I really enjoy studying the etymology of Southern speech patterns.
"Albion's Seed" is an excellent source. Two other great sources are McCrum,
MacNeil & Cran's "The Story of English" and MacNeil & Cran's follow-up, "Do
You Speak American."
I grew up hearing my Alabama-raised grandmother saying that she was
"a-walkin'" somewhere, or "a-totin'" something -- straight out of
Elizabethan England! (On the other hand, my Virginia grandmother had that
distinctive "oot" and "aboot" in her speech!)
Jean
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sunshine49" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: Jordan's Journey
> There is an awful lot of the old speech and customs that have
> continued on in the south, along the coast, and in Virginia in
> particular; customs and fashions that died out and were replaced in
> England, but here, in the isolation of the colonies, they were
> maintained. Words like shuck and tote and others, for ex., which are
> straight from the 17th century. The book "Albion's Seed- four British
> folkways in America" is a fascinating exploration of this topic. When
> the Irish traditional music group The Chieftans visited Appalachia,
> they were amazed that they recognized many of the traditional
> Appalachian folk tunes as the same old songs that were still played
> in Ireland.
>
> Nancy
>
> -------
> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
>
> --Daniel Boone
>
>
>
> On Jan 6, 2007, at 11:10 PM, Mildred Fournier wrote:
>
>> I am Alabama born and bred and Jordan is JERR den there, too. I
>> didn't know
>> it was Elizabethan, though. I assumed it was just a Southern thing.
>>
>> Mildred "Mickey" Fournier
>> 1730 SE County Rd 252
>> Lake City, FL 32025-1703
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sunshine49
>> Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 11:07 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Jordan's Journey
>>
>> Some of the places along the coast, the Outer Banks of NC, etc. that
>> retain that Elizabethan speech still pronounce it "JERR den". I may
>> be mis-remembering, but President Carter had a fellow Georgian on
>> staff, Hamilton Jordan, and I think they pronounced that "JERR den",
>> too.
>>
>> Nancy
>>
>> -------
>> I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.
>>
>> --Daniel Boone
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jan 6, 2007, at 8:07 PM, Connie Lapallo wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Neil,
>>>
>>> I wrote a novel (Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky)
>>> based on
>>> Joan Peirce and her daughter Cecily Reynolds. Cecily's second
>>> husband was
>>> Samuel Jordan of Jordan's Journey. Samuel was a character in the
>>> book, but
>>> will play a more important role in the sequel. I'm writing the
>>> sequel now,
>>> which will largely focus on Cecily's life, including her marriage to
>>> Samuel and the development of Jordan's Journey. I'm a descendent of
>>> Cecily
>>> from her first marriage to a Bailey.
>>>
>>> My research for the sequel is still in progress, but I can tell you
>>> that
>>> you're correct that there's no definitive proof (that I'm aware of)
>>> that
>>> Samuel was a passenger on the Sea Venture. However, he received a
>>> land
>>> grant on 10 December 1620 which listed him as a "an ancient planter
>>> who
>>> hath abode ten yeares compleat in this Colony." From this, we know he
>>> either came on the Patience and Deliverance (with the Sea Venture
>>> survivors) or on De La Warr's ships in June 1610. He appeared to
>>> have a
>>> strong military background (suggested by how well-fortified Jordan's
>>> Journey was and the similarity of its structures to those of an Irish
>>> bawn.) I believe he was probably in the group of mercenaries left
>>> without
>>> work when a truce was called in the Lowlands in 1609. His (probable)
>>> distant cousin Silvester was definitely on the Sea Venture, and his
>>> first
>>> cousin's (Joan Peirce's) husband was also on there. I think the Sea
>>> Venture is a sound assumption, though not definite.
>>>
>>> The name "Beggar's Bush" was probably a corruption of "Biker's
>>> Bush." The
>>> neighboring land was that of William Biker, and there is a Bicker's
>>> Creek
>>> on present day maps near there as well. Please see W&M Quarterly,
>>> April
>>> 1941, p.180-181 for a more detailed explanation.
>>>
>>> Samuel would have pronounced his name "JERR-den." His ancestors
>>> probably
>>> came to England from France after the Hundred Years war. This
>>> distinct
>>> pronounciation survived in Virginia for many years, and is
>>> distinguishable
>>> from the ancient family of English Jordans who pronounce it more
>>> as we
>>> would expect: "JOR-den". Given that, "Jordan's Journey" was much
>>> more
>>> alliterative than it appears on paper!
>>>
>>> I love the charcter of Sam Jordan and am eager to do more research
>>> on him.
>>>
>>> Best of luck. I hope this helps.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Connie Lapallo
>>> author of DARK ENOUGH TO SEE THE STARS IN A JAMESTOWN SKY
>>> www.ConnieLapallo.com
>>>
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