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Archiver > NJHUNTER > 2001-09 > 0999880980


From: "Alison Wallner" <>
Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] Grammarians: 17th, 18th, 19th century use of 'thee' and 'thou'
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 12:43:00 -0400
References: <003a01c137a2$e18c9140$dc5c56d1@8lv7501>


Thee and Thou are quaint forms of speech I think we all identify with the
Quakers, or some religion (like the Amish?) that may have been more isolated
from outside speech influences. If your ancestors were in Bucks and Chester
Co PA - remember that PA was settled by William Penn and the Quakers! He was
one of the Proprietors of West Jersey. So I wouldn't give up on the Quakers
as a possibility. I believe the early germans also used these forms of
address (in the german language), so the PA "Dutch" may be worth looking
into.

I can tell you the English Puritans in CT and Long Island NY used the
informal Thee and Thou in their speech. But if your grandmother was still
using Thee and Thou, it sure would appear she was using these forms of
address long after they fell out of general usage.

Below is a link to some books that address dialectology and linguistics in
the MidAtlantic area. Maybe you can track some of them down in local
libraries:

http://www.netaxs.com/~salvucci/MidAtlbiblio.html

Alison Wallner

----- Original Message -----
From: "Catherine R. Buck" <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 9:42 AM
Subject: [NJHUNTER] Grammarians: 17th, 18th, 19th century use of 'thee' and
'thou'


> This probably is also a question for archeological historians,
professional or hobbyist. Can anyone shed light on the widespread use of
'thee' and 'thou' in addressing others. When reading a post from Habichnest
on the Monmouth, NJ, list, subject: Slavery in Monmouth Co., the accused in
a 1691 trial was addressed as "thou'. Which triggered my question about a
family legend.
>
> My mother and her siblings always have been under the impression that
their mother had been a Quaker before her marriage to a Catholic, because of
some of her speech patterns. As a result, I have spent a lot of time
looking through Quaker records for tracks of my grandmother's family and
ancestors.
>
> If using 'thee' and 'thou' was common practice early on, would cultural
heritage be ingrained enough so that it took 150-200 years to die out of
common use in the middle Atlantc colonies and states?
>
> In some research on churches existing in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties
in 1750 +/-, one book referred to the Presbyterians practice of addressing
others as 'thee' and 'thou'. That was the first time I encountered a
description of this practice.
>
> Did the Baptists, and maybe the English speaking Dutch Reformed and
Pennsylvania Germans also follow this practice? In other words, everyone.
>
> The fact that some of my ancestors lived in Chester or Bucks Counties, or
certain NJ counties, may mean that they were not neccesarily Quakers - that
it was a common method of address among all English speakers at this time.
??
>
> All opinions are welcome. The further back one goes, the harder becomes
the nitty-gritty of searching, doesn't it?
>
> Ruth in GA
>
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