[Ads-l] Antedating of "First Lady" (OED Sense 2)

[Dan Goncharoff]

1861 also feels early for a visit to Long Branch, NJ, which didn't exist
until 1867, and wasn't really a place to visit as early as 1861.

On Fri, Dec 2, 2022, 9:07 AM James Landau <
00000c13e57d49b8-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> On  Thu, 1 Dec 2022 23:40:06 Zone + 0000  "Shapiro, Fred" <
> fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> posted: >>First Lady (OED, 2., 1870)
> >>1861 _Courier-Journal_ (Louisville) 27 Aug. 4/1 (Newspapers.com)  We are
> expecting Mrs. Lincoln here this week on her way to Long Branch. ... Our
> first lady will not suffer in the world's eye, because she is kind and
> courteous.
> >>Fred Shapiro
>
> The Courier-Journal did not come into existence until 1868, when the
> Louisville Morning Courer and the Louisville Morning Journal were merged.
> As a native of Louisville, I do not recognize the place name "Long Branch".
> Numerous sources say that President Buchanan's niece Harriet Lane was
> "First Lady" for her bachelor uncle, who was President from 1857 to 1861/.
> James Landau
> jjjrlandau at netscape.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org