"Needful"?

[Joel S. Berson]

Thanks, John and Wilson.  And I have just, semi-accidentally,
discovered from 1740 a bit from a newspaper asking for information to
identify people who should be given reparation from the
government.  "They are desired to give in their Names (with needful
Vouchers)".  This surely means "required", akin to the "essential,
indispensable" that I (and John) infer.

Joel

At 10/21/2008 10:55 AM, Baker, John wrote:
>         The context shows that the craftsmen and artificers in question
>are the ones who are among the notables of the town.  That is consistent
>with a meaning of "needful" as "indispensable" and inconsistent with a
>"needy" meaning.
>
>
>John Baker
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
>Of Joel S. Berson
>Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:46 AM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: "Needful"?
>
>At 10/20/2008 11:53 PM, Marc Velasco wrote:
> >How was it used when Stephen King wrote the book?
>
>How would that help me?  I'm reading a book written a 100 years ago,
>where the author may be using "needful" as it was used 200 years before
>that.
>
>Joel
>
>
> >On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 7:42 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > Subject:      "Needful"?
> > >
> > >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ---------
> > >
> > > In a book published in 1891 (1st ed. 1871), the author writes of the
>
> > > central section of Boston in the early 17th century, that in that
> > > area "dwelt the notables of the town,---the governor, the elder of
> > > the church, the captain of the artillery company, and the most
> > > needful of the craftsmen and artificers of the humble plantation;
> > > and at a short distance from it were the meeting-house, the
> > > market-house, the town-house, the school-house, and the ever-flowing
>
> > > spring of pure water."
> > >
> > > Am I right in understanding "needful" here as adj.1, sense 1,
> > > "Requisite, necessary, indispensable, essential." -- that is, where
> > > one today might say "needed, necessary, essential" -- rather than
> > > sense 2, "Of a person: poor, needy; lacking the necessities of
>life."?
> > >
> > > Joel
>
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