John Dutton (1792-1863) came from Oswego County, New York to Will County, Illinois about 1834. He married Sarah Abbott (1798-1861), daughter of Joseph and Chloe Jane (Blackman) Abbott. John’s ancestry in unknown, but he appears to have been a descendant of the John Dutton who settled at Boston in 1630. He might have been a…
Author: Justin Durand
Swan Etymology
The word swan has descended unchanged from the Old Saxon word swan or suan. The Old English and Middle English forms were also swan. The Old Saxon form derived from the proto-Germanic *swanaz. The Old High German forms were swan, swan(a) and swon, the Old Norse form was svanr, and the Middle Dutch form was…
Swanimotes
One of the medieval courts in England was called a swanimote. It was held to try offenses against vert and venison, that is, against the vegetation and game of the forest. The court also heard grievances against officers of the forest. In England, a forest was an area set aside as a hunting monopoly. It…
Greco-Roman Lore
Leda and the Swan, by Kotsonis The swan was a recurring motif in Greek and Roman mythology, generally as a bird associated with the sun. Each Greek tribe had its own favorite myths, and additional stories were being constantly imported into religion from foreign sources. The swan was the bird of the Muses. It was…
Swedish Priests’ Names
Scandinavians didn’t use hereditary surnames in most cases until about 1900. Their customs would surprise many Americans. The following information was adapted from a posting to the Norrbotten mailing list by Gwen Boyer Björkman. Before the Protestant Reformation, a clergyman used only his given name preceded by Herr (Sir). Thus Herr Johannes, Herr Mikael, Herr…