Lynch -- folk etymology

[Margaret Lee]

I grew up in Lynchburg, VA, named for its founder, John Lynch. But I
received many jokes about it in college  when people asked, "Is that
where blacks were lynched?"

--- Dan Goodman <dsgood at VISI.COM> wrote:
> > Date:    Sun, 21 Jul 2002 10:40:02 -0700
> > From:    Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
> > Subject: Re: Picnic
> > The exact etymology is unknown. The most likely explanation is
> that it
> > refers to Captain William Lynch (1742-1820) who led a vigilante
> > tribunal in Pittsylvania, Virginia during the American
> Revolution. The
> > earliest recorded use of the term (in OED2), in 1811, refers to
> him.
> >
> > Another common explanation is that it is after a judge named
> Charles
> > Lynch who served in Virginia and is credited (perhaps wrongly so)
> for
> > presiding over mob trials of Tories during the American
> Revolution.
> > Supporting evidence for this explanation is sketchier.
>
> The explanation I remember:  Judge Lynch (first name not
> remembered,
> or perhaps not given) was Irish.  He condemned his own son to
> hanging
> for murder -- and when no one else would carry out the sentence, he
> did so himself.


=====
Margaret G. Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor - English and Linguistics
 & University Editor
Department of English
Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668
(757)727-5769(voice);(757)727-5084(fax);(757)851-5773(home)
e-mail: margaret.lee at hamptonu.edu   or   mlee303 at yahoo.com

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