"Coffee" as the name of a female slave

[James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com>]

On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 at 09:26:29 Zulu minus 0500 "Joel S. Berson" Berson at ATT.NET wrote:

>In 1713 in Little Compton (then Mass., now R.I.) a female black slave
>was named "Coffee."  [Hull, "Female Felons: Women and Serious Crime
>in Colonial Massachusetts" (1987), 112; primary source Superior Court
>records.]
>
>I have read that "Coffee" was derived from a male day name.  Perhaps
>in this case the name was related to skin color; I wonder whether
>that was unusual.

"Coffee" from skin color is obvious.  Perhaps too obvious.  This particular black woman would not have been nicknamed "Coffee" unless she were the *only* black person in Little Compton.

Which is possible.

Here is a different suggestion.  Perhaps the woman was enslaved at an inn where her duties included serving hot drinks to the patrons.  In that case she might have acquired the name "Coffee" from the patrons (or from her owner) as she was noted mainly for that particular service.

Somebody else (sorry, but I lost the reference) pointed out that "Kofi" was an African word for "Friday".  Is there a possibility that Defoe, when writing _Robinson Crusoe_, was aware that Africans sometimes had day names as their personal names?

OT:  Today’s New York Times crossword puzzle, 50 down (four letters) has clue "They start A-B, C, D-E, etc."  For the answer I get “OEDS”.

           James A. Landau
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