Navesink or Neversink
#34486
08/09/05 01:52 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
Lighthouse Joe
OP
Member
|
OP
Member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 166 |
A friend of mine from Nevada sent me a pdf file of the "Gazatteer of the United States of America" It was printed in 1851 and lists a number sites, landmarks, etc. at that time. One list was "Light-houses". I was looking through the New Jersey listing and there was Neversink, not Navesink. Was the name changed or was this a typo? The link is here: Gazetteer of the United States of America - 1851 Pages 680-688 Its on page 684 listed under Highlands of Neversink
Lighthouse Joe
|
|
|
Re: Navesink or Neversink
#34487
08/09/05 02:55 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,298
seagirt
Cruise Director
|
Cruise Director
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,298 |
I have heard that name for the light. I think it might be an example of 18th-19th century spelling. I don't know if this happened because of that being the way that the word was actually pronounced, or that the person who was writing it was not from the area or wasn't a spelling bee champ. If you look through these types of old documents, you find a multitude of these words. One of my favourites is "lanthorn", which was on a Sandy Hook-related document - I think one dealing with its 1850s renovation (with the dawn of the Fresnel lens, many of the US lights were renovated in the mid-1800s to improve their optical quality with the removal of birdcage lanterns and their replacement with larger, "modern" ones). Very interesting find...
|
|
|
Re: Navesink or Neversink
#34488
08/09/05 06:24 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 166
Lighthouse Joe
OP
Member
|
OP
Member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 166 |
Here are a couple of things I found on ebay no less... A postcard from 1905 An engraving from 1872 Keep in mind there is a Neversink river near neversink, NY.
Lighthouse Joe
|
|
|
Re: Navesink or Neversink
#34489
08/09/05 07:09 PM
|
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 13,047
Webmaster
Saint
|
Saint
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 13,047 |
You learn something almost everyday at the Collector Forums!
|
|
|
Re: Navesink or Neversink
#34490
08/09/05 08:02 PM
|
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 3,759
DANIEL
Saint
|
Saint
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 3,759 |
DANIEL
|
|
|
Re: Navesink or Neversink
#34491
08/10/05 07:22 AM
|
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 12,331
Bob M
Saint
|
Saint
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 12,331 |
I would guess that it was a mispelling. Why would they ever need to change the original spelling? Perhaps there was something lost in a translation along the way. Perhaps someone used the term "never sink" to describe the ruggedness of Navesink Light, as in "This light will never sink into the ocean." Your guess is as good as mine. Bob
|
|
|
Re: Navesink or Neversink
#34492
08/10/05 12:07 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,298
seagirt
Cruise Director
|
Cruise Director
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,298 |
To get more info, I went to the Navesink expert, NJLHS president and Navesink LH president (I think), Tom Laverty. Here's what his email says: Greg:
In the early maps of the area, Navesink is often referred to as Neversink. I suspect the pronunciation was probably always the same or very similar, but as different people (different cultures) who made the maps and interpreted the words gradually spelled it more phonetically - it became Navesink - which is how it is spelled today. The Lighthouse Service spells it Neversink in a few documents, but most documents from the 1860’s on use Navesink. So historically both spellings are correct, just different time periods.
Tom Hope this helps!
|
|
|
|
Forums39
Topics16,978
Posts184,640
Members2,579
|
Most Online10,155 Jan 14th, 2020
|
|
0 registered members (),
759
guests, and 3
spiders. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|