[Ads-l] Brass Ankles

[Bill Mullins]

The Brass Ankles are an isolated group of unknown origin in South Carolina:
http://redbonenation.com/archives/brass-ankles-of-summerville-south-carolina/

Not in OED.

Orangeburg SC _Times and Democrat_ 27 Sep 1899 p 8 col 5
"Nelson Thompson, a "brass-ankle" from Norway [SC], was tried for striking his paramour in the head with a bar of iron."

Greenwood SC _Index-Journal_ 6 Sep 1926 p 8 col 3
"We called the inhabitants of 'Hell Hole' 'Brass Ankles,' a name generally given in that section to half breeds."

_Charleston News and Courier_ 24 Jun 1929 p 3 col 7
"In South Carolina we already have, in one place at least, schools for three races - the white, the black and the 'brass-ankles.' "


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