Little Egypt Heritage Articles Stories of Southern Illinois © Bill Oliver 7 May 2006 Vol 5 Issue: #17 ISBN: pending Osiyo, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt Things I learn and question because I open books. Some famous people have confusing relationships. For example, “Tom Hanks is a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln.” Lincoln’s mother’s genealogy has been questioned [so I’m not so sure about this]. So, is Elvis Presley a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd greatgrandfather, Isaiah Harrison? Being read to is as good as one reading for him/herself. When someone reads to me that Otis invented the elevator; we both knew that -- no, Elisha Graves Otis invented the "safety elevator" in 1853; elevators have been in existence since man first raised another upwards by pulling on a rope. Ever since then, the Otis elevator company has been a world leader in “vertical transportation systems”. The Gen 2™ elevator system, which dispenses with heavy steel cables and space-eating winding rooms, has revolutionized the industry. An honorable Lady and fellow genealogist in my “home” Genealogy Society departed this stage of being Wednesday last. The Great Spirit has accepted Helen Schumacker into the “Beyond”. Her dedication is sorely missed. Life is one continuous learning experience! And, it is not the abstinence of alcohol or smoking that stalls old age, but the enthusiastic quest to fulfill our curiosities. Into this past week was such an opportunity, as the Ohio Genealogical Society held its annual conference in Toledo. Attending the conference one added new skills and knowledge to his/her repertoires. As I sat listening to two particular speakers and the “markers” that they used, it reminded me that I had recently read an article about colloquial sayings used in various sections of our country, which in turn reminded me of some of the expressions that have been used around my family. Quick examples being the use of the “t” in place of the past tense, “ed” or slurring sounds – pairful for powerful, as in “aa got me a pairful hankerin fer some o them.” The first years of my life I was living in northwest Ohio. Then due to Dad’s job as a professional Marine Corps “Drill Sergeant”, I picked up accents such as English, New York, Virginian, North Carolinian, etc. For well into adulthood, I believed I heard Grandma Oliver say that she was born near “Bye-enny”, Illinois. I looked and looked for a city or town named such. Finally one day I realized while looking at the map of southern Illinois that she was saying “Vi-ennie”, and that the county seat of Johnson county was Vienna. Similarly I thought Karo syrup was made in Karo, Illinois, until I found Cairo on the very southern tip of Illimois. Grandma and Dad had other words which I never heard outside the family. Hallo, and neebr, as in “hallo thar neebr.” Grams would sometimes say, “don’t skunner your cousins”, which meant not to “annoy” your cousins. “Hoke fer ma knittin”, which meant “look for” or “poke around for”. Another pronunciation from Grandma Oliver was “thonner”, which I thought was a variation of “yonder”, which really was the meaning not the pronunciation. “Me Da cou get a face that would box a goat” Grandma Lester would say “s/he’s a bit dotty”, while Gradma Oliver would say, “S/he’s a bit dotin” meaning senility. “Ay [aye], an’ neither would “blether” or talk nonsense. When our oldest son was learning to speak, he would ask for a story to be read and say to us, “han’ ahine”. He wanted us to put our arm around him as we read to him. “Ahine” comes close – maybe. This could be “akin” to “aneath” meaning underneath. “Who air ye/ya atter?” – Who are you after? “Aside” – beside. “About” – as in about face, meaing on backwards. When Grandma was instructing me, she’d say something like – “hyer’s ow aa wint hit”. One sound which seemed to have a least three meanings never seemed strange to me at all – “a”, “a”, and “a-“ ”a” could mean “I” or “of”; or if run together with another word, it would mean “on”. An example could be; “a hadda glass a milk a-Sunday.” “Clock” is another word which can have many meanings; such as, “spot” [as in recognize], “sit” [as a hen does on a nest[, “sit” [as in overstaying one’s welcome], and “large cockroach” [so if you see one walking up your wall, you know what it is]. “Scallions”, or young onions. “Scullery”, as in kitchen maid. When Grandma wanted to express “like two peas in a pod” she might say “tarred with the same brush”. When I was to behave in public, I was told to “pass yerself”. Now “pass” also meant “past”, as “you passed the corner”. I’ll leave you to interpret “thon boy hasn't much wit about im”. We are all aware that “lass” refers to young ladies; so “there's bin a lotta bad weather this lass while”. Oops! Here it takes on the meaning recent – “lass while” = recent time(s). Grandma Oliver “wuddna have a drop a sweet milk in ‘er tay.” “An aam right tickled” to write this article. And, finally, I sure wish I had as quick and keen humor – Frederick, the second, 18th century monarch of Prussia, once inspected the Berlin prison. All the prisoners save one grabbed the opportunity to profess their innocence. That one readily admitted his guilt of robbery and that he deserved his punishment. The king ordered the man’s release, saying, “I will not have this man kept in prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it!” e-la-Di-e-das-Di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. (May you walk in peace and harmony) and Wado, Bill -=- PostScript: Other sites worth visiting: http://www.deannedurrett.com/codetalkers.html PostScript: = = = = http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html