Antedating of "Ms."

[Randy Alexander]

On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 12:26 AM, Ann Burlingham<ann at burlinghambooks.com> wrote:
>> The OED's first use for the form of address "Ms." is from a Dec. 4, 1901 Iowa newspaper. Â The Iowa article is referring to prior usage in the Springfield (Mass.) Republican. Â I have not yet traced the original Springfield article, but I have found an earlier other newspaper reprinting the Springfield article. Â In the Newspaperarchive database, the Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 17, 1901, p. 21, reprints the Springfield article, including the use of the term "Ms."
>
> I'm surprised by this, though maybe I'm missing a nuance here, but I
> know I read Miss Manners, in her discussion of "Ms." referring to at
> least a century's-older usage.

http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/07/27/ms/index.html

"They might be surprised to learn that modern feminists did not come
up with Ms. in the first place. The title's earliest documented
appearance was on the 1767 tombstone of a Massachusetts woman named
Sarah Spooner. "

A few other pages mention this (google: "sarah spooner" 1767 ms).
Some suggest it to be an isolated case, with no connection (through
continuity in use) with the 20th century.

--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China
My Manchu studies blog:
http://www.bjshengr.com/manchu

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