered through the window a man sitting with a gun between his knees. He imme- diately informed his companions. On ar- riving at the house, Captain Stewart opened the door and presenting his mus- ket demanded a surrender. The fellow sprang to his feet, and cocking his gun was
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in the act of bringing it round to the breast of Stewart, when the latter, instead of dis- charging his piece, closed in with him and succeeded after a scuffle in bringing him to the floor. He then avowed himselfto be John Bacon, and asked for quarter, which was at once readily granted to him by Stew. art. They arose from the floor, and Stew- art (still retaining his hold on Bacon) called to Cook, who, when he discovered the supposed murderer of his brother, be- came exasperated, and stepping back gave Bacon a bayonet thrust unknown to Stew- art or his companions. Bacon appeared faint and fell. After a short time he re- covered and attempted to escape by the back door. Stewart pushed a table against it. Bacon hurled it away and struck Stew. art to the floor, opened the door, and again attempted to pass out : but was shot by Stewart (who had regained his feet ) while in the act. The ball passed through his body, through a part of the building, and struck the breast of Cook, who had taken a position at the back door to prevent egress. Cook's companions were ignorant of the fact that he had given Bacon the bayonet wound, and would scarcely credit him when he so informed them on their way home. They examined Bacon's body at Mount Misery, ani the wounds made by both bayonet and ball were obvious. They brought his dead body to Jacobstown, Burlington county, and were in the act of burying it in the public highway, near the village in the presence of many citizens who had collected on the occasion. when Bacon's brother appeared among them and after much entreaty succeeded in obtain- ing his body for private burial."
This affair took place on Thursday eve- ning, April 3rd, 1783.
ble indignity. As soon as Bacon was killed his body was thrown into a wagon with his head over the tail-board, and the party drove for home that same night. Young Cook seemed quite " carried away " to think he had avenged his brother's death, and at the inns at Mannahawkin and Mount Misery, insisted on treating Bacon with liquor, fastening open his mouth while he poured liquor into it. The de- scendants of British sympathisers have charged the party with much cruelty, but the only foundations are the indignities of- fered to his body ; and even there we can find some palliation for it, when we consid- er the excitement bordering on frenzy, of young Cook.
In addition to what has been quoted from Governor Fort regarding Bacon's buri- al, we have heard it stated that in accord . ance with an ancient custom with great criminals, the intention was to bury Bacon at the forks of some public roads, with a stake driven through the body ; but his brother's arrival changed their plan. This brother of Bacon's was generally respected where he was known.
The writer of this is under impression that before the war Bacon's home was in Burlington county, though he occasionally worked in Stafford township, in Ocean county, and he has been told that Bacon left a wife and two sons at Pemberton ; that his widow married a man named Mor- ris, and that the two sons emigrated West, and became respectable and useful citi zens.
It is but just to add that among old resi- den's, generally of the Society of Friends, who though sympathizing with the Ameri- cans. yet were non-combatants, that Bacon was held to be among the most honorable cept calling for a meal's victuals for him- self and men in passing, he never molested the persons or property of any but Ameri- cans in the militia service.
As there have been some disputes in tra- of the refugee leade.s. They say that ex- ditionary accounts as to the exact manner of Bacon's death, we have been at much trouble to get at the truth. Some old resi- dents of the vicinity where he was killed are positive that he was shot down after Before closing, we will say that, although our State Council of Safety had declared Bacon an outlaw, and offered a reward for him dead or alive, yet it is probable that if he had been taken alive and delivered to the civil authorities he would have been liberated in pursuance of the treaty with England. asking for quarter. They say that Captain Stewart's party suddenly opened the door and pointed a musket at Bacon, who in- stantly rose up and held a table before him and begged for quarter, but the musket was fired, and the ball went through the table and killed him. But after much pa- tient investigation and inquiry we believe Hetfield, a much worse man than Bacon, many years after the war, had the impu- dence to return to Essex county (to en- deavor to secure some property there), this story is untrue, and that the correct version is about as Governor Fort has giv- en it. We are sorry to add, however, that the party treated the body with unjustifia- | when he was arrested for his misdeeds dur-
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ing the Revolution ; but the judge decided he must be liberated in pursuance of the treaty with England. Most of the old resi- dents in Essex well remember the intense excitement and indignation raised by the return and liberation of this scoundrel.
The refugee leaders in our State-Het- field, Bacon, Lippincott, Davenport, Moody and others-all doubtless held commis- sions from the " Board of Associated Loy- alists," of which the President was Wil- liam Franklin, the last British Governor of New Jersey.
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