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Weekly News July 28, 2014Description
How Did They Speak? I have often wondered what sort of accent George Washington had in an attempt to speak the English language. Did he speak with a slight southern drawl like present-day Virginians, or did he have an English accent (as we say in America)? My guess is that it was somewhere in between. When did the Massachusetts Bay colony break away from a true British accent? What did John Hancock and John Adams sound like in 1776? Since Ben Franklin was 17 when he left Boston, did he have a New England accent, rather than speaking like other Philadelphians of his time? Perhaps linguists have studied these things and have answers, but until Thomas Edison’s successful recording of the human voice in the late 19th century, do we really know?
The first Europeans to come in large numbers to William Penn’s colony surrounding Philadelphia were members of the Religious Society of Friends, called Quakers. Did they speak differently from other immigrants? You bet they did. They used the “Plain Language,” where “thee,” “thou,” “thy,” and “thine” replaced “you” and “your,” except in the plural. When John Garrett, founder of present-day Yorklyn in 1726, dealt with his Quaker farmer-neighbors at his early grist mill, I’m sure all of them used the plain language, in business as well as in family conversation. Quakers of the 18th and 19th centuries used “thee” and “thy” when speaking with those of other faiths as well. Remember Gary Cooper, depicting a Quaker farmer in southern Indiana during the Civil War in “Friendly Persuasion”?
Israel and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Marshall, my paternal grandparents, both from Quaker families near Hockessin Friends Meeting, used “thee and “thy” between themselves and taught their children to do the same. Lizzie used it entirely with whomever she was speaking. I don’t know about Israel, but I would suspect he would use “you” when talking to non-Quaker business connections and to those working in the mills. That was certainly the case with his two sons, Warren and Clarence. Letters written in longhand, either personal or business, would use the plain language, where applicable.
Although there were Quakers in the Shallcross ancestry, my mother, Esther Shallcross Marshall, raised as a Presbyterian, had difficulty with the plain language after her marriage. It was certainly well known to her, however, as she had attended a Quaker co-ed boarding school in Swarthmore and had visited her future sister-in-law, Anna, at Auburn Heights as early as 1902. She did well in calling her new in-laws “thee,” but sometimes forgot when disciplining me. I tried using the plain language in return but really never succeeded until I was an adult. By that time, it was fading out fast, even in Quaker society.
When I made new acquaintances among Quakers all over the eastern U.S. in 1950-52, as a travel agent booking many to the Friends World Conference in Oxford, England, I thought I should address these devout people with “thee” and “thy.” I found most of them didn’t know what I was talking about, except in the area around Philadelphia, so I quickly became more modern in my many letters and conversations. Actually, the only time I ever heard “thou” used, however, was when conversing with an 85-year-old Quaker in the north of England in 1951.
In my generation, the plain language is almost dead. I used it when speaking with 10 of my 12 first cousins and with my second cousins, such as Joe Mitchell of Woodside Farm. In this group, all but Joe and Bob Mancill are deceased, and Joe and I haven’t used the plain language for some time. I see Bob very seldom, and we might speak either way. Although Ruth and I have been Quakers all our lives, we never used it when conversing. Her mother did.
Work Report: On Tuesday, July 22, 9 volunteers were on hand, as follows: Dave Leon (in charge), Dennis Dragon, Jerry Lucas, Anne Cleary, Ted Kamen, Emil Christofano, Mark Russell, Bill Schwoebel, and Tom Marshall.
The stone-and-dirt pile near the front gate was cleaned up. The 1913 Model 76 was returned to the museum from the upper garage. The boiler was filled on the Model 735, as it did not siphon after its Ice Cream Run on 7/17. The finished sign posts were delivered by Mark Russell and are ready to be set in concrete in their buckets. The popcorn machine was cleaned and polished. The engine on the Model K was thoroughly checked over, everything was found tight, and its case was put in place.
On Locomotive 401, the right running board was loosened and moved away from the cylinder, so the valve chest cover can be removed and the slide valve thoroughly checked. The Model T Ford coils were removed and replaced with spares that had been tested by Bill Schwoebel. Those removed were taken by Bill for testing and return.
On Thursday, July 24, 11 volunteers turned out, viz: Ted Kamen, Bob Jordan, Gerhard Maute, Eugene Maute, Jim Personti, Geoff Fallows, Dave Leon, Tim Ward, Kelly Williams, Bob Stransky, and Tom Marshall (in charge).
The Model EX was cleaned from its 7/17 Ice Cream Run. The pilot’s mixing tube was cleaned, and all water and steam checks were inspected. A new pilot pin was made and the pilot tested on the Model 607. The log book(s) on this car were brought up-to-date. One of the storage closets on the north end of the Carriage House was painted.
On Locomotive 401, the steam chest cover was removed, and it was determined that much of the sloppiness in the valve motion was caused by wear in two exterior pins. Rods on this valve motion were removed for new bushings or pins, and the valve chest was put back together and “buttoned up.” The running board was firmly attached and everything re-connected. A hole was found in the copper line feeding the stack blower, which was repaired with a new ¼” line.
Work continued in our library, and re-stocking the storage bins, now in the garage proper, was begun. All Stanley pumps and gauges were removed from under the workbench in the shop.
On Saturday, July 26, Robert Hopkins replaced some defective ties on the Auburn Valley Railroad.
