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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